Category 2 cable and category 5 cable

Category 2 cable, or simply Cat 2, is a misnomer, probably adopted by those who assumed that the Telecommunications Industry Association set up "Categories" for all types of cables originally defined by Anixter, the distributor, under the grades called Levels. TIA-568 only recognized cables of Category 3 ratings or above. Anixter Level 2 was a grade of UTP cable capable of transmitting data at up to 4 Mbit/s.

It is the first cable which can transmit voice and data up to 4mbps. Anixter Level 2 cable was frequently used on ARCnet and 4 Mbit/s token ring networks, it is also used in telephone networks but it is no longer commonly used.

Category 5 cable (Cat 5) is a twisted pair cable for carrying signals. This type of cable is used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Ethernet. It is also used to carry other signals such as telephony and video. The cable is commonly connected using punch down blocks and modular connectors. Most Category 5 cables are unshielded, relying on the twisted pair design and differential signaling for noise rejection. Category 5 has been superseded by the Category 5e specification.

December 5, 2011

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