The telecommunications grounding and bonding infrastructure originates with a connection to the service equipment (or power) ground and extends throughout the building, interconnecting all the telecom spaces throughout the building via the telecom pathways.
The telecommunications grounding and bonding infrastructure consists of five major components:
•bonding conductor for telecommunications
•telecommunications main grounding busbar (TMGB)
•telecommunications bonding backbone (TBB)
•telecommunications grounding busbar (TGB)
•telecommunications bonding backbone interconnecting bonding conductor (TBBIBC).
The TBB originates in the entrance facility and extends throughout the building to all telecom rooms. The function of the TBB is to equalize differences in potential between the telecom systems attached. The TBB is not intended to serve as the conductor providing a return path for ground-fault current required for actuating ground fault overcurrent protection devices.
TIA/EIA-607A should begin the balloting process this month, with publication expected in first quarter 2000.
Donna Ballast is a communications analyst at the University of Texas at Austin and a bicsi registered communications distribution designer (rcdd). Questions can be sent to her at Cabling Installation & Maintenance or at PO Drawer 7580, the University of Texas, Austin, TX 78713; tel: (512) 471-0112, fax: (512) 471-8883, e-mail: ballast@utexas.edu.
