Bulk Ethernet Cable - Cat 5E, Cat 6E, Cat 6A, Cat 7A, Cat 8

Ethernet Cable Basics 

Category 5E Cable 

Category 5 Enhanced cable is designed to perform at up to 100 MHz frequencies. Category 5E cable improves performance over the old CAT5 standard at up to 10 times faster speeds and reduces crosstalk over distances. CAT5E cables use 24-gauge twisted pair wires to support data transmission at rates up to one Gigabit per second (Gbps) up to 100 meters.  Category 5e cable is an enhanced version of Category 5 that adheres to more stringent standards. It can transmit data at speeds of up to 1000 Mbps (1 Gigabit per second).

Category 6 Cable 

Category 6 cable was designed to perform at frequencies up to 250 MHz and offers higher performance for better data transmission at speeds up to 1000 Mbps (see comparison chart below). Some properly installed Category 6 cable will also support 10 Gigabit speeds, but likely with limitations on length (look for our upcoming Category 6A / 10 Gig tutorial).

Augmented Category 6 (6A) 

Category 6A cable is the latest twisted-pair cable type defined in February 2008 under the newest version of the TIA 568-B standard (568-B.2-10). Category 6A operates at frequencies of up to 500 MHz and can support transmission speeds at 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps).

Category 7A Cable 

Category 7A cable is an enhanced cable type designed with increased shielding to improve data speed up to 1000 MHz.

Category 8 Cable 

Category 8 cable supports data frequencies up to 2GHz (2000 Mhz) and transmission speeds of Cat8.1 up to 25Gbps and Cat8.2 up to 40Gbps. Category 8 cable supports these data transmission rates within 30 meters. In addition, category 8 cable reduces interference by using shielding with foiled twisted pair (S/FTP) cables.

UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair)

 Used primarily for data transmission in local area networks (LANs), UTP network cable is a 4-pair, 100-ohm cable that consists of 4 unshielded twisted pairs surrounded by an outer jacket. Each pair is wound together to cancel out noise that can interfere with the signal. UTP cabling systems are the most commonly deployed cable type in the U.S.

STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) 

STP also contains 4 twisted pairs, but these are twisted together and then wrapped with a shielding which is a foil wrapping or a copper braided jacket. Shielding of the pairs helps to prevent cross talk or interference between multiple copper cables that are bundled together. 

FTP (Foil Twisted Pair) 

This is very similar to STP cable, but the difference is that each pair is wrapped in a shielding of foil to protect the cable from EMI and crosstalk. 

S/FTP (Shielded Foil Twister Pair) 

A cable that is considered a S/FTP is a combination of both FTP and STEP shielding. The wires inside the cable are twisted, and then shielded with a foil wrapping, then the 4-pair group of foiled wires are shielded by a wrapping of either foil or flexible braided screening. This provides the highest level of protection from EMI and crosstalk.