The abbreviation CAT stands for the English term "category." Cat cables are mainly found in communications, telecommunications, and computer technology. They are used for data transmission and for networks and devices.
CAT cabling is twisted pair cabling consisting of individual copper wires with insulation. There are four twisted pairs of wires within a cable. Data flows through each pair of wires. The advantage of this twisting within the patch cables is that it provides better protection against any disruptive influences from outside.
There are different CAT variants with different performance levels. A total of seven CAT variants are known, each of which is divided into different performance classes and frequencies:
- CAT-1-4: Used only for telephone applications. Today, these are hardly ever used for setting up networks. (Frequency range from 100kHz to 16MHz, up to 10Mbit/s)
- CAT-5/5e: Standard patch cables have a frequency of 100 MHz, but CAT-5e has a higher transmission speed (1 Gb/s)
- CAT-6: Transmission speed of 1 Gb/s and frequency of 250 MHz, but this decreases the longer the Ethernet cable is.
- CAT-7: is the most commonly used and most optimal CAT, up to 600 MHz and 10 Gb/s
- CAT-7a: Significantly more powerful than normal CAT-7 and used worldwide, it has both a higher frequency and a faster transmission speed (100 Gb/s, 1,000 MHz)
The best patch cable of the CAT variants is the CAT-7a. It has the strongest performance, the most secure shielding, and is not affected by the cable length to such an extent that its performance would be impaired.
