ANSI/EIA (American National Standards Institute/Electronic Industries Association) Standard 568 is one of several standards that specify “categories” (the singular is commonly referred to as “CAT”) of twisted pair cabling systems (wires, junctions, and connectors) in terms of the data rates that they can sustain effectively. The specifications describe the cable material as well as the types of connectors and junction blocks to be used in order to conform to a category. These categories are:
| Category | Maximum data rate | Usual application |
| CAT 1 | Up to 1 Mbps (1 MHz) | Analog voice ( POTS) Integrated Services Digital Network Basic Rate Interface in ISDN Doorbell wiring |
| CAT 2 | 4 Mbps | Mainly used in the IBM Cabling System for Token Ring networks |
| CAT 3 | 16 Mbps | Voice and data on 10BASE-T Ethernet |
| CAT 4 | 20 Mbps | Used in 16 Mbps Token Ring Otherwise not used much |
| CAT 5 | 100 Mbps 1000 Mbps (4 pair) |
100 Mbps TPDDI 155 Mbps ATM No longer supported; replaced by 5E |
| CAT 5E | 1000 Mbps (10000 Mbps prototype) |
100 Mbps TPDDI 155 Mbps ATM Gigabit Ethernet Offers better near-end crosstalk than CAT 5 |
| CAT 6 | Up to 400 MHz | Super-fast broadband applications Most popular cabling for new installs |
| CAT 6E | Up to 625 MHz (field-tested to 500 MHz) |
Support for 10 Gigabit Ethernet ( 10GBASE-T) |
| CAT 7 (ISO Class F) |
600-700 MHz 1.2 GHz in pairs with Siemon connector |
Full-motion video Teleradiology Government and manufacturing environments Shielded system |
USA Phone.com supports Cat 3 cable, but uses CAT 5E as a standard cable for both VOICE and DATA
The two most widely-installed categories were are CAT 3 and CAT 5.) While the two cables may look identical, CAT 3 is tested to a lower set of specifications and can cause transmission errors if pushed to faster speeds. CAT 3 cabling is near-end crosstalk-certified for only a 16 MHz signal, while CAT 5 cable must pass a 100 MHz test. CAT 5E has recently replaced CAT 5 as the prevalent standard.
USA PhoneCenters provides expert Category 5e, 6 and Fiber enhanced cabling
We provide Cable TESTING and CERTIFICATION with the latest LANTEC Cable testing equipment. Whether it’s in a new office or you need to add phones, paging or computers in your existing office, USA PhoneCenters highly trained, certified technicians can handle all your cabling needs at the right price.
Telephone Wiring
Telephone wiring does not require high performance cable to work. The cable Phone Companies commonly used in 4 -conductor wire in the past for telephone and was commonly referred to as POTS (Plain Old Telephone Standard). But now, are the minimum recommended wiring for telephone is CAT5E . The photo below has CAT5 on the left and POTS on the right. Notice that CAT5 has the twisted pairs where the POTS does not. This gives CAT5 higher immunity from electrical interference.
Data Cabling
On the Data cabling front CAT5 cabling will support up to 100Mbps. CAT5 will work fine down at 10Mbps as well. In addition there are other CAT Cable ratings of CAT5e and CAT6. CAT5e (Enhanced CAT5) is gigabit rated, with higher capabilities in a number of parameters. Cat5e has more headroom, e.g. for use with Voice Over IP (VoIP). CAT6 is capable of MULTI Gigabit bandwidth with even higher rating and headroom.
Fiber
When installing Data or Surveillance Network Cameras, if your distance requirements exceeds 330 ft (100 meters), it will be necessary to use a Fiber Optic connection. We will glad to provide a quote for you.
