CAT7, or Category 7, is a type of twisted pair cable used for Ethernet networking.

Speed and Bandwidth: CAT7 cables are designed to support higher data rates and frequencies compared to previous categories. They can support data rates of up to 10 Gigabit per second (Gbps) over a maximum distance of 100 meters. CAT7 cables also support frequencies of up to 600 MHz.

Construction: CAT7 cables typically use shielded twisted pair (STP) construction, with each pair individually shielded to minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI) and crosstalk. This shielding provides superior performance in noisy environments and ensures reliable data transmission.

Applications: CAT7 cables are commonly used in data center environments, high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, and other applications that require high-speed data transfer and low latency. They are suitable for a wide range of networking applications, including data transfer, video streaming, VoIP, and multimedia applications.

Backward Compatibility: CAT7 cables are backward compatible with lower category cables, such as CAT6, CAT6a, and CAT5e. However, to fully utilize the capabilities of CAT7 cables, compatible networking equipment and connectors are required.

Standards: CAT7 cables adhere to the ISO/IEC 11801:2002 international standard for balanced twisted-pair copper cabling.