An improved specification to Category 5 was later introduced. By reducing noise and signal interference, Category 5e was capable of increasing rated transfer speeds to 350 Mbit/s over 100 meters. The  standard also required all cables to include four twisted pairs (all eight contacts). An optimized encoding scheme allows up to 50-meter lengths of Category 5e cable to perform at, or near, Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) speeds.