TIA working on Category 8 standard

Oct. 31, 2012
The TR-42.7 Subcommittee, establishing specs for 40-Gbit/sec twisted-pair infrastructure, has chosen Cat 8 as the next generation cabling standard.

During a web seminar that updated viewers on goings-on within several cabling-standards-making organizations, Nexans’ technical manager for standards and technology Paul Vanderlaan explained that the TIA TR-42.7 Subcommittee has selected “Category 8” as the nomenclature for the next-generation twisted-pair cabling specifications they are in the early stages of developing.

The seminar was held live on October 24 and will be available for on-demand viewing through late April. It was hosted by Cabling Installation & Maintenance, which asked Vanderlaan to provide the latest-available information from TR-42.7 as well as other standards-making groups including ISO IEC JTC1 SC25 WG3 and the IEEE.

The most recent TR-42.7 meeting was held the week of October 1, and Vanderlaan stressed in the presentation that progress on the next-generation twisted-pair cabling specifications is in its earliest stages. One bullet point from Vanderlaan’s presentation effectively sums up that reality:

  • All electrical parameters have TBD values

While no “definites” could be stated, Vanderlaan did say that the alien-crosstalk performance values being discussed suggest that Category 8 will be a shielded system. He also added that the anticipated connector interface will be the RJ-45, but the prospect of backward-compatibility of Cat 8 to previous-generation Category RJ-45 interfaces is not guaranteed.

Vanderlaan’s presentation was one of three delivered during the seminar. The others covered developments in the standardization of bend-insensitive multimode fiber (delivered by OFS’s David Mazzarese) and an overview of the TIA-942-A standard as well as the continuing development of the first addendum to it (presented by CommScope’s Masood Shariff).

You can register for, and immediately view, the web seminar in its entirety here.

Reports from TIA’s TR-42 Telecommunications Cabling Systems Engineering Committee and its subcommittees, including TR-42.7, can be accessed from the TIA website here.

Sponsored Recommendations

Power up your system integration with Pulse Power - the game-changing power delivery system

May 10, 2023
Pulse Power is a novel power delivery system that allows System Integrators to safely provide significant power, over long distances, to remote equipment. It is a Class 4 power...

400G in the Data Center

Aug. 3, 2022
WHATS NEXT FOR THE DATA CENTER: 400G and Beyond

The Agile and Efficient Digital Building

May 9, 2023
This ebook explores how intelligent building solutions can help businesses improve network infrastructure management and optimize data center operations in enterprise buildings...

Revolutionize Your Network with Propel Fiber Modules

Oct. 24, 2023
Propel Fiber Modules are your gateway to the future of connectivity.