Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1476549
October/November/December 2022 I 11 CONSIDER THE STRUCTURED CABLING Pathways and spaces, power, cabling, and even network equipment upgrades may be required before this genera- tion of WAPs can be fully implemented. The early releases of Wi-Fi 6 WAPs could operate over the existing category 5e or category 6 infrastructure. However, the current versions can operate at speeds up to 10 Gb/s. To fully use the Wi-Fi 6 and 6E capabilities, at a minimum, category 6A should be used. Moreover, Wi-Fi benefits from another advantage of category 6A cables; they better dissipate the heat generated by the higher wattage of power over Ethernet (PoE). Pathways and Spaces Although manufacturers have made great strides in reducing cable diameter since the category 6A ratification in 2009, most still have a greater outer diameter than category 6. This creates the need for careful calculations when sizing basket tray, conduits, and even outlet boxes. These larger cables and deeper jacks benefit from the use of deeper and wider boxes, such as two gang with a one gang mud ring, that help installation and even poten- tially reduce cable failure. Terminations within the outlet box can gain from jacks designed to reduce the sharp bend at the punch down. While telecommunications rooms (TRs) are no longer the closets they once were, changes are still required. The increase in cable outer diameter impacts the size of sleeves, ladder tray, and vertical managers. Designs should address installation practices, such as cable routing within racks and slack storage, that can be challenging with category 6A cable having an average outer diameter of .275 in (≈7.0 mm). See Figure 3. FIGURE 3: Managing category 6A at the rack.