BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Capitalizing on the groundbreaking market impact of the most deployed Ethernet specification to-date, the 1000BASE-T standard, the Ethernet Alliance and the NBASE-T Alliance today announced a new collaborative effort designed to accelerate mainstream deployment of 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T Ethernet. This technology multiplies network throughput of the more than 70 billion meters of Cat5e and Cat6 cabling sold throughout the last 13 years. As part of the push to leverage this massive infrastructure, the two organizations plan to validate multi-vendor interoperability at a plugfest event scheduled for the week of October 10, 2016 at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) in Durham, NH.
“The availability of tested, interoperable equipment conforming to a single standard will drive future generations of advanced network performance and innovative new applications,” said John D’Ambrosia, chairman, Ethernet Alliance; and senior principal engineer, Huawei. “As IEEE prepares to ratify the IEEE P802.3bz™ 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T standard, our upcoming plugfest will help speed its global adoption and make the most of the expansive 1000BASE-T infrastructure that exists today. As the leading industry voice of Ethernet, our mission is to accelerate its deployment. This joint initiative with the NBASE-T Alliance is a natural progression of that goal.”
“Based on the strong ecosystem developed by the NBASE-T Alliance, and the rapid adoption of 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T technology, we are ready for the next phase of broad deployment,” said Peter Jones, chairman, NBASE-T Alliance; and principal engineer, Cisco. “The unparalleled benefits of 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T Ethernet technology are enabling new capabilities throughout the industry and the upcoming plugfest will be a significant milestone to showcase this success. We look forward to the joint plugfest with the Ethernet Alliance to speed product deployment and move the industry forward.”