scope:

This sectional specification relates to IEC 61156-1: Multicore and symmetrical pair/quad cables for digital communications - Part 1: Generic specification. The cables described herein are specifically intended for horizontal floor wiring in class D, E and F channels, as defined in ISO/IEC 11801:2000, Information technology - Generic cabling for customer premises (see Table 1). It covers individually screened (STP), common screened (FTP) and unscreened (UTP) pairs or quads having a pair count of four pairs or less. The transmission characteristics of the cables are specified at 20 °C. See Annex A for a discussion of cables performance at temperatures higher than 20 °C. The designation "Category 5e" is used herein to describe an enhanced Category 5 cable and is used in the same context as "Category 5" in ISO/IEC 11801. This enhanced cable is designated Category 5e to differentiate it from the Category 5 cables describes in IEC 61156-2, 61156-3, and 61156-4. Although both Category 5 and 5e cables are characterized to 100 MHz and can be used in Class D channels, Category 5e has additional requirements, as compared to Category 5, which make it preferred for use in systems utilizing four pairs transmitting simultaneously in both directions. These cables can be used for various communication systems that are under development and which use as many as four pairs simultaneously. In this sense, this sectional specification provides the cable characteristics required by system developers to evaluate new systems.