Nexans’ cabling waits for 10 Gig

An alert reader recently pointed out that a Paris company called Nexans currently makes Category 7 cabling, the kind of wiring that would be suitable for running 10 Gigabit Ethernet over 100 meters – once the standard is approved.

Nexans calls its cabling apparatus the LANmark-7 GG45 system. It is capable of handling applications that need 600 MHz. It uses GG45 connectors and is backward-compatible with Cat 6 installations and RJ45 connectors to work with Cat 5 and Cat 6 components. Upgrading to Cat 7 just requires an exchange of patch cords, according to the company.

Earlier this year Nexans approved Ideal Industries’ Lantek 7 cable tester for testing installations of its cabling system, calling it the only cable certifier on the market capable of testing Cat 7 installations in accordance with the standard. Nexans said the tester allows field measurements over the entire 600 MHz of frequency, rather than the 300 MHz in other field testers. Ideal Industries offers an adapter to work with the GG45 connector.

In November, Nexans and chip maker Mysticom worked together to demonstrate interoperability between Mysticom’s 10 Gigabit Ethernet transceiver – which is designed for “extended distances” of 10 Gig over copper lines – and the Cat 7 cabling system. (Actually, the chips support Fibre Channel and InfiniBand in addition to 10 Gig Ethernet.) The companies said the tests were successful. But they only attempted communications over 25 meters of cable, not the 100 meters hoped for by standards developers.