Superior Essex Creates Unique Cable to Battle and Beat Alien Crosstalk

When it comes to data protection, many people immediately think of software, but rarely hardware. Even fewer consider cable as a means of protecting data, but the right cable can make a huge difference.

Based on industry studies of Alien Crosstalk (AXT) and its effects on cable channel performance, Superior Essex has discovered that a cable’s design can greatly impact data quality as it is being transmitted and received – as well as how it eventually reaches the end user. This research led the company to design and manufacture their 10Gain® XP cable, the first Category 6A product to offer a non-continuous shield, which provides 7dB margin over AXT performance requirements.

The Problems with Attenuation and Alien Crosstalk

Attenuation – the reduction in the strength of a signal – can be caused by several issues, including:

• The transmission medium. All electrical signals transmitted down electrical conductors create an electromagnetic field around the transmission, and this causes energy loss down the cable. The loss gets worse depending on the frequency of the signal and the length of the cable run.
• Conductors and connectors. Attenuation can occur as a signal passes across different conductive mediums and mated connector surfaces.
• Alien Crosstalk (AXT) from adjacent cabling. AXT is electromagnetic noise that can occur in cables that run alongside one or more other signal-carrying cables.

It is this last issue, in particular, that the 10Gain XP CAT 6A solution was developed to combat. AXT is called “alien” because this form of crosstalk happens between different cables in a group or bundle, rather than between individual wires within a single cable. The result is electromagnetic noise that is too complex to be dealt with by phase-cancellation measures. And, because it resembles noise rather than signals, AXT degrades the performance of a communications system.

Superior Essex evaluated the impact of AXT on cable performance so the company could innovate and design a solution that would mitigate performance issues. It found that the overall noise level for CAT 6A channels can only be improved by adding additional immunity to AXT in the system.

Based on that research, Superior Essex created its 10Gain XP CAT 6A cable with a patented segmented metal shield to limit the effects of AXT on channel performance. This proprietary, non-conductive isolation wrap, which contains discontinuous sections of metallized material held in place by a polymeric layer, protects data as it is transmitted over cabling infrastructure.

In addition to many its technical benefits, 10Gain XP is the only cable of its type to be manufactured in a third-party certified Zero Waste to Landfill facility and to offer Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs), which allow it to contribute towards LEED, WELL and other green building certifications.

So the next time you need to battle and beat Alien Crosstalk and improve channel performance, think 10Gain XP cable. And every time you think of cabling, think Superior Essex, because they’re everywhere you live and work. Contact your local Accu-Tech representative to learn more.