Cisco and Friends Chase WiFi's Searing Speeds With New Cable Standard

Cisco is buddying with three semiconductor companies to push Cat 5e and Cat 6 connections beyond the gigabit mark to bring the world of online Ethernet speeds at the table of the future rules of the WiFi network.

The Borg, along with Freescale, Xilinx and Aquantia, has looked at the wiring of the company and found wanting: whereas wireless vendors are preparing to send 802.11ac Wave 2 products that could handle access to the range of multi-Gbps cables connecting the access points cannot keep up.

Announcing the Alliance Base-T, Cisco says it wants to avoid companies having to upgrade the wiring to deliver solutions Wave 2 (a consideration that would risk crimping the market for the next generation of Wi-Fi, not to mention proposed next standard in the 5 GHz band, 802.11ax).

Hence Base-T (guild page here): the objective is to create technologies that will be given the data at 5 Mbps through the Ethernet standard distance of 100 meters, while maintaining the excess power over Ethernet to power access points. The partners also intend auto negotiation lower speed - 2.5 Gbps, and 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps - if necessary.

Cisco says the alliance will also work on interoperability, as well as working with standards bodies to set speed increases Nbase-T will use.