I thought Ethernet cables were all the same. I was so, so wrong

If you’ve been browsing Ethernet cables online you may have seen that they come with names like CAT 5, CAT 6, CAT 7, and CAT 8. And no, we’re not talking about the feline kind of CAT…meow!

So, what does all that mean, and is there any difference between these varied Ethernet cables?

Defining CAT in Ethernet cables

The CAT label in Ethernet cables stands for “category,” which denotes its standard and specification. You can tell which category the cables belong to by the number suffix each one has.