With performance demands increasing, it is vital to ensure you have the right cable infrastructure. Whether you’re simply expanding an existing environment, or moving into a brand new premises it is vital to have good access to the network infrastructure, be it via a wired or wireless network.

When we’re talking about the different ‘categories’ of data cable, we’re essentially discussing the speed at which your network cables can carry data. The better and faster the cable, the better your internet connection.

The chart below is to help you better understand the use for each type of Ethernet Cabling..

Is Cat5 Still Used?

You might still see some standard Cat5/5e network cabling being used every now and again, but it’s not as popular as Cat6 and Cat6a cable. Even though it still gives your business a bandwidth that could be considered acceptable, it is several generations outdated.

It may cost you less than more modern cabling, but you need to be prepared for when you get slower connections with more crosstalk. The wires that are utilized in Cat 5e don’t even have any sort of foil covering, which is to say are UTP. UTP stands for unshielded twisted pairs and refers to wires that don’t utilized coatings to help eliminate crosstalk.

The fact that Cat5e is UTP makes a massive difference to the quality and is one of the leading reasons it is such an inferior option to Cat6 or Cat7. Remember that this wire type was introduced in 1999, so you may get speeds consistent with those times!