Monoprice 116055 Cat6 Plenum Ethernet Cable 50ft - Blue

The Monoprice 116055 is a 50-foot Cat6 UTP patch cable built to TIA/EIA-568-B with a CMP-rated plenum jacket — the combination that matters most in commercial and institutional network installations. The 23AWG stranded pure bare copper conductors are the detail that separates this from budget CCA (copper-clad aluminum) alternatives: bare copper has 40% lower resistivity than aluminum, which translates directly to lower insertion loss and better high-frequency signal integrity. The 550MHz bandwidth rating satisfies the Cat6 specification (250MHz minimum) with a 2x margin, and at 50 feet — roughly half the 100-meter channel limit — attenuation is well within spec even accounting for the slightly higher loss characteristics of stranded versus solid-core construction. The 50µm gold plating on the RJ45 contacts is a meaningful durability specification for patch environments where cables are connected and disconnected regularly.

This cable is purpose-built for plenum spaces: drop ceilings, raised floors, and any HVAC air-handling pathway where NEC 800.179 mandates CMP-rated cabling. In those environments, running standard PVC-jacketed cable is a code violation regardless of electrical performance — the CMP jacket is non-negotiable. Beyond code compliance, this is a straightforward Gigabit Ethernet patch cable appropriate for structured cabling runs in offices, data centers, schools, and commercial AV installations. The snagless boot is particularly valuable in patch panel environments where dense cable runs make connector damage a chronic maintenance issue. It's not designed for outdoor, direct burial, or shielded applications — for those use cases, different jacket ratings and cable constructions apply.