The Cat 5 cable was first introduced in 1995. It is an advancement of Cat 3 and Cat 4 ethernet cables. It has been in use since then. It is used at home, and still, many businesses use this cable because it is affordable. If you also have doubts regarding Cat 5 cable, then you are at the right place because, in this article, we have answered your questions. So, keep reading to know about what is Cat 5 cable used for, the cat 5 cable speed, what are the Cat 5 cable specification, and other information.

Table of Contents

1. What is a Cat 5 Cable?

Cat in Cat 5 cable stands for the category. It is also known by other names such as ethernet cable, Category 5 cable, and LAN cable. It is a network cable consisting of four twisted pairs of copper wire, and an RJ-45 connector terminates them. Read What are Some Parallel Circuit Appliances at Home?

2. What is Cat 5 Cable Speed?

The transfer speed of the Cat 5 cable is up to 100 Mbps, and the maximum recommended length for this is 100 meters.

3. What are Cat 5 Cable Specification?

We have presented a table that provides its specification:

Specifications	Details
Conductor	It uses a stranded bare copper as a conductor.
Diameter of Conductor	The diameter of the conductor is 0.48mm.
Conductor Insulation Material	The material used is Foam skin polyethylene.
Diameter over insulation	The diameter over insulation is around 0.95mm
Drain wire	The material for the drain wire is Tinned copper.
Shield	For the shield, Aluminium or polyester foil is used.
Jacket material	It uses PVC, a flame retardant, as a jacket material.
Outer diameter	Its outer diameter is around 5.2 mm.
Color code	For pair one black-blue/blue, pair two black-orange/orange, pair three black-green/green, and pair four black-brown/brown.
Nominal velocity of propagation	Its nominal velocity of propagation is 0.75c.
Maximum Conductor DCR	The maximum conductor DCR is 135ohm/km.
Nominal mutual capacitance	Its nominal mutual capacitance is 50nF/km.
Weight	Its weight is approximately 27kg/km.
Maximum operating voltage	Its maximum operating voltage is 48V rms.
Flame Retardancy	The flame retardancy is IEC 332-1.
Energy of Flame	The energy of flame is 300kJ/m.
Maximum pulling Tension	The maximum pulling Tension is 80N.
Maximum continuous current per conductor (at 25 degree Celsius)	The maximum continuous current per conductor is 1.0 A.

4. What is Cat 5 Cable Price?

The Cat 5 cable price is around $36. This price is for 5 feet cable length.

5. What is Cat 5 Cable Used For?

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Cat 5 cable can be used to carry data, telephone, and video signals. So, it is used at home and in offices. We hope that this has answered the question of what is Cat 5 cable used for. Check out What is Cat 6 Cable used for?

6. What are the Benefits of Cat 5 Cable?

The benefits of cat 5 cables are listed below:

One of the significant advantages of cat 5 cable is that it is affordable.
It offers high transfer speed.
It is easy to install.
Even though there are other better wires on the market, Cat 5 adaptability makes it perfect for many applications, including computer networks and telephone lines.

7. What are the Disadvantages of Cat 5 Cable?

Since you are aware of what is a cat 5 cable and what is Cat 5 cable used for, note that the disadvantage of the Cat 5 cable is the amount of data that can be transmitted over the Cat 5 cable. The upper end of the Cat 5 cable has minimal data transfer capacity. Although cable is still appropriate for residential networking because it can only handle 100 megabits per second, it is less useful for more extensive corporate networks or any operation that calls for massive data streams, such as transfers of contemporary television. Also, Cat 5 cable is sensitive to interference, and cross-talk interference can reduce transfer speeds.