Category 5e
Category 5e cable is a 4-twisted pair cable for carrying signals. Class D channel and are used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Ethernet.
The cable standards provide performance of up to 100 MHz and is suitable for 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX (Fast Ethernet), and 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet). Category 5e is also used to carry other signals such as telephony and video.
Category 6
Comparing to Category 5e, Class E channel and Category 6 cable specify more stringent requirement for crosstalk and system noise.
It is for performances up to 250MHz and suitable for 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX (100Mbs Fast Ethernet), and 1000BASE-T/1000BASE-TX (Gigabit Ethernet).
Category 6a
Class EA (Class E Augmented) channel and Category 6a cable is designed for Gigabit Ethernet and other standard network protocols and can handle 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-TX, and 10GBASE-T.
Category 6a cable performs at up to 500 MHz, which allows 10GBASE-T to be run over distances of up to 100 meters.
Category 7
Class F channel and Category 7 cable are backward compatible with Class D / Category 5e and Class E/Category 6. Class F features even stricter specifications for crosstalk and system noise than Class E.
To achieve this, shielding has been added for individual wire pairs and the cable as a whole. Besides the shield, the twisting of the pairs and number of turns per unit length increases RF shielding and protects from crosstalk.
The Category 7 cable standard has been created to allow 10 Gigabit Ethernet over 100 m of copper cabling. The cable contains four twisted copper wire pairs, just like the earlier standards.
Category 7 cable is rated for transmission frequencies of up to 600 MHz
Category 7a
Category 8.2
Within the draft standard ISO/IEC TR 11801-99-1 are the new standards with the classes I (Cat8.1) and II (Cat8.2) in development. This is offset by the draft standard TIA-568-C.2. with the Cat.8. Two new categories for 4-pair copper twisted pair cable with 2 connectors, with operating frequency up to 2.0 GHz.
Class I channel (Category 8.1 cable): minimum cable design U/FTP or F/UTP, fully backward compatible and inter-operable with Class EA (Category 6A) using 8P8C connectors.
Class II channel (Category 8.2 cable): F/FTP or S/FTP minimum, interoperable with Class FA (Category 7A) using 8P8C or TERA/GG45/ARJ45/BKS connectors.
