Category 5e Cable Specifications

Cat 5 is also used to carry other signals such as telephony and video.

Category 5e cable specifications.

Category 5 cable cat 5 is a twisted pair cable for computer networks since 2001 the variant commonly in use is the category 5e specification cat 5e the cable standard provides performance of up to 100 mhz and is suitable for most varieties of ethernet over twisted pair up to 1000base t gigabit ethernet. Category 6 cable cat 6 is a standardized twisted pair cable for ethernet and other network physical layers that is backward compatible with the category 5 5e and category 3 cable standards. Premise horizontal cable ethernet 1000base t ethernet 100base tx ethernet 10base t poe poe poe. Category 5e cables share all the same basic specifications as category 5 cables however it reduces interference caused by crosstalk between the wires inside the cable.

The performance requirements have been raised slightly in the new standard see comparison chart below. Cat6a cables allow performance up to 500 mhz. Sometimes the category is updated with further clarification or testing standards e g. Ethernet cables are grouped into sequentially numbered categories cat based on different specifications.

Category 5e cables use all four pairs of conductors as opposed to the two pairs used to transmit data in 10 or 100 mbps networks. Cat 5e standard for cat 5 enhanced and it is a form of cat 5 cable manufactured to higher specifications although physically the same as cat 5. Cat 5e can be used for 100base t and 1000base t gigabit ethernet. These categories are how we can easily know what type of cable we need for a specific application.

Both cat5e and cat6 cable specifications allow lengths up to 100 meters but cat6e has a lower max length 55 meters when used for 10gbase t 10 gigabit ethernet. Category 5e cat5e cable also known as enhanced category 5 is designed to support full duplex fast ethernet operation and gigabit ethernet. Cat 6 has to meet more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise than cat 5 and cat 5e. Belden offers several category 5e performance levels.

The main differences between cat5 and cat5e can be found in the specifications. It has a slightly higher frequency specification that cat 5 cable as the performance extends up to 125 mbps. The cable standard specifies performance of up to 250 mhz compared to 100 mhz for cat 5 and cat 5e. Category 5e cable 4 pair u utp cmr product description category 5e premise horizontal cable 200mhz 4 pair 24 awg solid bare copper conductors u utp riser cmr pvc jacket technical specifications product overview suitable applications.