Copper Clad Alluminium

Copper Clad Aluminium (CCA) in Cat6 wire consists of an aluminum core coated with a thin layer of copper, marketed as a cheaper alternative to pure copper, but it violates TIA, IEC, and UL standards for Cat6 cabling. 


Key Issues and Risks

  • Standards Violation: CCA does not meet ANSI/TIA-568, ISO/IEC 11801, or National Electrical Code (NEC) specifications, meaning cables labeled as "Cat6 CCA" are technically non-compliant and considered counterfeit by organizations like the Communications Cable & Connectivity Association. 
  • Higher Resistance and Heat: Aluminum has roughly 55% higher DC resistance than copper. This generates excessive heat under load and leads to severe signal attenuation and data loss over longer runs. 
  • Incompatibility with Power over Ethernet (PoE): CCA cables cannot safely handle PoE because the high resistance causes current imbalance, overheats the wires, corrupts data, and creates a significant fire hazard. 
  • Poor Durability and Brittleness: Aluminum has lower tensile strength and a tighter bend radius than copper. The wires easily snap, crack, or break during installation, and they turn brittle when exposed to heat.

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Quality First

Scrape the Conductor: Strip the outer jacket and use a blade or pick to scrape the metal wire. If a silver-colored aluminum core appears underneath the thin copper plating, it is CCA. Pure copper remains copper-colored all the way through.

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