The Telecommunications Industry Association’s (TIA) TR-42.7 Engineering Committee on Telecommunications Copper Cabling Systems has initiated work on standards document TIA-568-C.2-2, which has the initial title “Balanced Twisted-Pair Telecommunications Cabling and Components Standard, Addendum 2: Additional Considerations for Category 6A Patch Cord Testing.” According to a call-for-interest posted by the TIA, Addendum 2 to the 568-C.2 standard will introduce Category 6A patch-cordtest requirements to allow test heads that are qualified to IEC 61935-2, to be used to qualify a patch cord to TIA 568C.2 Category 6A compliance.
The TIA explained, “TIA C6A test heads and IS C6A test heads used for measurement of patch cords have slightly differing requirements. These differences cause negligible difference to measured patch-cord results, however they create a situation where a patch cord test head cannot be both TIA- and ISO-compliant. This causes practical difficulties in both laboratory and field measurements of cords. This addendum is intended to address these challenges by harmonizing compliance between the two sets of standards.”
The TIA is actively seeking participation in this project; its call for interest indicated stakeholders may include network designers, installers, building owners, building tenants, field-tester manufacturers, patch-cord manufacturers, connecting-hardware manufacturers, laboratory test-equipment manufacturers, and cabling installers. Anyone interested in participating can email [email protected].