Cable Standards-UTP CAT5E Cable
Cables are divided into different categories commonly referred to as CAT ratings. This identifies cable properties such as twist rate, wire thickness, crosstalk immunity, and shielding. Most importantly, it defines the overall bandwidth capability of each category considering all factors. To increase the bandwidth capacity of each cable type, you typically need to increase the wire thickness and use a higher twist ratio per pair. This means that as the cable capacity specification increases, it also becomes more rigid, making it more difficult to install.

Although possible, we generally do not recommend cable lengths longer than 100m, as the speed becomes unpredictable beyond this point. Let's take a look at some of the most common cable categories.

UTP CAT5E Cable
CAT5e is arguably the most commonly used Ethernet cable category in South Africa today and is capable of transmission at speeds up to gigabits. What makes it so popular is that it is economical and easy to install end-to-end. It uses 100MHz bandwidth without additional crosstalk partitioning. This cable meets all the minimum requirements for gigabit performance while reducing cost.

UTP CAT6 Cable
If we look at CAT6, it is capable of 1Gbps+ at 100m and even 10Gbps at 55m. It uses 250MHz of bandwidth to achieve this speed and is a good choice for new installations. However, its increased cable thickness requires more installation skills, and RJ45 connectors are not as easy to crimp as CAT5e. It's also worth mentioning that you should never use a CAT5e RJ45 connector on a CAT6 cable.