4. 10-Gbit Ethernet

Optical 40/100G networks have a lot of sizzle and promise. 40G over twisted-pair, as noted earlier, is starting to make some noise as a bona fide concept. We even see reports of terabit speeds in the proof-of-concept stage. But 10G makes our list of biggest stories for the year because, let's face it, that's what people are upgrading to. Let's see how many cliches I can cram into one sentence to describe 10G's importance. It's the bread and butter, where the rubber meets the road for those who get their hands dirty designing and installing cabling systems for a living so they can keep the lights on. 10G is not the promise of the future; it's the here and now. We at Cabling Installation & Maintenance try not to lose sight of the fact that talk about the future is all fine and good, but real work needs to get done now for users who demand it now. Today, much of the real work is about 10G.