cable categories
Following are the categories for telephone and Ethernet cables, which are abbreviated "Cat." For HDMI video cables, see HDMI cable types.
Cat1 and Cat2 are unofficial voice grade standards, while the rest are based on the EIA/TIA-568-B standards. Ethernet wiring today starts at Cat5e. Cat8 is for short distances in datacenters. See twisted pair.
Cat Type of Bandwidth Data# Cable (MHz) Rate
8 ScTP/STP 2000 MHz 40-100 Gbps
7a ScTP/STP 1000 MHz 10 Gbps
7 ScTP/STP 600 MHz 10 Gbps
6a UTP/ScTP/STP 500 MHz 10 Gbps
6 UTP/ScTP/STP 250 MHz 10 Gbps
5e UTP/ScTP/STP 100 MHz 1 Gbps
5 UTP/ScTP/STP 100 MHz 1 Gbps
4 UTP/ScTP/STP 20 MHz 16 Mbps
3 UTP/ScTP/STP 16 MHz 4 Mbps
2 UTP 4 MHz 4 Mbps
1 UTP 1 MHz Analog
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| Cat5e Is Entry Level Today |
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| To be more resistant to crosstalk, Cat5e wires are twisted more tightly inside the cable than Cat5. Because Gigabit Ethernet is found on every new computer, Cat5e is the basic Ethernet cable today. |
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| Cat7 - Shielded and 10 Gbps |
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| Cat7 cables (top) and Cat5e (bottom) have the same four sets of twisted pair. However, Cat7 shields each pair separately and wraps all four together in a metal sheath or strands of wire as in this example. |
