Cable Specification

Category 5e CMP

HIGH SPEED COMMUNICATIONS

PLENUM CABLE
CATEGORY 5e CMP
FEP JACKETED, PVC-FREE
UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR (UTP)

This cable specification complies with the electrical transmission requirements

of ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.2. This cable also complies with the flame and smoke
requirements for cable installed in ducts, plenums and other spaces used for
environmental air in accordance with Articles 725,760,770, 800, 825 and 830
of the National Electrical Code (NEC), NFPA 70.

H-96489
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section Subject

1.0 Cable Design Drawing and Summary

2.0 Introduction

3.0 Scope
3.1 Electrical Transmission
3.2 Fire Safety
3.3 Environmental Sustainability

4.0 Physical
4.1 Solid Conductors
4.2 Conductor Size
4.3 Conductor Insulation
4.4 Pair Assembly
4.5 Outer Jacket
4.6 Color Codes
4.7 Cable Marking and Identification

5.0 Mechanical
5.1 Conductor Elongation
5.2 Cable Breaking Strength
5.3 Cable Bend Radius
5.4 Temperature Rating

6.0 Transmission
6.1 General
6.2 Return Loss
6.3 Insertion Loss
6.4 Near End Cross Talk (NEXT)
6.5 Power Sum Near End Cross Talk (PSNEXT)
6.6 Equal Level Far End Cross Talk (ELFEXT)
6.7 Power Sum Equal Level Far End Crosstalk (PSELFEXT)
6.8 Propagation Delay
6.9 Propagation Delay Skew

7.0 Fire Performance

7.1 Flame Spread and Smoke

8.0 Environmental
8.1 Harmful Materials
8.2 Recyclability and Disposal

9.0 Approved Cable Manufacturers and Part Numbers

10.0 Reference Documentation

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

2 of 14
 1.0 Cable Design Drawing and Summary
Category 5e CMP - FEP Jacketed, PVC-Free

FEP
INSULATION

COPPER
CONDUCTOR

FEP
JACKET

SCOPE

This specification defines the requirements for commercially available,

high-performance Category 5e CMP plenum-rated LAN communications cable.

CABLE CONSTRUCTION

Conductor 24 AWG solid annealed copper.

Insulation FEP fluoropolymer resin on each pair.
Jacket FEP fluoropolymer.

2.0 Introduction
This specification assures a CMP plenum-rated cable that is environmentally friendly and
recyclable, while offering high speed electrical transmission performance, based on approved
industry consensus codes, standards and testing methods. New emphasis and research into
long term aging and the environmental hazards associated with legacy CMP communications
cables containing PVC, have resulted in new cable designs that eliminate the widely recognized
environmental and disposal hazards from cables containing lead and other materials used in
PVC compounds. These new cable designs, which are commercially available from several
major manufacturers, represent the cable industry’s “best available technology” have been
incorporated into this specification.

A similar specification, which complies with ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B 2, Addendum 1 is also

available where even higher electrical performance is desired. See specification: Ultra High
Speed Communications Plenum Cable, Category 6 CMP, FEP Jacketed, PVC-free, Unshielded
Twisted Pair.

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

3 of 14
 3.0 Scope
This specification defines the requirements for commercially available, high-performance
Category 5e CMP plenum-rated LAN communications cable.

3.1 Electrical Transmission

The cable design described herein complies with the electrical requirements of ANSI/TIA/
EIA-568-B.2 and is the minimum recommended for Gigabit Ethernet applications. This
specification also includes material requirements for conductor insulation and cable jacketing
to provide superior recyclability and long-term temperature and humidity stability, and to
meet the performance requirements described in Section 6.0 of this specification.

3.2 Fire Safety

This cable demonstrates low flame spread and smoke generation.

This cable complies with the flame and smoke requirements in accordance with NFPA 262 for
cable installed in ducts, plenums and other spaces used for environmental air in accordance
with Articles 725,760,770, 800, 825 and 830 of the 2002 National Electrical Code (NEC), NFPA 70

3.3 Environmental Sustainability

The cable design described herein is lead and PVC-free, and conforms to the worldwide
movement to eliminate the hazards from products containing lead and other materials used
in PVC compounds. This cable is environmentally friendly and may be recycled with no
adverse or toxic effects.

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

4 of 14
 4.0 Physical

In addition to the applicable requirements of ANSI/ICEA S-90-661, ANSI/TIA/EIA 568-B.2 and

UL 444, the physical design of the cable shall meet sections 4.1 to 4.7 inclusive.

4.1 Solid Conductors

Solid conductors shall consist of commercially pure, annealed bare copper and shall meet the
reqirements of ASTM B 3 except that requirements for “Dimensions and Permissible Variations”
are not applicable.

4.2 Conductor Size

The conductors shall be per ASTM B 258 except for dimensions. In a completed cable, the
minimum conductor diameter shall be 0.0191 inches (0.485 mm) (24 AWG). The diameter of
the insulated conductor shall be 0.048 in (1.22 mm) maximum.

4.3 Conductor Insulation

Each copper conductor shall be insulated 100% with FEP fluoropolymer resin, but may include
FEP concentrate color additives. There shall be no splices of the insulated conductor.

4.4 Pair Assembly

Cable shall consist of 4 insulated conductor pairs. The pair twist length shall be selected by
the manufacturer to assure compliance with the transmission requirements of Section 6.0.

4.5 Outer Jacket

The core, consisting of 4 insulated conductor pairs, shall be protected with an overall
thermoplastic covering generally referred to as an “outer jacket.” The jacket shall be 100%
FEP fluoropolymer resin, and may include FEP concentrate color additives, and shall meet and
maintain the physical, mechanical and electrical requirements of ASTM D4565 for the expected
life of the cable.

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

5 of 14
 4.6 Color Codes

The color code shall be as shown in Table 4.6.

Table 4.6
Color Codes for Horizontal 100 Ω UTP Cable
Conductor Color
Identification Code Abbreviation
Pair 1 White-Blue W-BL
Blue BL
Pair 2 White-Orange W-O
Orange O
Pair 3 White-Green W-G
Green G
Pair 4 White-Brown W-BR
Brown BR

Note: The conductor insulation is white, and a colored marking is added for identification.
For cables with tightly twisted pairs (all less than 38 mm [1.5 in.] per twist) the mate conductor
may serve as the marking for the white conductor. A white marking is optional.

4.7 Cable Marking and Identification

The cable jacket shall be legibly marked at least every 24 in. by surface printing throughout
the entire length of the cable. The cable shall be UL or ETL verified and include the CMP cable
Type designation:

Other cable markings shall include:

— Manufacturer’s Identification
— Type of Cable Construction
— Cable Footage Marker

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

6 of 14
 5.0 Mechanical

5.1 Conductor Elongation

Minimum elongation of conductors from a finished cable shall be in accordance with

ICEA S-90-661.

5.2 Cable Breaking Strength

Finished cable shall have a minimum breaking strength of 400 N (90 lbf), measured in
accordance with ASTM D 4565.

5.3 Cable Bend Radius

Twisted pair cables shall withstand a bend radius of 25.4 mm (1 in.) at a temperature
of –20°C ±1°C without jacket or insulation cracking when tested in accordance with
ASTM D4565, Wire Bending Test.

5.4 Temperature Rating

The cable shall be rated 200°C in accordance with UL-444.

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

7 of 14
 6.0 Electrical Transmission

Transmission requirements shall conform to all applicable sections of ANSI/TIA/EIA 568-B.2

Category 5e and the reference values expressed for measured electrical parameters.

6.1 General
DC resistance; DC resistance unbalance; Mutual capacitance; and Capacitance Unbalance
pair to ground shall be in accordance with ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2

6.2 Return Loss

Return loss is a measure of the reflected energy caused by impedance variations in the cable
and is especially important for applications that use simultaneous bi-directional transmission.
Return loss is expressed in dB relative to the reflected signal level. For all frequencies from
1 to 100 MHz, Category 5e horizontal cable return loss shall meet or exceed the values specified
in Table 6.2.

Table 6.2
Return loss @ 20°C ± 3°C (68° F ± 5.5°F), worst pair
for a length of 100 m (328 ft)
Frequency, MHz Category 5e, dB
1 ≤ ƒ ≤ 10 20 + 5 log (ƒ)
10 ≤ ƒ ≤ 20 25
20 ≤ ƒ ≤ 100 25 – 7 log (ƒ/20)

6.3 Insertion Loss

Insertion loss is a measure of the signal loss resulting from the insertion of a cable length
between a transmitter and receiver. It is often referred to as attenuation. Insertion loss is
expressed in dB relative to the received signal level. Insertion loss shall be measured for
all cable pairs in accordance with ASTM D4566 at 20 ± 3°C or corrected to a temperature
of 20°C using a 0.4 %/° C correction factor for category 5e cables for the measured
insertion loss.

Table 6.3
Insertion loss @ 20°C ± 3°C (68°F ± 5.5°F),
worst pair for a length of 100 m (328 ft)
Frequency, MHz Category 5e, dB
0.772 1.8
1.0 2.0
4.0 4.1
8.0 5.8
10.0 6.5
16.0 8.2
20.0 9.3
25.0 10.4
31.25 11.7
62.5 17.0
100.0 22.0

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

8 of 14
 6.4 Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT) Loss

NEXT loss is a measure of the unwanted signal coupling from a transmitter at the near-end
into neighboring pairs measured at the near-end. NEXT loss is expressed in dB relative to
the launched signal level. NEXT loss shall be measured for all cable pair combinations in
accordance with ASTM D4566 NEXT loss measurement procedure.

Table 6.4
Horizontal cable NEXT loss @ 20°C ± 3°C (68°F ± 5.5°F),
worst pair-to-pair, for a length of 100 m (328 ft)
Frequency, MHz Category 5e, dB
0.772 67.0
1.0 65.3
4.0 56.3
8.0 51.8
10.0 50.3
16.0 47.2
20.0 45.8
25.0 44.3
31.25 42.9
62.5 38.4
100.0 35.3

6.5 Power Sum Near-End Crosstalk (PSNEXT) Loss

Since each duplex channel can be disturbed by more than one duplex channel, PSNEXT loss
is specified for horizontal cables. PSNEXT loss takes into account the combined crosstalk
(statistical) on a receive pair from all near-end disturbers operating simultaneously. The
PSNEXT loss is calculated in accordance in accordance with ASTM D4566 as a power
sum on a selected pair from all other pairs.

Table 6.5
PSNEXT loss @ 20°C ± 3°C (68°F ± 5.5°F),
for a length of 100 m (328 ft)
Frequency, MHz Category 5e, dB
0.150 74.7
0.772 64.0
1.0 62.3
4.0 53.3
8.0 48.8
10.0 47.3
16.0 44.2
20.0 42.8
25.0 41.3
31.25 39.9
62.5 35.4
100.0 32.3

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

9 of 14
 6.6 Equal Level Far-End Crosstalk (ELFEXT)

FEXT loss is a measure of the unwanted signal coupling from a transmitter at the far-end into
neighboring pairs measured at the near-end. ELFEXT is expressed in dB as the difference
between the measured FEXT loss and the insertion loss of the distributed pair. FEXT loss
shall be measured and ELFEXT calculated for all cable pair combinations in accordance with
ASTM D4566 FEXT measurement procedure.

Table 6.6
ELFEXT @ 20°C ± 3°C (68°F ± 5.5°F),
worst pair-to-pair for a length of 100 m (328 ft)
Frequency, MHz Category 5e, dB
1.0 63.8
4.0 51.8
8.0 45.7
10.0 43.8
16.0 39.7
20.0 37.8
25.0 35.8
31.25 33.9
62.5 27.9
100.0 23.8

6.7 Power Sum Equal Level Far-End Crosstalk (PSELFEXT)

Since each duplex channel can be distributed by more than one duplex channel, equal level
far-end crosstalk (ELFEXT) is specified for horizontal cables. Power sum equal level far-end
crosstalk loss takes into account the combined crosstalk (statistical) on a receive pair from
all far-end disturbers operating simultaneously. The power sum equal level far-end crosstalk
(PSELFEXT) is calculated in accordance with ASTM D4566 as a power sum on a selected pair
from all other pairs.

Table 6.7
PSELFEXT @ 20°C ± 3°C (68°F ± 5.5°F)
for a length of 100 m (328 ft)
Frequency, MHz Category 5e, dB
1.0 60.8
4.0 48.8
8.0 42.7
10.0 40.8
16.0 36.7
20.0 34.8
25.0 32.8
31.25 30.9
62.5 24.9
100.0 20.8

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

10 of 14
 6.8 Propagation Delay

Propagation delay is the time it takes for a signal to propagate from one end to the other.
Propagation delay is expressed in nanoseconds (ns). Propagation delay shall be measured
for all cable pairs in accordance with ASTM D4566.

Table 6.8
Propagation delay, velocity of propagation and propagation delay skew for
4-pair horizontal cables @ 20°C ± 3°C (68°F ± 5.5°F)
Maximum
Maximum Minimum Velocity Propagation Delay
Frequency, Propagation Delay, of Propagation, Skew,
MHz ns/100 m % ns/100 m

1 570 58.5% 45
10 545 61.1% 45
100 538 62.0% 45

6.9 Propagation Delay Skew

Propagation delay skew is a calculation of the signaling delay difference from the fastest pair
to the slowest. Propagation delay skew is expressed in nanoseconds (ns). Propagation delay
skew shall be measured for all cable pairs in accordance with ASTM D4566.

For all frequencies between 1 MHz and the highest referenced frequency in MHz, propagation
delay skew shall not exceed 45 ns/100 m at 20°C, 40°C and 60°C. In addition, the propagation
delay skew between all pairs shall not vary more than +/- 10 ns from the measure value at 20°C
when measured at 40°C and 60°C. Compliance shall be determined using a minimum 100 m
of cable.

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

11 of 14
 7.0 Fire Safety Performance

7.1 Flame Spread and Smoke

The finished cable shall, as a minimum, meet the flame spread and smoke requirements of NFPA
262 and the listing requirements of 2002 NEC for installation in air return plenums.

Table 7.1
NFPA 262 Requirements
Flame Propagation Distance ≤ 5 Feet
Peak Optical Density ≤ 0.5
Average Optical Density ≤ 0.5

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

12 of 14
 8.0 Environmental

8.1 Harmful Materials

The finished cable shall be free of PVC and contain neither lead, cadmium or other heavy metals
nor pthalate plasticizers.

8.2 Recyclability and Disposal

The finished cable shall be fully recyclable or, if disposed, present no environmental hazard or
pollutant.

9.0 Approved Cable Manufacturers

• Belden

• Berk Tek/NEXANS

• Mohawk/CDT

• Avaya

Neither substitute cable, insulating and jacketing materials, nor manufacturers shall be
permitted.

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

13 of 14
 10.0 Reference Documentation

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

11 W 42nd St.
13th Floor
New York, NY 10036

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

100 Barr Harbor Dr.
West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959
ASTM B 3-90 Soft or Annealed Copper Wire
ASTM 4565 Cold Bend Test
ASTM D4566-94 Standard Test Methods for Electrical Performance Properties of
Insulations and Jackets for Telecommunications Wire & Cable
ASTM 4565 Physical and Environmental Properties of Insulation and Jackets
for Telecommunications Wire and Cable

Intertek Testing Services (ETL/SEMCO)

3933 U.S. Route 11
Cortland, NY 13045

Insulated Cable Engineers Association

PO Box 1568
Carrollton, GA 30117
ANSI/ICEA S-90-661 Individually Unshielded Twisted Pair Indoor Cables
Category 3,5,5e (With or Without an Overall Shield) For Use In
General Purpose and LAN Communications

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Batterymarch Park
Quincy, MA 02269
ANSI/NFPA 70 2002 National Electrical Code (NEC)
NFPA 90A Standard for the Installation of Air Conditioning and
Ventilating Systems

Telecommunications Industries Association (TIA)

2500 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA
ANSI/TIA/EIA568B.2 Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard
Part 2: Balanced Twisted Pair Cabling Components
Addendum 1 Category 6

Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

333 Pfingsten Rd.
Northbrook, IL 60062
UL 444 Standards for Communications Cable
Listing Program Subject 2424

SPECIFICATION NO. APPROVED DATE PAGE NO.

14 of 14