Structured cabling is the connection infrastructure for voice and data communications standardized by TIA / EIA and by IEEE for telephone systems or local area networks (LAN). These regulations are TIA / EIA 568 and IEEE 802.3. Today, category cabling is also part of the audiovisual world.
This type of cable is composed of 4 twisted pairs (shielded or not) with impedance of 100 Ω. The conductor gauge depends on the category, ranging from 24 to 23 AWG: the higher the category, the larger the diameter.
The different categories are named with numbers as follows: CAT.5, CAT.5E, CAT.6, CAT.6A, CAT.7, CAT.8.
Physically, the categories can be told apart by the diameter of the conductors and especially by how tightly the pairs are twisted: the higher the category, the tighter the twist.
