Berk-Tek adds power-sum 25-pair Cat 5e cable to multipair offerings

Berk-Tek, a Nexans company (www.berk-tek.com) recently announced that it has expanded its line of multipair cables with the addition of a 25-pair Power Sum Category 5e design. The cable is intended "to provide increased flexibility to designers, integrators, OEMs, and end-users in interconnect and zone-cabling applications," the company said in a release announcing the product's availability.

The new 25-pair design can be used with existing 50-pin RJ-21 connectors, giving users a traditional Category 5 termination option. In addition, the cable delivers Category 5e performance when used in a zone-cabling architecture, providing flexibility whether the cabling plant employs a consolidation point or a multi-user telecommunications outlet assembly.

"Zone cabling keeps the majority of the channel intact during a MAC [move/add/change]," said Dan Kennefick, copper business manager for Berk-Tek, "while still providing maximum flexibility for reconfiguring the work-area cables."

Installing four-pair cable in a home-run configuration is the most widely installed network-cabling installation practice. The entire length of cable is removed or rerouting during a MAC, making the process time-consuming and expensive, Kennefick said.

"The zone cabling approach simplifies the cable layout by consolidating the number of distribution points," said Kennefick. "Less cable is disturbed, which is a major advantage to the long-term investment of the cabling plant."

The product's performance is ITS/ETL Semko verified to meet the TIA/EIA-568B.2 standard, and is available for immediate orders in plenum and riser-rated versions.