In ascending order of popularity, here's a round-up of the top ten most-viewed industry news and featured stories of 2018, as seen at CablingInstall.com and Cabling Installation & Maintenance magazine. Enjoy!
10. A case for Category 8 copper connectivity
By YAKOV BELOPOLSKY, Stewart Connector -- Copper cabling has a future, and the ARJ45 connector is a big part of it.
9. How the trade war and tariffs affect cabling professionals
In a recent blog post, Belden’s Dwayne Crawford takes a close-to-home look at the trade war and tariffs that are making international-news and Wall Street headlines. “Let’s break down how these current and future actions are likely to impact your business,” he says, then does exactly that.
8. Fiber cabling installation and testing standard available for free download
The Fiber Optic Association (FOA) now offers a standard it co-created with the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) for free download. The standard, NECA/FOA-301 Installing and Testing Fiber Optics, “was created to be a document that could be used as a guide to installation practices and also be quoted in project paperwork to define what was meant by installation in a ‘neat and workmanlike manner,’” the FOA explains.
7. Solutions Guide: Cabling Standards Development and Implementation
This guide provides information on current standards-development activities, and best practices for implementing existing standards. As some cabling standards emerge and others evolve, they continue to be the bedrock upon which many projects are specified and built. Understanding the intent and details of these standards can enable cabling system designers, installers and users to ensure their built infrastructures will support current and future applications.
6. Do-it-yourself fiber-optic infrastructure
By KOBY RESHEF, PacketLight Networks -- Buying network infrastructure (or service) from a major carrier may be efficient, convenient, and certainly hands-off, but often comes at a considerable cost.
5. Single pair Ethernet: Data and power for the wired world
By CHRIS DIMINICO, MC Communications -- The single pair Ethernet standards are poised to provide a unifying communication protocol, a common networking infrastructure, and power for the evolving sensor technologies that will extend the cost-effectiveness and plug and-play simplicity of Ethernet to all corners of the wired world.
4. IEEE 802.3bs 200-Gbit/sec and 400-Gbit/sec Ethernet standard approved
In a recent blog post, Leviton’s Gary Bernstein described the different iterations of the IEEE’s 200/400-Gbit Ethernet standard—IEEE 802.3bs—and also explained the practical effects the now-approved standard will have on cabling-system deployments in data centers.
3. The role of fiber in 5G networks
Regardless of the wireless technology employed, fiber will be the supporting infrastructure for 5G networks, notes L-Com Global Connectivity. "The stringent requirements for 5G heavily rely upon the interconnected backbone in the short term," writes the company's technical staff. "Intensive 5G fiber-optic backhaul is necessary to seamlessly stream bandwidth-intensive applications such as 4K video."
2. Cat 5 vs. Cat 6 vs. Cat 7 vs. Cat 8 Ethernet network cable comparison
Found on Youtube, this purported video primer from Sewell Direct, a designer and supplier of network cable and connectivity for the AV solutions market, mentions copper-clad aluminum (CCA) cable as among the range of available options for Category 5e and Category 6 media. CablingInstall.com would like to emphasize that, per the guidance of the Communications Cable and Connectivity Association (CCCA), copper clad aluminum conductors as found in Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables violate UL, TIA and NEC standards, and should NEVER be used.
1. Top 10 global ribbon fiber-optic cable suppliers identified
According to a February 2018 study by technology market analyst The Insight Partners, the global market for ribbon fiber-optic cable is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% until 2025. The most significant suppliers to the worldwide ribbon fiber-optic cable market are listed by the report. Topping the list are CommScope, Corning and Fujikura.
