Breakdown of speeds by device:

• Gigabit router - 1 Gbps over Ethernet
• Cat 5 - 100 Mbps
• Cat 6 - 1 Gbps [Capped 330ft] source
• Wireless N - 300 Mbps
• Thunderbolt - 10 Gbps bidirectional [copper capped 3 meters/~9ft]

1 GBps = 8 Gbps source

Even in its infancy, copper based Thunderbolt is extremely quick. Once it switches to fiber, we can only anticipate a multiple times increase in speed and limitless length.

The only attributes still current with Ethernet seem 1 Gbps and 330ft of cable, meaning great for businesses, and convenient for home users that still rely on wired networks. Though WiFi is the dominant choice of internet access, being capped at 300 Mbps means data locally transferred is often deferred to a wired connection for speed.

Switching a wired connection to Thunderbolt offers a bidirectional increase in speed effectively by 8 times. Yes over a much shorter distance, but for those that require the 330ft of extra space, Sonnet Presto offers a unique adapter.