Belden CDT, fresh out of last year’s merger with Cable Design Technologies Corp., hit the ground running at the BICSI Winter Conference with the introduction of new technologies.
“These are based on synergies, an effect of the merger,” says Warren Davies, channel marketing manager for Belden CDT Networking (Fort Mill, SC; Pointe-Claire, Quebec; www.BeldenIBDN.com).
Belden Inc., based in St. Louis, MO, and Cable Design Technologies Corp., based in Schaumburg, IL, announced their merger plans last February. Company representatives, speaking at a press conference at BICSI, unveiled:
• PowerSense, a line of high-performance power distribution products designed for Power over Ethernet (PoE) applications.
• Belden IBDN System 10GX, an advanced structured cabling system for 10- Gigabit Ethernet Technology. The copper-based solution is designed to provide a cost-effective new installation, or seamless upward migration path from existing 100Base-T and 1000Base-T cable plants.
The announcements come roughly six monthsafter the merger became complete last July 15. “It was the birth of a new company-a billion dollar plus company,” says Davies.
Belden CDT is now headquartered in St. Louis, has 6,000 employees, 28 plants and five business units. Since the merger, the combined company has been quite busy. “There has been a great deal of development,” says Davies.
PowerSense technology includes midspan in-line hubs, which provide power to remote IP devices (such as VoIP, telephone sets and IP cameras) by inserting DC power on unused pairs of the network cable system without disturbing data transmission. The hubs are complimented by a line of network connectivity components. This line includes PoE connectors, plug-and-play Ethernet and fast Ethernet media converters, UTP or optical-fiber transceivers, an Ethernet hub that accepts UTP, optical fiber or BNC transceivers, and the Realtime Ethernet Network Tester.
Belden IBDN System 10GX is an end-to-end UTP cabling solution for 10-Gigabit Ethernet networks. The system is billed as a UTP solution designed around a series of enabling technologies, including SpiralFleX Cable Design-a cable design that features a filler twisted around the four cable pairs and a unique internal cross-web design; and MatriX IDC Technology, an IDC design and patch panel plug layout.
It also includes the X-Bar Installation Device, a control device that affixes to the module to enable accurate positioning of each UTP pair for termination on the 10GX Module’s IDC pins; and FleXPoint PCB Technology, which uses a flexible printed circuit board to bring the compensation circuitry to the point of contact with the plug.
Davies says the newly merged company is now in a race to come up with products in a market that is on the cusp of change. A big part of that change revolves around 10-Gigabit Ethernet over copper. Belden CDT was one of many manufacturers who unveiled such a product at the BICSI Winter Conference.
“We announced our intention to merge as a ‘merger of equals’ to create a new company with a different dynamic, and create a new company that would be better poised to compete in the changing dynamics of the market,” says Davies.
This latest, “seamless” round of product unveilings, Davies adds, shows that both companies are achieving a synergy. Davies says networking now represents 40% of the company’s revenue, while electronics represents 60%.
“We see benefits in productivity, cost reductions and research and development,” Davies explains. “We are committed to a best practices approach. In pursuing the merger, the executives of both felt that there should be more than just creating a new company with a better balance sheet. Our employees’ priorities in bringing these companies together are to create a synergistic effect.”
Corning Cable Systems, 3Com team up to promote fiber-to-the-desk Corning Cable Systems (Hickory, NC; www.corning.com/cablesystems).and 3Com (Santa Clara, CA; www.3com.com) have come up with a joint solution that they believe will improve fiber installations.“It’s a joint alliance that will promote fiber-to-the-desk,” says Doug Coleman, manager of technology and standards strategy for private networks for Corning Cable Systems.
Representatives from both companies spoke during the recent BICSI Winter Conference in Orlando, FL. The solution includes Corning Cable Systems’ LANscape Optical Connectivity Solutions and 3Com’s IntelliJack Switch NJ240FX. The system is designed to provide end-users with access to an economical fiber-to-the-desk (FTTD) solution with long-term reliability and future-proof connectivity.
Coleman says the solution, which uses the 3Com device with optical components from Corning Cable Systems, will provide end users with a low-cost, simple method for deploying FTTD. He says that by deploying a combination of the LANscape Solutions with the IntelliJack Switch, end-users can afford extremely high bandwidth and reliability.
The LANscape solution includes high-bandwidth optical cable, connectors and hardware for a variety of environments. The IntelliJack Switch, which is a wall-mounted switch with an optical-fiber uplink, leverages existing copper connections in desktop devices.
Samuel Nagalingam, product marketing manager for 3Com’s Personal Systems Division, says that by connecting an optical cable to the back of the IntelliJack Switch, end users can turn a single Ethernet connection into four fully manageable ports, expanding the number of network connections at an end-user location.
“The IntelliJack Switch is designed to meet federal standards, making it an ideal product for the government,” says Nagalingam. “It has a number of applications in other environments, such as universities or companies that require the bandwidth and security of fiber networks.”