CAT6a, or Category 6a, is an enhanced version of CAT6 cable designed to support higher data rates and frequencies.

Speed and Bandwidth: CAT6a cables are capable of supporting 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GBASE-T) speeds over longer distances compared to CAT6 cables. They can also support frequencies up to 500 MHz, which is twice the frequency of CAT6 cables.

Construction: CAT6a cables are constructed similarly to CAT6 cables, with four twisted pairs of copper wires. However, CAT6a cables are typically thicker and have larger gauge conductors to accommodate the higher frequencies and reduce signal degradation.

Applications: CAT6a cables are used in high-speed networking applications that require 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, such as data centers, server rooms, enterprise networks, and multimedia applications. They are suitable for transmitting large amounts of data quickly and reliably.

Backward Compatibility: CAT6a cables are backward compatible with CAT6 and lower category cables. They can be used in networks designed for CAT6 and CAT5e cables without any issues, but they offer higher performance and greater bandwidth compared to these lower category cables.

Standards: CAT6a cables adhere to the TIA/EIA-568-C.2 standard for balanced twisted-pair copper cabling, as well as the ISO/IEC 11801:2002 international standard.