Agilent Technologies’ WireScope Pro Exceeds Test Requirements for Category 6A Structured Cabling

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that its WireScope Pro cable tester meets and exceeds the requirements for certifying Category 6A structured LAN cabling.

The TIA engineering committee TR-42, responsible for specifying user-premises telecommunications cabling requirements, approved the publication of committee draft SP-3-4426-AD10-D-3 at the TR42 Plenary session held in February in Tampa, Fla. In non-standard language, the standard for Category 6A is approved for publication as ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-10.

This long-awaited standard specifies requirements and recommendations for 100 Ohm 4-pair augmented Category 6 cabling, alien crosstalk field measurement test procedures and accuracy requirements for level IIIe field testers. The standard includes extending the frequency range to 500 MHz and adding test requirements such as alien crosstalk to those specified in ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2 (Category 6) and its addenda.

* Annex E of the standard details field measurement procedures that can be used to measure the alien crosstalk properties of installed Category 6A cabling.
* Annex I of the standard specifies the accuracy requirements for level IIIe field testers. The field test equipment used to perform the assessment of Category 6A cabling shall meet the accuracy requirements for level IIIe field testers.

Agilent’s WireScope Pro and SwiftAXT network cable testers meet and exceed the requirements of ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2 Annex E and Annex I. In October 2006, WireScope Pro was independently verified to comply with the more stringent ISO/IEC Level IV field tester accuracy performance parameters for certification of Class F cabling.

“The WireScope Pro has set new benchmarks for speed and efficiency in LAN cabling certification,” said Joachim Peerlings, general manager of Agilent’s Broadband Deployment business. “With its alien crosstalk test solution that suits the needs of field testing, WireScope Pro is extremely well positioned to become the preferred Category 6A LAN cabling tester.”

U.S. Pricing and Availability

The Agilent WireScope Pro is available in various product kits, with pricing starting at $7,326.