Frequently asked questions

FA158591

29 September 2021

Issue: How to determine the correct cable type by Ethernet network speed

Product Line: Cables and Connectivity Solutions

Environment: Network Cables

Cause: Need to install the proper cabling to support expected network speeds.

Resolution: see below

Cat 5 supports 100 Megabit per second and 100 Megahertz bandwidth. This supports Ethernet 10Base-T, 100Base-T.
Cat 5e supports 1 Gigabit per second and 100 Megahertz bandwidth. This supports Gigabit Ethernet, 1000Base-T.
Cat 6 supports 1 Gigabit per second and 250 Megahertz bandwidth. This supports Gigabit Ethernet, 1000Base-T.
Cat 6a supports 10 Gigabit per second and 500 Megahertz bandwidth. This supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 10GbE.
The higher speed cables are backwards compatible to the lower speed cables.