Different Types of Ethernet Cables Over the Years

March 18, 2016 by - Cat5e crossover cable, Cell phone cable accessories, Hdmi dvi cable

75 hdmi cable

If you’ve ever plugged your computer into an internet connection like DSL than you’ve used an ethernet cable. Maybe not a 75 ft ethernet cable, but some type or another. Ethernet cables, which are also known as cat5 cables, are the typical cable that is used to connect your modem to the router and the router to the network. They are thick but flexible cables. There are a few different kinds of ethernet cables available if you know what you are looking for as far as network ethernet cables are concerned. They are more than just your typical usb cables even though they may look similar. A 75 ft ethernet cable is useful for connecting through longer distances. Here are some of the different types of ethernet cables that can be used:

Category Three
This type of cable can also be known as a station wire. It’s one of the more older forms of ethernet cables and this is where you normally find 75 ft ethernet cables because it was capable of carrying 10 megabits per second but reached it’s peak in the early 90s when the Category five cable came out. It is rarely used but sometimes you can find one in the two line telephone systems.

Category Five
Cat 5 cables replaced the Cat 3 cables. Although it is still a UTP cable, it can carry data at a faster rate. This was when the 10/100 megabites per second speed was introduced. This means that the cable can carry 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps speeds. This is also called fast ethernet. Other appliances that used this cable were telephones and videos.

Category 5e
This is the upgraded version of the Cat 5 cable. It was made to decrease cross talk and any unwanted signal transmissions in between different data channels. It still is the most widely used ethernet cable on the market. Cat 5 is still commonly used in connections that already exist but any new installations are using Cat 5e cables. Both Cat5 and Cat 5e used twisted pairs of wire, four of them to be precise, but Cat 5 only uses two of the pairs and Cat 5e uses all four which allows gigabit speeds. Cat 5e also increased the possible bandwidth, allowing it to be used in any network installation.

Category 6
Cat6 cables are able to handle gigabit ethernet bandwidth up to 250 MHz but they also have a few other improvements. The Cat6 boasts of better insulation and thinner wires which is better for areas where there could be a higher electromagnetic interference. Cat6 is backwards compatible with Cat 5 and 5e cables as well as being available as a 75ft ethernet cable.

Category 6a
This cable was made better than the regular Cat6 by supporting 10,000 Mbps data rates which doubled the maximum bandwidth. Cat 6a cables are typically sold in STP form as well but they have to have special connectors in order to ground the cable.

Category 7
Also known as Class f, the Cat 7 cable is made up of screened and shielded and twisted pairs of wires. There are layers of insulation and shielding that are in them when is even better than the Cat 6 cables. The shielding makes the cable thicker and harder to bend. Plus, the layers have to all be grounded otherwise the performance of the cables may be reduced so that there is no different between a Cat 6 and a Cat 7.

Ethernet Cable Connectors
The most common kind of connector used in ethernet installations is called an RJ-45. Cat 7 uses a special version of the RJ-45 which grounds the cable to allow for better performance. Every specification of the cable has to match the specifications of the connector. For example, if the cable is not shielded or grounded, the connector can’t be either. It has to match the category. You can buy cables that come with connectors that have been installed so there is no chance of getting the wrong connection.

If you’re setting up an internet connection then you’ll need the right cables. Even though this seems like a simple task, it’s a little more complicated than it sounds. Keep in mind a 75 ft ethernet cable can be beneficial.



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