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) |
CAT 2 |
4 Mbps |
Mainly used in the IBM Cabling System for Token Ring networks |
CAT 3 |
16 Mbps |
|
CAT 4 |
20 Mbps |
Used in 16 Mbps Token Ring |
CAT 5 |
100 Mbps |
100 Mbps TPDDI |
CAT 5E |
1000 Mbps |
100 Mbps TPDDI |
CAT 6 |
Up to 400 MHz |
Super-fast broadband applications |
CAT 6E |
Up to 625 MHz |
Support for 10 Gigabit Ethernet ( 10GBASE-T) |
CAT 7 |
600-700 MHz |
Full-motion video |
While longer connections for Gigabit Ethernet use optical fiber, the goal is to leverage the CAT 5 and CAT 5E twisted-pair wiring most organizations already have in place for connections out to the desktop. (Four pairs of twisted pair are used.)
The two most widely-installed categories 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.
The CAT 6 specification is now completed and for some time products have been offered that conform to this specification which improves on CAT 5E in terms of near-end crosstalk and other ways. According to IEEE, 70% of new installs in 2004 were CAT 6.
A CAT 7 specification exists but is not yet official.
The Future is arriving at a faster pace every day, and the minimum wiring that most businesses need now is an infrastructure of Category 3 for voice and Category 5e or 6 for data. This cost effective, high-Capacity wire can deliver data from to most of the equipment used in current commercial applications.
USA PhoneCenters provides expert Category 3, 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/c/EditorVer1/default.aspx VIEW PAGESomputers 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 the past for telephone was the familiar 4-conductor variety and is commonly referred to as POTS (Plain Old Telephone Standard). But now the minimum recommended wiring for telephone is CAT3 . 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.
