Nexans partners with Bel Stewart to develop a Cat7 jack for active equipment

(01/12/2006)

Nexans has signed a partnership agreement with Bel Stewart, for the development of a high-speed GG45 connector interface. This partnership will allow both firms to offer a comprehensive product range.

Nexans and Bel Stewart are already producing components using the GG45 interface for copper cabling (GG45 IEC60603-7-7) and their R&D teams have now joined forces to develop an 8-way PCB-mounted connector especially designed for active-equipment manufacturers.

By combining the strengths of both companies – Nexans expertise in high-frequency connector performance and Bel Stewart’s experience of high-volume production for active-equipment manufacturers – the partnership ensures a quick time-to-market, whilst also delivering compatibility between their respective product ranges.

Both companies will market the product independently, Bel Stewart under the name ARJ45, and Nexans under GG45. The partnership represents a major endorsement of the GG45 specification developed by Nexans, which has established itself as the preferred solution in the marketplace. A recent CRU study cites Nexans GG45 Cat7 Connectors as “proving to be the more popular choice to date” among the available ‘true’ Cat7 connector versions.

Martin Rossbach, Director Product Marketing Nexans Cabling Solutions commented: “The drastically increased interest for high frequency RJ45 form compatible connectors is mainly caused by the new development for 10 Gigabit over Twisted Pair cables. The 8-way Cat7 PCB jack will address this need with the highest performance available in the market place”.

Derek Imschweiler, Product Manager Bel Stewart added: “Interoperability is a crucial factor in the highly competitive structured cabling market, which makes this joint-venture all the more significant as it represents the only proven intermatable offering for Category 7a proposed by independent manufacturers. That is why we are very proud of this partnership”.

Related categories:  Company changes   Connection equipment   Network and data cabling