They are pretty much the same in the way their wires are arranged. The frequency used (100MHz) and the manufacturing process of Cat5e are the same as Cat5. The downside of Cat5 cable is that it is more susceptible to crosstalk (interference).ĭue to this disadvantage, it has become obsolete and is being replaced by the new Cat5e specification. The UTP Cat5 wires are twisted to reduce some noise and crosstalk but are not confined in foil to avoid interference, as STP does. The cable comes as UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable, but can also be found as SCTP (Screened Twisted Pair). The Cat5 cable provides a bandwidth of up to 100MHz, and its speed can range from 10Mbps to a maximum of 100 Mbps.Ĭat 5 is suitable to carry Ethernet signals, but also telephony and video. The Cat5Ĭat5 is one of the most common cables existing today. The Category 5 specification was defined by ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A. As a generalization, the higher the number here, the faster the transmission rate. The “5” represents newer and better cable manufacturing specifications, as compared with older generations. The Cat5 and Cat5eĬategory 5 cables are the fifth generation of twisted paired Ethernet cables. Within a category, there can be variations or enhancements such as “5e”. The category also describes the same frequencies. Cables that fall in the same category, such as 5 and 5e (or 6 and 6e), are built with the same physical attributes, such as cable type, or the number of pairs. The category “Cat” is just the description of the physical qualities of the cable, it has no relation to the transfer speed of the cable. With it, you can connect your computer, networking equipment, and VoIP devices to a high-speed network.įor more details on the difference, keep reading. It achieves this by reducing the interference between cables making Cat5e the preferred cable of the network industry. In a nutshell: Cat5e twisted pair cable is newer and supports faster data transmission rates than Cat5. So what is the difference between Cat5 and Cat5e network cable? The cabling industry improved this cable and created the Cat5e, which is an enhanced version of the Cat5. They cannot support the speeds that new networks demand. But these cables are already getting short in terms of bandwidth capacity. You’ll likely see them in most existing installations. Category 5 (Cat5) cables have been already running for a while.

Cat5e bandwidth