Cat5 (Catergory 5) cable is a twisted pair type cable that is currently preferred in use with telephones and networks because of it’s high integrity. Many of these cables are unshielded, which means it is more subject to electromagnetic interference as opposed to the shielded cables. This type of cable has been outdone by the Cat5e cable, which can be used fro carrying quite a few different signals, such as voice services, ATM, token rings, and are also used for general Ethernet. It is capable of 100 MBit/s when used for Ethernet data transmission.

Cat 5 is used to classify the actual properties of the wires contained within the cable. The Cat5 uses twisted pairs in a single jacket because it helps reduce the crosstalk, and each cable usually consists of three twists per inch of each twisted pair of 25 gauge copper wires. The cables themselves are terminated withRJ-45 connectors. Each plug has 8 pins on it, and each corresponds to a particular wire color and wire set. They are as follows:

T568A Wiring

Pin 1: Pair 3, Wire 1 - White/green wire
Pin 2: Pair 3, Wire 2 - Green wire
Pin 3: Pair 2, Wire 1 - White/Orange wire
Pin 4: Pair 1, Wire 2 - Blue wire
Pin 5: Pair 1, Wire 1 - White/blue wire
Pin 6: Pair 2, Wire 2 - Orange wire
Pin 7: Pair 4, Wire 1 - White/brown wire
Pin 8: Pair 4, Wire 2 - Brown wire

T568B Wiring

Pin 1: Pair 2, Wire 1 - White/orange wire
Pin 2: Pair 2, Wire 2 - Orange wire
Pin 3: Pair 3, Wire 1 - White/green wire
Pin 4: Pair 1, Wire 2 - Blue wire
Pin 5: Pair 1, Wire 1 - White/blue wire
Pin 6: Pair 3, Wire 2 - Green wire
Pin 7: Pair 4, Wire 1 - White/brown wire
Pin 8: Pair 4, Wire 2 - Brown wire

Canada typically uses the T568A standard where as the US more commonly uses the T568B standard of wiring.

What is crosstalk?

Crosstalk, sometimes abbreviated (XT), is when a signal being transmitted through one circuit causes problems (interference) for another signal on a different circuit. This is due to the electromagnetic interference that is produced by the traveling signals.

What is a Cat5e cable?

This type of cable has better specifications for far-end crosstalk, which is the interference between two different pairs in the same cable, measured by the end of the cable furthest from the transmitter. Even though these cables are designed to run better, they still abide by the strict 100 m cable rule. That is, no Cat5 cable may exceed a length of 100 m (328 ft) long. This type of cable is designed for use with long distance networks like the 100BASE-TX network and also is used for more basic 1000BASE-T networks.

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