The Krone Group (www.krone.com) has introduced what it says is the world's first augmented Category 6 structured cabling system with the necessary characteristics to enable 10-Gbit/sec Ethernet transmission over a full 100 meters. This new end-to-end suite of cable and connector products, called CopperTen, is the result of Krone's technological breakthrough first announced last November at the IEEE conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Krone guarantees its CopperTen systems will have the available capacity that is greater than or equal to 18 Gbits/sec. In addition to this significant increase in bandwidth, all CopperTen products exceed the established TIA and ISO requirements for Category 6 structured cabling systems.
CopperTen was a collaborative development between Krone's research-and-design centers in the U.S., Great Britain, Germany, and Australia. Information regarding CopperTen products is available through Krone's sales offices.
Category 6 systems use unshielded twisted-pair cable. UTP-based systems are easier to install and typically more economical than shielded or fiber-optic-based networks. However, at higher frequencies these cabling systems are hindered by the technical combination of insertion loss and alien crosstalk. Alien crosstalk-interference from adjacent cables-greatly disrupts transmission and high-speed data communications. Krone's CopperTen system incorporates patent-pending design and manufacturing processes that enable the products to overcome these challenges.