Ethernet Cables

Cat 1: Previously used for POTS telephone communications, ISDN and doorbell wiring.

Cat 2: Previously was frequently used on 4 Mbit/s token ring networks.

Cat 3: used for data networks using frequencies up to 16 MHz. Historically popular for 10 Mbit/s Ethernet networks.

Cat 4: Defined up to 20 MHz, and was frequently used on 16 Mbit/s token ring networks.

Cat 5: Defined up to 100 MHz, and was frequently used on 100 Mbit/s Ethernet networks. May be unsuitable for 1000BASE-T gigabit ethernet.Category 5 cable is a currently outdated standard that provides support for up to 100Mhz operation. It can be used for 10/100 Ethernet without worry, however for longer runs of 1000MbE it is recomended to use Cat. 5e or higher.

Cat 5e: Defined up to 100 MHz, and is frequently used for both 100 Mbit/s and 1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet networks. Category 5e cable provides support for frequencies up to 100Mhz. Cat. 5e generally provides the best price for performance, however for future proofing Cat. 6 or higher might be a better choice as it usually does not cost much more.

Cat 6: Defined up to 250 MHz, more than double category 5 and 5e. Category 6 is defined up to a frequency of 250Mhz. Allowing 10/100/1000 use with up to 100 meter cable length, along with 10GbE over shorter distances.

Cat 6a: Defined up to 500 MHz, double that of category 6. Suitable for 10GBase-T. It allows up to 10GbE with a length up to 100m.

Cat 7: Defined up to 600 MHz. This standard specifies four individually-shielded pairs (STP) inside an overall shield. Category 7 is the informal name for "Class F" cabling defined by a different standards body than Cat. 6a and lower. It supports frequencies up to 600Mhz and may support the upcoming 100GbE standard.

Cat 7a: Category 7a is an upcoming standard that allows frequencies up to 1000Mhz. Supported Ethernet bandwidths have not been defined.