TIA/EIA Standards
The organisation that sets the standards for structured cabling is the Electronic Industries Association and Telecommunications Industries Association (EIA/TIA). There are different standards for the various situations that cabling can be used for ranging from telephone systems to computer networks. There are currently six implemented categories of UTP.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Category 1 | Traditional UTP telephone cable that can carry voice but not data transmissions. Most telephone cable prior to 1983 was Category 1 cable |
| Category 2 | This category certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 4 megabits per second (Mbps). It consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire |
| Category 3 | This category certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 16 Mbps. It consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire with three twists per foot |
| Category 4 | This category certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 20 Mbps. It consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire |
| Category 5 | This category certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 100 Mbps. It consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire. Cat 5e is an enhanced higher quality version that allows Gigabit transmission. |
| Category 6 | This category certifies UTP cable for transmissions up to 1,000 Mbps, i.e. Gigabit Ethernet. It consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire with all pairs being used. |
Next: Other UTP Standards
