Ethernet Speeds, Standards, and the Road Ahead
In this episode of Inside Electronics, host Alix Paultre interviews Jeff Kring, Product Manager for Integrated Connector Modules at Bel, about Ethernet’s evolution. They discuss Base-T Ethernet’s ubiquity, how Power over Ethernet has extended its life, and the roles of cabling standards and IEEE speed standards.
Kring explains why 2.5G and 5G emerged as practical “fill-in” speeds that let buildings with Cat5e and Cat6 cabling gain more bandwidth without costly rewiring. He also covers PoE’s growing power needs for Wi-Fi base stations and security cameras, the importance of magnetics qualification, and how reference designs help ensure performance, emissions compliance, and interoperability.
The conversation closes with a look at future speeds like 25G and 40G Base-T, which exist as standards but lack market-ready chips.
About the Author
Alix Paultre
Editor-at-Large, Electronic Design
An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the US military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications in the embedded electronic engineering space. Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Also check out his YouTube watch-collecting channel, Talking Timepieces.
