General Cable Reviews: Cat6 Plenum, the 117 Multimeter, and the Broadcom Comparison

Common General Cable Questions I Get as a Procurement Manager

Early in my career, I thought all Cat6 plenum cable was the same. It's not. I'm the procurement manager at a 200-person electrical contracting company, and I've managed a cabling budget of about $180,000 a year for eight years. People ask me about General Cable, General Cable cat6 plenum, and whether it's worth the premium. Here are the answers I've learned the hard way.

Is General Cable a good brand for Cat6 plenum?

Yes, but not for the reason you'd expect. It's consistency. In early 2024 I priced 12,000 feet of General Cable cat6 plenum against a no-name brand. General Cable was 9 cents more per foot—about $1,080 more on the whole project. The generic cable had similar specs on paper, but the jacket felt thinner and there was no test documentation. Plenum rating isn't about data speed; it's about fire safety. I've seen budget plenum fail a building inspection because the smoke test documentation wasn't there. General Cable's Cat6 plenum has been reliable on every run we've installed. That's not a slogan; that's what my tracking sheet says.

General Cable vs Broadcom: why can't I just compare them?

Because you're comparing apples to engine parts. Broadcom makes the silicon inside switches and network cards. General Cable makes the physical cable that connects them. A network needs both. When someone asks me whether Broadcom is better than General Cable, I know they're mixing infrastructure with hardware. In budget reviews, treat them as separate line items. The switch matters, but if the Cat6 plenum can't carry the signal, the chipset doesn't matter. That's a surface-level comparison that will lead to the wrong purchasing decision every time.

Are General Cable reviews reliable?

Kinda, but you have to know where to look. Website testimonials are easy to cherry-pick. FTC guidelines (ftc.gov) say endorsements need to be truthful, but that doesn't mean every review is useful. I trust third-party distributor reviews and long-term feedback from contractors more than the company's own page. In 2023, we put General Cable cat6 plenum in 40 job sites. Our failure claim rate was under 0.5%. That's the review that matters to me. General Cable's own reviews are fine, but the real signal is whether it shows up, bends, and certifies without drama.

Why does General Cable Cat6 plenum cost more than budget cable?

You're paying for certainty. Sticker price isn't total cost. Cheap cable at $0.30/ft vs General Cable at $0.39/ft over 10,000 ft is $900. But if the cheap cable fails a Fluke certification test, you're looking at re-termination or a complete rerun. I watched a contractor eat $1,200 in labor after 2,000 feet of budget plenum wouldn't pass impedance testing. That wiped out the savings twice. In March 2024, we paid $400 extra for guaranteed 3-day delivery from General Cable. Missing the deadline would have triggered a $15,000 penalty on a data center project. Certainty has real value. I'll pay for it when the timeline matters.

Do I need a 117 multimeter to check General Cable Cat6 plenum?

The Fluke 117 multimeter is a great meter for electrical checks, but it won't certify cable performance. Use it to verify PoE switch output and check continuity on a spool before you pull. For actual Cat6 plenum verification, you need a network certifier that measures insertion loss, return loss, and wire map. I keep a Fluke 117 in my toolbag for troubleshooting, but I still require a certifier's report before accepting a run. Don't let anyone tell you a multimeter replaces a certifier—it doesn't.

Should I buy from General Cable or through the Prysmian Group?

Since General Cable joined the Prysmian Group, you get a broader supply chain and better inventory reach. But the group name alone doesn't make it cheaper. What it does give you is consistency. In Q2 2024, our distributor quoted a two-week lead on a competing brand's plenum. The General Cable group warehouse had spools ready in four days. I paid a little more per foot, but avoiding an emergency freight bill saved us about $700. Compare delivered cost, lead time, and total risk. Sometimes the group's available inventory is worth more than the lowest unit price.

Is Cat6 plenum enough for data center runs?

It depends on speed and distance. For 1 Gbps and PoE, Cat6 plenum is often enough. For 10 Gbps beyond 55 meters, you need Cat6a. TIA/EIA-568-C.1 gives you the distance limits. Don't let a vendor upsell you to Cat6a if your design doesn't need it. In 2021, we designed a colocation space with Cat6a for the backbone links and Cat6 plenum for access layer drops. That cut material cost by about 22% and passed all certification tests. The smart purchase is the lowest category that meets your requirements—not the one with the higher number.

What hidden costs come with General Cable Cat6 plenum?

Freight and minimum order quantities are the two big ones. Five-hundred-foot spools are heavy. A low unit price can look great until shipping doubles the cost. Some suppliers show a low base price and add freight, pallet packing, or a spool deposit. I always ask for delivered cost per foot, line by line. In one comparison, two vendors had the same unit price for General Cable cat6 plenum. One added $200 freight and a $150 spool deposit. That changed the total by 12%. Always calculate the full invoice, not the per-foot promo price.