Specifications

G
STRUCTURED
CABLING
TM
www.signamax.eu
G2
Currently existing categories
Category 3—this is the first and thus oldest category in structured cabling. In the beginning, Category 3 components
were used for both voice and data transmissions. The bandwidth was defined up to 16 MHz with data rates of
10 Mbps. Today, Category 3 is predominantly used only for telephone distribution systems (e.g. connection from
ISDN patch panels to telephone PBX board, telephone equipment cords etc).
Category 5E—at present, Category 5E (or Enhanced Category 5) is still the most frequently used category in
structured cabling. The first standard for Category 5E was published in 2000 and was referred to as ANSI/TIA/
EIA 568B.1 (for the American standards), CENELEC EN 50173-1:2000 (for the European standards), and ISO/
IEC 11801:2000 (for the international standards). In CENELEC as well as ISO/IEC specifications it is still referred
to as Category 5 (i.e. not Category 5E). The “Category 5E” is officially used only in ANSI/TIA/EIA standards; it was
originally introduced by the manufactures themselves in order to distinguish between the already existing Category 5
components and the “new” improved Category 5 products (i.e. today known as Category 5E). As mentioned above,
Category 5E structured cabling components are suitable for the Gigabit Ethernet protocol (i.e. 1000BaseT), which
should fit the requirements of most company networks with regular data traffic. However, the 1 Gbps transmission
rate is the limit for all Category 5e components and no further improvement will be possible.
Category 6—the final specification of Category 6 was published in 2002. The document update is known
as ANSI/TIA/EIA 568B.2-1 (for the American standards), EN 50173-1:2002 (for the European standards), and
ISO/IEC 11801:2002 (for the international standards). Category 6 is specified up to 200 MHz (standard bandwidth)
and 250 MHz (testing bandwidth). The double available bandwidth in comparison with Category 5E requires higher
component quality. On the other hand, if these quality requirements are met, Category 6 components offer improved
performance and transmission reliability.
Category 6A—a new category that is currently being defined by the organizations that set the standard
recommendations for structured cabling. The “new” Category 6 will be referred to as “Augmented Category 6” or
“Category 6A”. It is developed specifically for the new 10GBaseT Ethernet protocol in mind. Category 6A will offer
500 MHz bandwidth and thus will be suitable for the most data-intensive applications used on metallic computer
networks. You can learn more about the 10GBaseT protocol as well as Category 6A further on in this catalogue
(please see the “10GBaseT and Structured Cabling” section).
Category 7—this category was first mentioned in 1997, however, its specification was not finished before 2002.
Now Category 7 is specified in CENELEC EN 50173-1:2002 and ISO/IEC 11801:2002 standards; in the TIA/EIA
standards Category 7 is not mentioned. The bandwidth that is defined for the current Category 7 is 600 MHz
(standard bandwidth) and 750 MHz (testing bandwidth). With reference to the Category 6a and its 500 MHz
frequency, it will be necessary to re-define the current Category 7. It is estimated that a “new” Category 7 will be
introduced and it will be referred to as “Augmented Category 7” or “Category 7A” with the bandwidth of up to
1,000 MHz.
Introduction to Structured Cabling
The table bellow shows supported protocols, bandwidth, maximum transmission rates, and recommended
use for all categories.
Cat 3 Cat 4 Cat 5 Cat 5E Cat 6 Cat 6A Cat 7 Cat 7A
Supported Analog. Voice, IBM Token 100BaseT 1000BaseT 1000BaseTX 10GBaseT 10GBaseT 10GBaseT
Protocols ISDN, 10BaseT Ring and lower and lower and lower and lower and lower and lower
Bandwidth 16 MHz 20 MHz 100 MHz 100 MHz 200 MHz/ 500 MHz 600 MHz/ 1,000 MHz
250 MHz 750 MHz
Maximum 10 Mbps 16 Mbps 100 Mbps 1,000 Mbps 1,000 Mbps 10 Gbps 10 Gbps 10 Gbps
Transmission (Fast (Gigabit (Gigabit
Rate Ethernet) Ethernet) Ethernet)
Usability Predominantly No longer No longer Regular Higher High data High data High data
telephone installed installed data and data traffic traffic, traffic, traffic,
distribution voice traffic (multimedia, backbone backbone backbone
systems streaming) distribution distribution distribution
systems, systems, systems,
SAN SAN SAN