Category | Type | Spectral B/W | Length | LAN Applications | Notes |
Cat3 | UTP | 16 MHz | 100m | 10Base-T, 4Mbps | Now mainly for telephone cables |
Cat4 | UTP | 20 MHz | 100m | 16Mbps | Rarely seen |
Cat5 | UTP | 100MHz | 100m | 100Base-Tx,ATM,CDDI | Common for current LANs |
Cat5e | UTP | 100MHz | 100m | 1000Base-T | Common for current LANs |
Cat6 | UTP | 250MHz | 100m | Emerging | |
Cat7 | ScTP | 600MHz | 100m |
CAT5, CAT5e, and CAT6 UTP Solid Cable Specifications Comparison | |||
Category 5 | Category 5e | Category 6 | |
Frequency | 100 MHz | 100 MHz | 250 MHz |
Attenuation (Min. at 100 MHz) | 22 dB | 22 dB | 19.8 dB |
Characteristic Impedance | 100 ohms ± 15% | 100 ohms ± 15% | 100 ohms ± 15% |
NEXT (Min. at 100 MHz) | 32.3 dB | 35.3 dB | 44.3 dB |
PS-NEXT (Min. at 100 MHz) | no specification | 32.3 dB | 42.3 dB |
ELFEXT (Min. at 100 MHz) | no specification | 23.8 dB | 27.8 dB |
PS-ELFEXT (Min. at 100 MHz) | no specification | 20.8 dB | 24.8 dB |
Return Loss (Min. at 100 MHz) | 16.0 dB | 20.1 dB | 20.1 dB |
Delay Skew (Max. per 100 m) | no specification | 45 ns | 45 ns |
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