April 4, 2008 -- Leviton Network Solutions has introduced an Augmented Category 6 (Cat 6A) connector independently tested by Intertek/ETL to exceed component performance as defined in the recently finalized ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-10 standard. The new standard defines performance and testing requirements up to 500 MHz for Cat 6A cabling systems to support the operation of IEEE 802.3an 10GBASE-T applications up to 100 meters.
The TIA standard was approved for publication at the TIA TR42 engineering committee on February 8, 2008 and is expected to be publicly available to the publicly available this month from IHS, Inc. , TIA's exclusive document distributor.
"Achieving component Cat 6A performance is extremely significant because it translates directly into greater performance margins in field testing of permanent links and channels," explains Keith Kosanovich, RCDD, Leviton's senior product manager for copper systems. "With greater margins above the Cat 6A limits, Leviton customers can be confident they are installing the highest performing Cat 6A structured cabling system available."
In order to achieve this performance, Leviton says it developed proprietary internal technologies that minimize alien crosstalk in the connector and in the channel. In addition, the Leviton Cat 6A connector utilizes patented "Cone of Silence" technology, which the company says effectively eliminates alien crosstalk between connectors in patching and work area applications.
The new connector is an integral component of Leviton's complete Cat 6A cable and connectivity platform, which the company says provides guaranteed channel margins over the TIA standard in both short distances, typically found in data center applications, and longer distances common in traditional enterprise applications to the work area. The company notes that Cat 6A components are fully backward compatible with all previous categories, including Cat 6 and Cat 5e, providing a smooth migration path to future high-speed applications such as 10GBASE-T.