Network Cable Standards:TIA,EIA,ISO11801,EN50173

In today's article, we will discuss some domestic and international network cable standards and specifications related to network cables.

We will focus on following network cable standards: TIA,EIA,ISO11801,EN50173

1. What standards apply to network cables?

 

Organizations such as the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) have established standards for network cabling, such as the TIA/EIA-568 series. These standards set a maximum transmission distance of 100 meters for twisted pair cables (e.g., Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a) to ensure performance metrics like data rate and error rate are met.

In China, the national network cable standard for is GB/T 11818-2002. According to this standard, network cables are mainly divided into five categories. Different types of network cables have different transmission speeds and frequency ranges, making them suitable for various transmission scenarios and requirements. The standard specifies the structure, shape, technical requirements, test methods, packaging, and labeling of network cables. According to this standard, network cables are mainly divided into five categories: Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, and Cat7. Different types of network cables have different transmission rates and frequency ranges, meeting the needs of various scenarios.

 

The ISO/IEC 11801 standard, "Information technology - Generic cabling for customer premises," is maintained by the ISO/IEC JTC1 SC25 committee. This standard describes how to design a generic structured cabling system for multiple network applications, which can also be used for control systems, industrial automation, HDBASE-T, and other applications. The performance levels and transmission distances of twisted pair and optical fiber cabling are clearly defined in this standard.

 

EN 50173 (or CELENECEN 50173, "Information technology - Generic cabling systems") is a European standard similar to ISO 11801 but more stringent. For example, twisted pair cables typically use low-smoke, zero-halogen materials.

 

2. IEC/TIA 568 standard for network cables

 

The TIA 568 standard (also known as ANSI/TIA 568, "Information technology - Customer premises cabling") is a North American standard developed by TIA, defining telecommunications cabling standards for commercial buildings. The standard specifies several categories of twisted pair cabling and their frequencies, including Cat5e (100MHz), Cat6 (250MHz), Cat6a (500MHz), and Cat8 (2000MHz). Typically, the resistance of the network link under this standard is 150Ω. Most technicians know this standard because of the 568A and 568B wiring sequences.

However, the IEC/TIA 568 standard covers much more, including:

- The composition of structured cabling systems

- Design elements of various subsystems in structured cabling systems

- Product selection for various subsystems in structured cabling systems

- Performance levels of balanced twisted pair systems

- Performance levels of optical fiber systems

- Design of structured cabling systems for commercial buildings

 

The ANSI/TIA/EIA-568.B standard was replaced by ANSI/TIA-568.C in 2009. ANSI/TIA-568.C is divided into four parts: - ANSI/TIA-568.C.0: Generic cabling standard for customer premises - ANSI/TIA-568.C.1: Telecommunications cabling standard for commercial buildings - ANSI/TIA-568.C.2: Balanced twisted pair telecommunications cabling and connecting hardware standard - ANSI/TIA-568.C.3: Optical fiber cabling and connecting hardware standard [1]

 

3. ISO 11801 and EN 50173 standards for network cables

 

ISO 11801 is a globally recognized generic standard for structured cabling, widely applicable to commercial building cabling, industrial cabling, home cabling, data center cabling, and building service facilities cabling. Similar to the TIA 568 standard, the balanced twisted pair cables under this standard use thermoplastic insulation materials; however, the resistance of the network link under this standard is 100Ω.

The table below shows the correspondence between channel link grades and twisted-pair/rj45 connector grades.

 

The EN 50173 standard series includes five parts (EN 50173-1 to EN 50173-5), covering IT applications in neutral communication rooms. - EN 50173-1: General requirements - EN 50173-2: Office buildings - EN 50173-3: Industrial buildings - EN 50173-4: Residential units - EN 50173-5: Data centers

 

4. Differences between multiple standards for network cables

 

TIA 568 is the oldest cabling standard, ISO 11801 is the most widely used, and EN 50173 is the strictest of the three. Although the application environments of these three standards (such as campus networks, commercial buildings, etc.) are basically the same, they differ in categories, resistance, levels, materials, and other aspects.