Following are the categories for telephone and network cables. HDMI audio/video cables also use category designations (see HDMI).
Categories 1 through 6 are based on the EIA/TIA-568-B standards. Most new wiring for LANs is CAT5e, an improved version of CAT5. See twisted pair.
Application
Category MHz=bandwidth
Cable type Mbps/Gbps=maximum data rate
CAT1 UTP Analog voice
CAT2 UTP Digital voice up to 1 Mbps
CAT3 UTP, ScTP, STP 16 MHz, 4 Mbps
CAT4 UTP, ScTP, STP 20 MHz, 16 Mbps
CAT5 UTP, ScTP, STP 100 MHz, 1 Gbps
CAT5e UTP, ScTP, STP 100 MHz, 1 Gbps
CAT6 UTP, ScTP, STP 250 MHz, 10 Gbps/55 meters
CAT6a UTP, ScTP, STP 500 MHz, 10 Gbps/100 meters
CAT7 ScTP, STP 600 MHz, 10 Gbps/100 meters
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