[{"id":"cat5","name":"Cat 5","freqMHz":100,"max10G":"—","maxSpeed":"100 Mbps","maxDist":"100 m","shielding":"U/UTP","jacket":"PVC","cost":1,"useFor":"Museum piece. Replace on sight.","year":1995,"blurb":"Original 100 MHz spec. Obsolete since Cat 5e arrived in 2001."},{"id":"cat5e","name":"Cat 5e","freqMHz":100,"max10G":"—","maxSpeed":"1 Gbps (2.5G to 100 m*)","maxDist":"100 m","shielding":"U/UTP","jacket":"PVC / LSZH","cost":1,"useFor":"Budget home runs, existing installs","year":2001,"blurb":"The 'e' means enhanced: tighter twists kill crosstalk so gigabit works."},{"id":"cat6","name":"Cat 6","freqMHz":250,"max10G":"55 m","maxSpeed":"10 Gbps to 55 m, 1 Gbps to 100 m","maxDist":"100 m @ 1G","shielding":"U/UTP or F/UTP","jacket":"PVC / LSZH","cost":2,"useFor":"Best value for new home installs","year":2002,"blurb":"250 MHz + spline separator. 10G works, but only for short runs."},{"id":"cat6a","name":"Cat 6A","freqMHz":500,"max10G":"100 m","maxSpeed":"10 Gbps to 100 m","maxDist":"100 m","shielding":"F/UTP or S/FTP","jacket":"LSZH / PVC","cost":3,"useFor":"10-gig everywhere, PoE++","year":2008,"blurb":"The sweet spot. Full 10G at full distance + much better alien crosstalk."},{"id":"cat7","name":"Cat 7","freqMHz":600,"max10G":"100 m","maxSpeed":"10 Gbps","maxDist":"100 m","shielding":"S/FTP","jacket":"LSZH","cost":4,"useFor":"Shielded installs, EMI-heavy sites","year":2002,"blurb":"Fully shielded pairs + GG45/TERA plugs. Never adopted by IEEE — skip for new builds."},{"id":"cat7a","name":"Cat 7A","freqMHz":1000,"max10G":"100 m","maxSpeed":"10 Gbps (+40G to 50 m)","maxDist":"100 m","shielding":"S/FTP","jacket":"LSZH","cost":4,"useFor":"Niche shielded / industrial","year":2010,"blurb":"1 GHz headroom. Real but rare — Cat 6A or Cat 8 usually win."},{"id":"cat8","name":"Cat 8","freqMHz":2000,"max10G":"100 m","maxSpeed":"25 / 40 Gbps to 30 m","maxDist":"30 m @ 40G","shielding":"S/FTP","jacket":"LSZH / PVC","cost":5,"useFor":"Data-centre short links, 25/40G","year":2016,"blurb":"2 GHz monster for switch-to-server. Short reach by design — it's a datacenter cable."}]