text: Ok... to say that it's twists per foot is, although technically accurate, a pretty lame answer.\nThere are three standards to speak of: CAT 5, CAT 5e, and CAT 6.\nTrue CAT 5 runs at 100 Mbit/s.\nCAT 5e is capable of 1000 Mbit/s (gigabit).\nCAT 6 is capable of 1000 Mbit/s (same as CAT 5e) but the difference is that due to the tighter twisting CAT 6 provides much less noise and therefor significantly reduces error correction - especially over longer distances.\nIn terms of a patch cable CAT 6 will realize a 10 X increase in speed over CAT 5 - but essentially no increase in speed versus a CAT 5e.\nIn terms of straight-through cabling CAT 6 will realize a 10 X increase in speed versus CAT 5 cabling. CAT 6 will also realize a slight increase in speed compared to CAT 5e over longer distances due to limited line noise. Over shorter distances in a straight-through situation the difference between CAT 5e and CAT 6 is negligible.\nThe trick to wiring CAT 6 is to never strip more than one inch of shielding when terminating the wire. Stripping (unpairing) more than an inch will decrease network quality.