 Cat 6a vs Cat 7, what's the difference between a Cat 6a and Cat 7 Ethernet cable? Cat 6a and Cat 7 cables differ in a few different ways. Cat 7 cables have an increased amount of shielding. In each version of Cat 7, each pair of transmission cores is shielded and so is the overall cable. This is only present in Cat 6af slash FTP versions. In other versions of Cat 6a cable, the outer sheath or inner cores are unshielded. Cat 7 once again increases the inner pair twists and increases the performance concerning signature noise ratio protection. Furthermore, Cat 7 is constructed in a different way resulting in a larger cable and installation bend radius. Transmission capabilities are the biggest difference between Cat 6a and Cat 7. Cat 6a cable operates at 500 MHz. However, the Cat 7 cable has a maximum frequency of 600 MHz. Cat 7a standards in some manufacturers reach a frequency of 1000 MHz.