August 31, 2001 France-based cabling manufacturer Nexans (www.nexans.com) is installing a Category 7 structured cabling system on The World of ResidenSea luxury cruise ship—intended to be a floating home on the high seas. Passengers own their own multi-million dollar (U.S.) suites and live on-board year-round as the ship cruises around the globe.

With the Nexans Category 7 installation, residents in each luxury suite will be able to conduct business-as-usual, with access to communications services such as fax, e-mail, the Internet, and remote LAN.

The installation includes a mix of structured cabling—Category 6 connectivity, Category 7 for the resident suites, and Category 5e for the crew. The 65 kilometers of copper cabling connects to an optical-fiber network. All cables, Nexans says, are LSZH (low-smoke, zero-halogen) flame-retardant to meet safety requirements.

The ship is being built in Trondheim, Norway and is due for its maiden voyage in January. Its first port-of-call will be London's Tilbury Docks.