CAT5 and CAT6 are typically installed as four-pair; it's difficult to find cable containing more than the typical four-pair (8P8C) connections.
Previously, someone wrote that "CAT5 and CAT6 are defined as four pair." The reality is a bit more subtle -- there are separate performance (X amount of crosstalk/loss at a frequency of Y MHz) and cabling specs (Q pins, with pairs ordered as 1-2, 3-6, 4-5, 7-8, cable colors pink, green, blue with polka dots, etc.).
I have found 25 pair CAT5 cable. Cables on Demand, for example, carries this under part number MP-5T90FFUNNA. It terminates in giant RJ-21 connectors on each end. They also make breakout cables to connect to standard RJ-45 ports.
Expect to pay through the nose for this, though. It looks like it runs 85 cents/foot in 100 foot lengths, vs. 5-6 cents/foot for standard CAT5 in 1000 foot spools.
There is the USB cable and the twisted pair cable (Cat 5 and Cat 6) for networking.
It's short for "category five", which is a type of cabling. The "Cat 5" part refers to the technical specifications of the cable, such as the bandwidth. Cat 5 cable is (usually) unshielded twisted-pair.
CAT 5 Cable and RJ 45 Cable (Twisted-pair Ethernet). Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cable
Cat-5 cable, sometimes called Ethernet cable, is short for Category 5 cable, a current industry standard for network and telephone wiring. Cat-5 cable is unshielded wire containing four pairs of 24-gauge twisted copper pairs, terminating in an RJ-45 jack. If a wire is certified as Cat-5 and not just a twisted pair wire, it will have "Cat-5" printed on the shielding.
It reduces the opportunity for the signals on one pair to be transferred accidentally to a different pair.
4 pairs of wires, or 8 wires total
Any that use a Cat 5 or better twisted pair cable
Both the coaxial cable and twisted pair cable have a basic connection medium for network cabling. <<>> Coaxial cable can be used for transmission of RF (radio frequencies) whereas Cat 5 (twisted pairs cable) can not.
Ethernet cable being shielded or unshielded twisted pair or CAT 5.
1. Copper UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) 2. Optical Fiber
Cable twisting length is not standardized. In a typical cable there are 1.5 to 2 twists per cm in Cat-5(e) and 2 or more twists per cm in Cat-6. One cm equals 0.393701 inches. Within a single cable, each coloured pair have different twist lengths. Each cable manufacturer's twists per pair is usually different from another manufacturer.
Cat-5 has 4 pairs and 8 wires