Number 3 | September 2007 | http://www.nexans.com/laNsystems

10 GIG

Leading the way

HEalTHCaRE AZ Sint-Jan AV optimises care processes

CaT 7

Setting the standard worldwide

STRaTEGY

A bright future ahead

in this issue: R&d ROadMap latest technical developments • VIEwpOINT partners give their feedback SERVICES adding value • COMpETENCE CENTRE INTERVIEw a faster connection for the future

BelgiumNexans Cabling SolutionsHead OfficeAlsembergsteenweg 2, b31501 Buizingen

United KingdomNexans Cabling Solutions and Intelligent Enterprise Solutions 2 Faraday Office ParkFaraday RoadBasingstokeHampshire RG24 8QQ

FranceNexans France4 - 10 rue Mozart92 587 Clichy cedex

GermanyNexans Cabling Solutions Bonnenbroicher Strasse 2 - 1441 238 Mönchengladbach

SpainNexans IberiaEdificio Atica 3, 3°CAvda. de las dos Castillas, 3328 223 Pozuelo de Alarcon (Madrid)

The NetherlandsNexans Cabling Solutions Overschieseweg, 3173112 NC Schiedam

THaNK YOUJacob Alexander • Gerd Backhaus Sven Baetens • Yakov Belopolsky • Philippe Berte Jean-Michel Démirdjian • Hilde Ghequière • Tarek Helmy Sylvana Hillegeer • Melissa Hoffman • Mike Holmes Markus Huber • Sophie Huet • H. JägerVadim Kolodey • R. Magnin • Leonardo MartinezJacques Menager • Simon Meredith • David Messara Glynn Philips • Britt Proost • Achim Psenitza Mark Rogers • Jesús Román • Koen Rommens Martin Rossbach • Jesús Salceda Oene-Wim Stallinga • Jirina Stoclet • Frederik Thorn Anne-Mie Vansteelant • Bart Verduyn

RESpONSIBlE EdITOROene-Wim Stallinga

dESIGN & pROdUCTIONLiving Stone n.v.

Sa NExaNS CaBlING SOlUTIONS NVAlsembergsesteenweg, 2, b 3B-1501 Buizingen – BelgiumTel.: + 32 (0)2 363 38 00Fax: + 32 (0)2 365 09 99

pHOTOGRapHYBelgian Post, Corbis, Getty Images, Living Stone, United Nations

NExaNS (GROUp’S HEadqUaRTERS)16, rue de Monceau75008 Paris – FranceTel.: + 33 (0)1 56 69 84 00Fax: + 33 (0)1 56 69 84 84

MaIl aNY OF YOUR INFORMaTION qUESTIONS TO

cablethefuture.ncs@nexans.com

http://www.nexans.com/laNsystems

The “Cable the Future” magazine from Nexans Cabling Solutions is distributed in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

3 | EdITORIal Apremierclassplayeronaglobalscale

4 | 10 GIGaBIT Leadingthewayin10Govercopper

6 | HEalTHCaRE Putting10Gfibretoworkinhealthcare

8 | CaTEGORY-7 SettingthestandardforCategory-7solutionsworldwide

10 | STRaTEGY Abrightfutureahead

12 | R&d ROadMap •Leapingthe10Gbarrier

•Hi-SpeedPlasticOpticalFibre

•Emphasisonperformance

•Snap-inpanelsmakelifeeasierforinstallers

14 | R&d INTERVIEw Makingafasterconnectionforthefuture

16 | paRTNER VIEwpOINT Addingvaluetogether

•MeetingtheneedsoftwomajorpublicserviceorganisationsinBelgium

•Bringinghigh-speedbroadbandintoSwedishhomes

•WorkingwithVolvoandGothenburgUniversitytomeetconnectivityneeds

18 | SERVICES Spacesavinginnovation

Copyright 2007 SA Nexans Cabling Solutions. All rights reserved. LANmark, LANsense and GG45 are registered trademarks of Nexans.

2

Editoriala pREMIER ClaSS plaYER ON a GlOBal SCalE

The Nexans Group is one of the largest

andmostrespectedcablingsystemscom-

paniesintheworld.Itisnotonlyalead-

ingsupplierofsolutions,butalsoalead-

ing developer and active participant in

thedevelopmentofstandards.Indeed,in

many areas, Nexans is a premier league

global player, something perhaps we’ve

stopped recognising ourselves since we

becameindependentoftheAlcatelGroup.

ThiseditionofCable the Futureillustrates

these facts very well.A number of large

and highly significant customers from

aroundtheworldarefeatured.Nexansis

working at the highest levels with pres-

tigious organisations such as the United

Nations in Switzerland, with Volvo in

Sweden, and with major public services

organisations in Belgium. These are just

afewexamplesofthehighcalibreofour

global customer base – which continues

togrow.

Thisissuealsocontainsindeptharticles

that explain how Nexans is leading the

wayinthedevelopmentof10gigabitcop-

persolutionsbydevelopingscreenedso-

lutions thatmeet customerneeds, today

andintothefuture.Weareactivelyseeing

customerschoseour10Gscreenedsolu-

tionsinmarkets,suchasScandinaviaand

the Middle East, that have previously

beendominatedbyunshieldedproducts.

Nexans has also established GG45 con-

nectors as the global standard for

Category-7. In this issue you will find

detailsofaninitiativetopushtheGG45

into even higher frequencies, another

example of our continued commitment

tonextgenerationtechnologies.

As well as providing mainstream struc-

turedcablingsolutions,Nexansisaddress-

ingtheneedsofcustomersinspecificin-

frastructure areas. In particular, we are

helping many organisations all over the

worldaddresskeyissuesinthedatacentre

– the need to save space, reduce power

consumption and provide a more man-

ageable,cost-efficientinfrastructure.

Onemarket trendwhich is continues to

grow is the drive towards intelligent in-

frastructuremanagement.OurLANsense

advanced management system is a key

asset here – both for Nexans and its

customers. As network infrastructures

becomemorecomplexandorganisations

become more dependent upon them,

cost-efficient and effective management

will become much more important.

Nexansiswell-placedtomeetthoseneeds

withLANsense.

In summary we believe Nexans Cabling

Solutions is ideally positioned to meet

ourcustomersneeds,onaglobalscale.As

PascalPortevin,ExecutiveVicePresident

StrategicOperationsatNexans,saysinhis

articleonpages10and11,Nexansexperi-

enceandtechnologyleadershipmakesus

aclearleaderbothinourcommitmentto

further develop customer focused solu-

tionsaswellasourability tooffer these

solutions on a global scale. The future,

doesindeedlookbright.

Mark Rogers

Managing Director

Nexans Cabling Solutions

United arab EmiratesNexans Middle EastP.O. Box 47889Abu Dhabi

NorwayNexans Norway aSRegnbeuveien 7PO Box 100N-1403 Langhus

SwedenNexans IKO Sweden aBFöretagsvägen 2SE-435 33 Mölnlycke

ChinaShanghai Nexans Kanghua CableN°135 Lane 82 Nanchen Road200436 Shanghai – PR China

KoreaKukdong Electrical wire7th Floor l’Park Tower160 Samseong-DongGangnam-gu – Seoul

SingaporeNexans Singapore20 Harbour Drive #07-03 PSA Vista117612 Singapore

United StatesNexans Cabling Solutions30 Jericho Turnpike, #140Commack, NY 11725

RomaniaNexans Romania4 Marasti Boulevard, Ap2, sector 172321 Bucharest

polandNexans polska Sp. z o.o.Ul. Wiejska 1847-400 Raciborz

RussiaNexans CIS lCCSredniy Ovhinnikovskiy per., 8business centre “Arkadia”office 607115184 Moscow

IndiaNexans Singapore pte. ltd.India Liaison Office505, 5th Floor, Mercantile House,15, Kasturba Gandhi Marg,New Delhi - 110 001; India

South africaNexans Cabling SolutionsAssociation House143 Newlands AvenueWestern ExtensionBenoni 1501

3EdITORIal | A premier class player on a global scale

1 0 G I G A B I T

Leading the way in 10G over copperAs an increasing number of end-user organisations move to 10 gigabit infra-structures, Nexans focus on providing practical ‘zero risk’ solutions is paying off.

Last year 10% of all Nexans LANmark-6 sales

were for 10 gigabit installations. This simple fact

not only demonstrates that the demand for 10G

is very real, but also justifies Nexans stance that

their screened systems offer the most practical

solution – a claim which was also recently sup-

ported in an independent survey (see box).

Whilst Nexans has always invested in laboratory

research to develop higher speed technologies,

we also recognised that this R&D must be trans-

formed into practical solutions that deliver re-

sults in the real world. As long ago as 2004,

Nexans announced support for the IEEE 802.3

standard for 10 gigabit on Category 7 shielded

cabling. This caused some controversy, as most

of the installed base at the time was unshielded.

As long ago as 2004, Nexans announced support

for the IEEE 802.3 standard for 10 gigabit on

Category 7 shielded cabling. This caused some

controversy, as most of the installed base at the

time was unshielded.

Nexans however envisaged problems running

the new standard over unshielded cables.

“We understood the applications requirements

and took a very clear decision to develop a

LANmark-6 10G solution that would meet the

needs of the application exactly and as a conse-

quence decided to focus on a screened solution

only”, explains Sylvana Hillegeer, Product

Manager for LANmark 10 gigabit Solutions at

Nexans Cabling Solutions.

BeTTer By desIGN

Screened cables consume less power and pro-

duce less heat. This lowers cost, reduces risk and

improves reliability. Also, with 10 gigabit trans-

mission the potential for alien crosstalk between

cables was very high and it would be necessary

to increase the size and cost of the UTP cable

tremendously to provide higher levels of miti-

gation. “We were convinced that the traditional

advantages of UTP – that the cable is thinner

and more flexible and easier to install than a

screened solution – would be lost when design-

ing a 10G solution”, says Sylvana Hillegeer.

Nexans’ design expertise also gives the company

an advantage. As Nexans screened cables are

smaller than 10G UTP solutions on the market,

they are easier to handle and thus optimise con-

tainment in cable trays. Moreover, the shielded

solution offers ample headroom for the critical

alien crosstalk (AXT) requirements, eliminating

the need for AXT field tests. UTP solutions by

design, either fail or, in the best case, only just

meet alien crosstalk margins and therefore require

rigorous field testing. Performing full alien cross-

zNexanscameouttopinarecentindependentsurveyof

10GsystemsbySwedishmagazine‘TechWorld’.

zNexansLANmark-610Gwascomparedagainst10gig

UTPsolutionsfromSystimax,Panduit,andKrone.

zOverall, the tests run using Fluke DTX1800 showed

Nexanshad thebest results in theelectrical test,and

thatboththehorizontalandpatchcableswere“consid-

erablythinner”thanthecompetition.

z TheTechWorldconclusion“OverallwethinktheNexans

isthebestcombinationofsolidperformancewithgood

handlingproperties”.

z Thetestwasintendedtorepresentatypicalinstallation

andas suchnoAlienCrosstalk testswere includedas

they are too difficult to carry out in such an environ-

ment. The Nexans solution would have scored even

higherhadthisbeenincluded.

NexANs Tops INdepeNdeNT survey

�

Cfr.cont.nextpage

When the University decided to upgrade its

cabling in the civil engineering department, it

wanted a solution that would support band-

width-intensive applications in the future and

ensure good long-term return on investment.

Nexans was able to meet the University’s needs

on all counts and was already a trusted supplier

so there was a high degree of confidence.

CompLeTe TrusT

IT Manager Jesús Salceda comments: “The

University knew it could rely on Nexans Cabling

Solutions and had complete trust in both the

company and its comprehensive solutions.

Their in-depth knowledge of the University and

our good experiences with other cabling projects

made it the right choice to suit our needs.”

Installation was carried out without any disrup-

tion to day to day operations. This was a major

challenge as old cabling had to be taken out and

replaced with the new LANmark-6 10G shielded

solution.

The United Nations project was similar. When

the OHCHR re-located its 350 staff, it took the

opportunity to upgrade cabling to provide

enough bandwidth for future applications.

talk tests is a lengthy and expensive process and

this hidden cost of UTP installations can make

them unfeasible in terms of their overall cost.

AheAd of The Curve

Support for 10 gigabit on LANmark-6 10G was

announced by Nexans as early as 2005. It has

proved to be the right decision and Nexans

already has many successful installations. It has,

for example, installed a 10G solution for the

University of La Coruña, Spain, enabling stu-

dents and teachers to enjoy the benefits of a

modern and efficient communications system

and giving the college a solid and dependable

framework that can be updated in the future.

Another landmark project has been completed

for the Office of the High Commissioner for

Human Rights (OHCHR) at the United Nations

in Switzerland. Nexans has deployed a 10 gigabit

solution to deliver high performance and provide

sufficient bandwidth to meet long-term needs.

In the case of the University of La Coruña, Nexans

has been able to meet the required performance

levels and use its experience to ensure a successful

installation, working alongside the customer

from the start to the finish of the project.

Challenges united Nations

zRelocationtooldbuildingwithnoinstalledcabling

zVeryrapiddeploymenttostricttimescale

zHighperformance,securityandreliability

z Future-proofedtoensureeasyapplicationsdeployment

university of La Coruña

zModernandsecuretelecommunicationsnetwork

z Future-proof:abletoensurefutureinstallations

zBandwidthtosupportheavysoftwareapplications

solutionsunited Nations

z LANmark-610Gcablingsystem–

oneofthefirstworldwide

z115kmofCategory610Gcable

z16patchpanels

z2700userconnections

university of La Coruña

z LANmark-610G

z67kmofCategory610Gcable

z2000connectors

z7racks

z24fibersOM3Cable

Benefitsunited Nations

z Installationcarriedouttorequiredtimescales

zHighperformanceandfuture-proofednetwork

z Flexiblesolutionenablesrapiddeploymentof

newapplications

university of La Coruña

zModerntechnologybettersproductivity

z Future-proofinstallationthatcanbeupgraded

inthefuture

zScalability

NexANs ANd 10G

Nexans was chosen as it possessed all the

technical product and installation capabilities

and was also able to meet the UN’s short

lead-times. Work on the cabling was begun just

DIDYOUKNOW?•NexanswasthefirstmanufacturertosupporttheIEEE

802.3standardonLANmark-7.

• InQ4of2006,morethan100,00010gigabitEthernet

portswereshippedworldwideandannualrevenuesfor

2006exceeded$1billion(Dell’Oro Group).

•Nextyearthenumberofcopper10Gportsinthedata

centrewillovertakethenumberoffibreports.

•NexansCablingSolutionshasanactiveinvolvementin

ISO/IEC.

• Last year, 10 percent of all LANmark-6 sales were

for10gigabitinstallations.

�10 GIGABIT | Leadingthewayin10Govercopper

two weeks after the initial order was placed and

Nexans had only three months in which to

complete the project.

LeAdING The wAy

It is now widely accepted that shielded cable is

going to be the way forward for 10 gigabit.

Even the traditional advocates of UTP in the US

have now started to produce screened solutions.

“But most of them have no experience at all in

this area so for them it is new ground. Nexans

has real expertise and over 15 years of experi-

ence and know-how in designing and installing

screened solutions”, notes Hillegeer.

Nexans meanwhile, already has successful in-

stallations all over the world and continues to

lead the way in product development. Hillegeer

comments: “Nexans is a global player and we

have a complete offering that benefits custom-

ers on three levels. We have a good technical so-

lution that meets critical issues by design, we

provide a full 25-year warranty, and our solu-

tions are also better to install because, in the de-

sign phase we pay a lot of attention to installa-

tion requirements and we’ve made our solutions

more flexible.”

There is also a very real commercial benefit, says

Hillegeer. “By providing 10 gigabit solutions

that are future-proofed and easier and more

flexible to install, we provide a more cost-effec-

tive overall solution to the customer.”

With a commitment to continued investment in

research and development, an established track

record and the best choice of solutions on the

market, Nexans looks set to continue to lead the

way in 10 gigabit solutions. J

1 0 G I G A B I T h e A LT h C A r e

putting 10G fibre to work in healthcare The AZ sint-Jan Av hospital in Bruges has made an important investment in its data

network, using LANmark-of3xt cables to build a new glass fibre network that delivers

10G over the whole campus.

DIDYOUKNOW?•LANmark-OF snap-in adapters are available in

different formats: singleSC,dualSC, LCduplexand

MT-RJversion.

•All Nexans connectors meet most recent standard

ISO11801releases.

•NexanshasprovidedAZSint-JanAVwithpreterminated

cables;connectorswerealreadyfixedatbothsidesof

thecablesandhadalreadybeentested,savinga lot

oftimeduringinstallation.

“We have many medical

appliances connected to our

data network and the new

cables are a perfect solution

because they provide the

high bandwidth need.”

KOENROMMENS,

DATACOMMUNICATIONSMANAGER,AZSINT-JANAV

Cont.frompreviouspage

AZ Sint-Jan AV in Bruges is a public hospital

that offers high-level care for every patient. It

has close ties with other hospitals in the region

and works with them to further develop its

patient care and efficiency.

It is vitally important for the hospital to be able

to exchange data between departments and

medical applications. To provide a faster flow of

information, AZ Sint-Jan AV recently updated

its network installing a new cabling infrastruc-

ture. “Nexans satisfied our requirements and

the deciding factor was that Nexans guaranteed

a transfer of 10G over 550 metres, even with

six connectors in-between”, explains Koen

Rommens, Data Communications Manager at

the hospital.

All active parts of the core switch are linked up

to the cross-connect patch panels. In this way,

there is no more (re)patching on the core switch,

but only on the patch panels, which is the

reason why there are six connectors.

Glass fibre solutions were chosen for their flexi-

bility. There is a great variety of buildings on the

campus and Nexans’ LANmark fibre solution

was able to offer an ideal combination of high

bandwidth, easy installation, and support for

10G across distances of over 500 metres. In ad-

dition, LANmark-OF snap-in adapters have

made installation quick and easy. Nexans’ fibre

solution has delivered significant benefits for

the hospital by enabling much faster flow of

information. It has also enabled more integra-

tion between different applications being used

�

Challengesz Core switches ‘end of life’ – need to be replaced

z Need for network with greater capacity,

e.g. for CIS (Clinical Information System) and

PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System)

z More network security for backbone, secured wireless

network and multimedia bedside terminals for patients

and doctors

z More bandwidth and redundancy on the perimeter of

the hospital’s network

z New redundant server room

Solutionsz LANmark-OF3xt cables

z 420 patch panels

z 12,000 connectors

Benefitsz Faster flow of information

z Easy installation

NExaNS aNd aZ SINT-JaN aV

acrossthehospital.Physicianshaveaccesstothe

centralpatient file, fromwhich theycango to

other applications such as CIS, PACS or lab

resultsandasaresult,theycanworkfasterand

moreefficiently.

“Itisnotthecentralpatientfilethatrequiresa

largebandwidth,butapplicationslikeCISand

PACS”, Rommens explains. “We have many

medicalappliancesconnectedtoourdatanet-

workandthenewcablesareaperfectsolution

becausetheyprovidethehighbandwidthneed.

These appliances used to be ‘stand alone’, but

that’snotthecaseanymore.”

Beingabletointegratemoresystemsandapplica-

tionsmeansthehospitalcanrunmoreefficiently

andeffectivelyanddeliverevenhigherlevelsof

patientcare.“Thefibrenetworkisvitalforthe

workingsofourhospital”,saysRommens.“The

wholeinstallationisofaveryhighqualityand

wewouldcertainlybewillingtocooperatewith

NexansCablingSolutionsagain”,heconcludes.J © AZ Sint-Jan AV Brugge

7HEalTHCaRE | Putting 10G to work in healthcare

C a T E G O R Y- 7

Setting the standard for Category-7 solutions worldwide

With many more organizations now looking

to deploy robust network infrastructures that

willsupportawholehostofIPapplicationsand

foranuncertainfuture,Nexanshasseenstrong

growthinthesalesofitsLANmark-7solutions.

Nexanshasbeenenjoyingsignificantsuccesses

withLANmark-7allovertheworld.Forexam-

ple,in2006,IkeaKuwaitdeployedLANmark-7

cablingandGG45connectorstoprovideanew

future-proofedinfrastructure.

Ikeawantedasolutionthatwasbuilttolastsays

JacobAlexander,Assistant IT Manager at Ikea

Kuwait.“Thiswasamajorprojectandwewere

looking to implement a cabling infrastructure

thatwouldlast forupto20years.Thatmeant

weneededittosupportaudioandvideoaswell

as data networking so that we can put every-

thingontothenetwork.”AswellasdeployingIP

telephony, Ikea has also implemented video

surveillance,security,accesscontrolandbuild-

ingmanagementsystemsontotheIPnetwork.

“We needed the cabling

infrastructure to support

audio and video as well as

data networking so that we

can put everything

onto the network.”JACOB ALEXANDER,

ASSISTANT IT MANAGER, IKEA KUWAIT

Nexans’ GG4� connector is now accepted as an international standard for Category-7 connections and is being used by major companies all over the world to provide a quick and simple solution for key installations.

8

OTHER COMpaNIES THaT HaVE CallEd UpON NExaNS FOR CaT 7 SOlUTIONS INClUdE

z EU parliament – Brussels and Luxemburg

z Etisalat – Dubai (UAE)

z Deutsche Krankenversicherung (DKV) – Cologne

(Germany)

z Norsk Hydro – Oslo (Norway)

DID YOU KNOW?• The Internet Protocol (IP) is the standard protocol

across all networks. Increasingly other applications

such as telephony, access control and video surveil-

lance are being moved onto the IP infrastructure.

• Nexans’ Intelligent Enterprise Solutions competence

centre in Basingstoke (UK) is working as a live test

platform for integration of IP applications preparing

the future.

“We only need to switch

the patch cable in to use

future applications

beyond 10G, rather than

cable the whole

infrastructure again.”

H. JäGER,

IT DIRECTOR,

BLAGUSS REISEN

Another company that has deployed Nexans

LANmark-7 shielded cabling and GG45 con-

nectors is Blaguss Reisen, theAustrian arm of

theEurolinesinternationaltransportorganiza-

tion.Whenitmovedtolargerpremisesthefirm

decided to place video surveillance as well as

dataconnectivityonitsIPnetworkandwanted

to ensure a good long-term return on invest-

ment says ITdirectorMrH. Jäger:“The solu-

tionneedstofunctionforthenext15yearsand

Challengesz Future proof solution to support IP convergence and

high speed applications 10 gigabit and beyond

z Need to provide backwards compatibility

z Greater requirements for high levels or resiliency

and reliability

z Need for cost-efficient, scalable and flexible solutions

Solutionsz Nexans LANmark-7 cabling

z Nexans GG45 connectors

Benefitsz Swift, accurate and cost-efficient deployment

z Investment protection for existing RJ45 patch cables

z Completely future-proofed solution – able to support

high bandwidths of 10 gigabit and beyond

z Robust, resilient, secure and reliable

z Backed by Nexans’ global warranty

NExaNS aNd CaT 7

shouldn’tneedreplacing.”TheGG45connector

isparticularlyimportantinthisregard,henotes.

“Thenewinfrastructureneededtobecapableof

10 gigabit Ethernet in the future. We chose

GG45 because it is backwards-compatible and

canbeusedwiththepresentRJ45patchcables.

Weonlyneedtoswitchthepatchcableintouse

futureapplicationsbeyond10G,ratherthanca-

blethewholeinfrastructureagain.”

In both cases, the LANmark-7 and GG45

combinationprovidearobust,reliableandhigh

performanceinfrastructurethatenablescurrent

systems to run without alteration and new,

higher-bandwidth applications to be delivered

atanytime.Duetothepopularityofthissolu-

tion,Nexanshashad todouble itsproduction

capacityofGG45connectorsoverthepastyear.

Withthiskindofmomentum,LANmark-7and

GG45lookssettobecomethesolutionofchoice

for high performance future-proof shielded

applications.J

�CaTEGORY-7 | Setting the standard for Category-7 solutions worldwide

S T R a T E G Y

Boosted by solid growth and rising profits,

Nexans has launched a new strategic plan

for 2007-200� and entered a new phase of

its development. In an exclusive interview

pascal portevin, Executive Vice president

Strategic Operations at Nexans, tells Cable

the Future about the company’s exciting

plans for the year ahead.

As Executive Vice President Strategic Opera-

tions,PascalPortevin is themanchargedwith

definingtheNexansGroup’sstrategyandguid-

ing the company towards its key objectives.

Sittingat theheadof theStrategicOperations

Department, he has full responsibility for all

the company’s business development, market-

ing and competitive intelligence activities and

technicalandresearchwork.

In this pivotal role, he plays a vital part in

directingNexanstowardsitsfuturesuccessand

he is fully aware of the great responsibility he

hastothecompany,itsstakeholders,employees

and partners, and to its customers. He is also

veryawarethatthecompanyismovingforward

fromapositionofconsiderablestrength.

lONG-TERM STaBIlITY

“As part of a financially secure, global corpo-

rationthatissustaininggoodlevelsofgrowth,

Nexans offers customers long-term stability”,

hesays.“Ourexperienceandtechnologyleader-

ship already makes us the clear leader in the

global market. We have a strong and growing

presenceonallfivecontinentsandleadtheway

inresearchanddevelopment.”

a bright future ahead

10

With the integration of our strategic acquisi-

tions of recent years now fully completed,

Nexansisnowreadytomoveintothenextphase

of its growth and development, says Portevin.

“InJanuarywesetoutanewthree-yearstrategic

plan.”

Thecompany’sperformancelastyearwasexcel-

lent.Saleswereuptoalmost€7.5billioncom-

paredwithjustunder€5.5billioneurosin2005.

Profit margins also rose on the previous year

–whetheryoulookatconstantoractualmetal

prices.Thesefiguresareapowerfulreflectionon

thestabilityofthecompany’sbusinessmodeland

thesuccessofitsstrategiclong-termapproach.

pOSITIVE OUTlOOK

Portevinisnowplanningtobuildonthisper-

formancebyenhancingthatbroadstrategythat

hasservedthecompanysowellinthepastthree

years.“We will place continued and increased

focusonourcablebusinesseswhiledrivingsales

growthinprioritysectors”,hestates.“Twoyears

after the launch of our plan for 2005 – 2007,

our sales in energy and transport infrastruc-

tures,automotive,automationandshipbuilding

had increased by 30% overall – and by more

than40%outsideEurope.”

ThesameprogressisalsotrueofNexansbuild-

ing and more specifically its LAN business,

which achieved strong sales growth. “Boosted

bytheseresults,wearepursuingfurtherexpan-

sion.Wehavealreadysteppedupourpresence

indevelopingregionsandpursuedourdevelop-

ment in high added-value specialty products”.

Portevinnotes.

“Nexansisnowakeyplayerinthedataandtele-

comsnetworksector,withacableandsystems

offering that places us amongst the top four

market leaders in Europe, the US and Asia.

Wewillcontinuetostrengthenourpositionin

thismarketintheyearsahead.”

a BRIGHT FUTURE FOR NExaNS CaBlING SOlUTIONS

The main objective of the new strategic plan,

heemphasises,istomakeNexansaglobalplayer

in all the key market sectors.“It also aims to

make Nexans a more profitable company, one

that is less sensitive to economic cycles and

focusedonasmallernumberofbusinesssectors

withstrongsynergiesbetweenthem.”

In the LAN market, Portevin can afford to be

confident in his assertion that Nexans will

achieve strong growth. The company has very

considerable worldwide cable manufacturing

capacity and its Cabling Solutions Centres in

Europeensurethatitstaysaheadofthecompe-

titionintermsofresearchanddevelopment.

DID YOU KNOW?• Nexans leads the way in advanced technologies…

» High data transmission capacity – Nexans leads

the way in the development of transmission tech-

niques over copper for 10 gigabit and beyond.

» Insulation materials – Nexans has pioneered the

use of halogen-free flame retardant compounds in

cabling systems.

» Superconductors – Nexans has the world’s first

operational production line in Long Island, US.

» Safety standards – enhanced fire-resistant cables

have been developed to meet the demanding stand-

ards of the European market.

DID YOU ALSO KNOW?• Nexans has…

» An international research centre, in Lyon, France,

and eight competence centres worldwide;

» 450 researchers;

» 450 families of registered patents;

» Produces an average of two new products a week.

• Nexans has the world’s…

» Thinnest cable – diameter of 12 microns;

» Most powerful cable – 550,000 volts;

» Most resistant cable – up to 1,000 degrees

centigrade;

» Longest cable – 125 km;

» Deepest undersea cable – 2,300 metres;

» Heaviest cable – 135 kg per metre.

Inaddition,Nexanshassuccessfullyacquireda

number of intellectual property rights to key

technologies from ITT Network Systems and

Services(NS&S).ThishasmadeNexansoneof

the only manufacturers that can offer a com-

plete range of high performance cabling solu-

tionsthatcoversallgradesoffibreandcopper.

Alliedtothis,Nexanshasitsadvancednetwork

management offering, LANsense, which is the

established market-leader and sets Nexans’

valuepropositionapart fromthecompetition.

“Withastrongstrategicplaninplaceandapos-

itiveoutlook,weexpectourLANsystemsbusi-

nesstocontinuegeneratingdouble-digitgrowth

forbothusandourpartners”,saysPortevin.

Withasuccessfulplatformtobuildonandclear

andfocusedobjectivesforthenextphaseofits

growth, the outlook is positive for Nexans.

AsPascalPortevinsays:“Thefuturelooksbright

forNexansCablingSolutions”.J

11STRaTEGY | A bright future ahead

12

R & d R O a d M a p

leaping the 10G barrierHaving reached speeds of 10 gigabit, Nexans is now looking to what lies beyond and refining solutions to meet the different needs of its customers today and in the future

Speeds of 10 gigabit are now possible over some grades of copper cabling and Nexans R&D is already looking at ways in which it can meet the anticipated requirements to run at even higher speeds. The drive for lower cost in the data centre is expected to fuel demand for performance of as much as 100 gigabits over short distances and at 40 to 50 gigabits over distances of 100 metres.

Class E cables do not have the capability to meet these requirements and while the ‘augmented’ Class EA can reach speeds of 10 gigabit, it has limited potential to go any further. Efforts are now focused around Class F and Class FA grades of cabling for the next step forward.

Class F and FA support a wider frequency range – up to 1000 MHz, double that of Class EA. This enables support for applications running at much higher clock speeds without too much compensation. Lower attenuation rates mean that signals are more reliable and can be used over longer distances. The limit for internal noise level is 25dB lower than EA and a better signal-to-noise ratio allows for more simplified active components. These are cheaper to build and use less power.

Nexans is now preparing to extend its Class F portfolio and expects to be one of the first vendors to offer completely new set of higher-speed Class FA solutions. It is continuing to work on the external noise reduction of connectivity products and this is expected to make it possible to run Class F or FA at up to 50 gigabits over 100 metres.

It may be five to ten years before 40, 50 or even 100 gigabit copper applications will be made available but when they do emerge, Nexans is likely to be at the forefront. J

Hi-speed plastic Optical Fibre Nexans has invested significant resources in the develop-ment of Plastic Optical Fibre (POF) technology for high speed data communication. Most recently it has been working on the CYTOP-based POF fibres which offer enough bandwidth not only for 100 Mbps and 1 Gigabit data speeds, but also 10Gbps over 100m distances.

Research has now been completed and Nexans is trans-ferring its know-how into the production environment, which will require new manufacturing processes. In the meanwhile new connectors for POF are being developed. Once complete, Nexans will be able to offer a unique technology which will deliver major benefits over current fibre solutions in LAN and datacentre environments. J

13R&d ROadMap | Leaping the 10G barrier | Hi-speed Plastic Optical Fibre | Emphasis on performance | Snap-in panels make life easier for installers

Snap-in panels make life easier for installersNexans new snap-in patch panel for optical fibre is now available, providing easier and faster installation and im-proved handling. To support growing demand for Pre-Terminated assemblies, the panel design now features a fully removable cover, enlarged rear openings, and ad-justable fixing plates. Nexans engineers have also devel-oped a new sliding system to improve the movement of the drawer during installation and maintenance. J

Emphasis on performance Significant extensions have been made to Nexans’ fibre warranty modules to draw attention to all the key factors that determine overall performance. There is a perception amongst many customers that any limitations are always the result of fibre attenuation (3dB/Km for multimode fibre, 0,35dB/Km for singlemode fibre), and while this can place limits on the distance over which cables can be run, other factors also contribute.

These include the method used to terminate the fibre, whether termination is performed in the field or before leaving the factory, and the number of connections (mated pairs) present in the link. Nexans has released seven (six multimode and one singlemode) new modules, designed to suit different requirements. They provide support for latest applications such as 10Gbase LX4 and LRM, and extended drive distance for our LANmark-OF3xt grade: 550m for 10Gbase-SR. J

R & d I N T E R V I E w

Nexans has formed a partnership with Bel Stewart to develop the next generation of 8-way GG4� connectors

at the start of this year, Nexans and Bel Stewart formed a partnership agreement for the development of a high-speed GG4� connector interface. The two companies have been producing components using the GG4� interface for copper cabling for some time and are now combining their R&d expertise to develop a pCB-mounted connector with eight connections (8-way), especially designed for active-equipment manufacturers.

Nexans has proven expertise in developing

high-frequency connectors that deliver excel-

lentperformance.BelStewartmeanwhileisthe

leading high-volume producer of connectors

for active-equipment manufacturers. By com-

biningtheirstrengths,NexansandBelStewart

will deliver not only a very high performance

connector,butalsoensurerapidtime-to-market

andcompatibilitywithindustrystandards.

TheGG45wasoriginallydevelopedbyNexansin

thelate1990sanditisalreadywellestablishedas

thepreferredsolutionforCategory7andClassF

connections. The alliance with Bel Stewart is

certaintoincreaseitswidespreadpopularity.

Making a faster connection for the future

HIGHER pERFORMaNCE

The two companies are developing the new

connectortomeettheneedsofthemarketsays

Martin Rossbach, Director Product Marketing

atNexansCablingSolutions.“Increaseddemand

forhighfrequencyRJ45-compatibleconnectors

isbeingdrivenbythegrowinguseof10gigabit

over twisted pair. Today most devices use the

RJ45 connector but future applications will

need higher performance and that will mean

a new interface with a new specification. The

8-way Cat7 GG45 will address this need and

deliverthehighestperformanceavailableinthe

market.”

14

AstheGG45isbackwardscompatiblewiththe

RJ45,thereisnoissueinusingthenewinterface

today and upgrading later on. The GG45 will

comply to the corresponding standard of the

connectedcablesowhenthecustomerupgrades

fromCat6 toCat7, there isnoneedtochange

the connector. This is good news for end cus-

tomers and for manufacturers of active net-

working devices products as it means invest-

ments in networking products will be more

future-proofedthantheywerebefore.

The alliance also means that they will have

multiple sources for the connector. Both Bel

StewartandNexanswillmarkettheproductin-

dependently – as the ARJ45 connector and

GG45 respectively. Together, they provide a

comprehensive range of connectors and inter-

facesthatmeeteveryconceivableneedofequip-

mentmanufacturersandinstallers.

SUppORTING GIGaBIT SpEEdS

Buttherealadvantageof theconnector is im-

proved performance. “The 8way GG45/ARJ45

delivers much higher performance and band-

width”, explains Yakov Belopolsky, Research

and Development Manager for Bel Stewart.

“TheRJ45isreallylimitedto500MHz,thenew

GG45/ARJ45connectorwillenableustosupport

speeds of 1000MHz and even 2000MHz. That

sortof throughput isbeingdemandednowas

morecompaniesstarttouse10gigabitEthernet

on the backbone and deliver 1 Gigabit to the

desktop.”

The 8-way GG45/ARJ45 connectors, based

onimprovedisolationtechnology,donotneed

any compensation either inside of connectors

or on customer’s PCB to eliminate crosstalk.

The crosstalk is often a problem in RJ45

connections.

Thisaspectoftheconnector’sperformancehas

been particular impressive in testing says

Belopolsky, stayingwellwithinaccepted safety

thresholdsatspeedsinexcessof20Gigabitsper

second.“Itisamuchcleaner,fasterandeasierto

useconnectorthantheRJ45”,hecomments.

Bel Stewart and Nexans have already started

to produce the connectors and active equip-

mentmanufacturersarestartingtotest,specify

and build them into their products. They are

likely to be used primarily in networking

devices but also in multimedia and for high

density interconnect (HDI) applications. HDI

boards have a higher density of circuitry than

conventional PCBs and thus offer higher

performance. As the GG45 supports higher

speeds, the connectors will certainly be used

wherever the highest degree of network

performanceisrequiredandintime,acrossthe

entirenetwork.

The increased performance of today’s high

poweredserversmeansthatthereisalreadyavery

real need for higher performance connectors,

Belopolskynotes.“Oneofthemajorproblems

thattheactiveindustryhastodayisthat,inside

theserverdataspeedsexceed2GHz–butwhen

itleavesthecomputer,transferspeedisreduced

toafractionofthat,sothereisnoincentiveto

buyanewsystem.”TheGG45willremovethis

obstacle and enable higher performance to be

deliveredrightacrossthenetwork.J

“The 8-way Cat7 GG45

will deliver the highest

performance available

in the market.”

MARTIN ROSSBACH,

DIRECTOR PRODUCT MARKETING,

NEXANS CABLING SOLUTIONS

“It is a much cleaner,

faster and easier to use

connector than the RJ45.”

YAKOV BELOPOLSKY,

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGER,

BEL STEWART

1�R&d INTERVIEw | Making a faster connection for the future

p a R T N E R V I E w p O I N T

Meeting the needs of two major public service organisations in Belgium working closely with long-term partner and leading communications expert NextiraOne, Nexans Cabling Solutions has been able to meet the needs of two major public service organisations in Belgium.

and maintenance as required at any location

acrossthecountry.

TheFederalPolicehasmany locationsaround

Belgium.Inaddition,localpoliceorganisations

canalsocallinNextiraOnetomeettheircom-

munications infrastructure requirements. This

meansthattheydonothavetodrawupasepa-

raterequestforproposalandcanbenefitfrom

the advantageous terms of the overall frame-

workagreement.

TheBelgiumPostmeanwhilehashundredsof

postofficesanditcanalsocallonNextiraOneto

provide its services anywhere in the country.

NextiraOnehastobeveryflexibletomeetthe

agreedservice levelsand itschoiceofpartners

was key to success. The company brought in

Nexanstoprovideallcablingrequirementsfor

boththeseimportantcontracts.

NexansworkedcloselywithNextiraOneonthe

proposalsandhascontinuedtoprovideproject

andtechnicalsupportasandwhenitisrequired.

ThethreeyearcontractwiththeFederalPolice

startedinMarch2007.TheBelgiumPostcon-

tractcommencedin2005andrunsuntil2009,

whenitcanbeextendedforafurtherperiod.

Nexans has provided a significant amount of

LANmark-6shieldedcablingandvariousgrades

offibreopticfortheFederalPoliceandBelgium

Postcontracts.Awiderangeofdifferentneeds

have to be catered for across the country. For

bothclients,NextiraOnehasproducedaspecial

brochure that details all the options available.

This includes a comprehensive list of Nexans

products.

Jirina Stoclet, Corporate Account Manager at

NextiraOne,says:“Wehaveaverygoodwork-

ing partnership with Nexans and so do the

customers. This type of collaboration is very

successfulasitenablesustoincludeeverything

thatmightbeusefulforthecustomer,evenifit

wasnotintheoriginalRFP.Iamsurewewillbe

workingtogetherinthiswaywithNexansagain

inthefuture.”J

adding value together

NextiraOneisoneofEurope’sleadingproviders

of design, installation, maintenance and sup-

portforcommunicationsneedsfromvoice,data

andvideotomobility,securityandapplications.

Ithasalong-standingpartnershipwithNexans

and by working together, the two companies

can identify the best solutions for customers

andmanageinstallationpartnerstoprovidethe

highestqualityofservice.

Two key framework systems integration and

services contracts have been secured by this

highly effective partnership in recent times –

one with the Federal Police in Belgium and

another with the Belgium Post service. These

contracts enable the stateorganisations to call

on NextiraOne and its partners to provide

networkingand telephony systems installation

16

Bringing high-speed broadband into Swedish homes

blocks or housing complexes. The consumer

market for broadband is growing quickly in

Sweden and Nexans is helping installers like

Eltekniktomeetthegrowingdemand.

ElteknikwasalreadyworkingwithTeliatode-

liverfibretothehome(FTTH)andinaddition,

has been using Nexans Cabling Solutions

LANmark-6unshieldedcablingwithinproper-

ties.BytheendofFebruary2007ithadalready

providedcabling fora totalof2,200homes in

Lidköping, Gothenburg and other towns in

westernSweden.Itexpectstoinstallagreatdeal

moreNexanscabling,patchpanelsandconnec-

torsoverthenextfewmonthsastheprojectis

extendedacrosstheregion.

ManagingDirectorofElteknik,ThomasCarlsson,

says that Nexans has been an excellent partner

for the project. “Nexans has supplied us the

cableandequipmentaswell.Theirsolutionsare

reliableandtheyhaveveryhighlevelsoftechni-

calknowledgeandexperience.”

Thetwocompaniesarenowworkingevenmore

closely with a number of Elteknik engineers

attending Nexans partner training courses to

increase their levels of knowledge and skill in

Nexans cabling solutions and deliver an even

betterservicetocustomers.J

working with Volvo and Gothenburg University to meet connectivity needsGothenburg-based,TelekontaktABhasonly15

staffbutwiththehelpandsupportofNexans,

the company carries major installation work.

Overthepasttwoyearsthecompanyhascom-

pleted significant network cabling projects for

both Gothenburg University and for Volvo’s

facilityinthecity.

In2005thecompanycompletedamajorinstal-

lation of Nexans LANmark-6 shielded cabling

solutionsattheUniversity,whichprovidedhigh

quality communications infrastructure to stu-

dentaccommodationrightacrossthecampus.In

total, Telekontakt installed several thousand

connections.Itthencompletedasimilarproject,

ofover2000connections,forVolvoin2006,again

usingNexansLANmark-6shieldedcabling.

ManagingDirectorofTelekontakt,DanOlsson,

saysthatboththeproductsandtheservicespro-

vided by Nexans are of the highest quality.

“Wehavehadaverygoodworkingrelationship

with Nexans for over five years and several

accreditedpersonnel.Wereallyliketheirprod-

ucts – the connectors make it very quick and

easytoinstallcableandifwehaveanyproblems,

wecanjustcallthemandtheywillhelpusinany

waytheycan”,hestates.

With reliable products and services in place

from a world-leading company, Telekontakt is

abletofocusonformingagoodworkingpart-

nershipwithmeetingtheirneeds.J

With over 250 employees, Elteknik AB is the

leadingproviderofcablinginfrastructureserv-

icesinwesternSweden.Thecompanyspecialises

in the industrial automation market and also

hasafast-growingpresenceincommunications.

ElteknikhassuppliedNexanscablingsolutions

toanumberofitscustomerovertheyearsand

in 2006 was contracted by Telia – the major

provider of telecommunications services in

Scandinavia–toprovidefibreopticandcopper

cablingandinstallationforaninnovativeproject

aimedatincreasingtheavailabilityofhighspeed

broadbandconnectivitytoconsumers.

Teliaplannedtooffertoinstallhigherspeedca-

bling infrastructure for property agents and

building management companies that are al-

readyrunning,orconstructingnewapartment

17paRTNER VIEwpOINT | Adding value together

S E R V I C E S

when space and time matter or the construction of a building presents special challenges,

pre-terminated cables provide a highly convenient and flexible solution – and a growing

number of major corporate companies are taking advantage of Nexans’ innovation.

Incitycentres,spaceisatapremiumandbusi-

nesses are always trying to make better use of

what they have. Nexans pre-terminated fibre

solutionsprovideacost-effectivesolutionwhere

conventionalcablingsolutionswouldprovetoo

expensive and difficult to install. This enables

themtotakeadvantageofthehighqualityengi-

Space saving innovation

neering,implementation,andpost-salesservice

that the company and its installation partners

provide.

Glynn Phillips, Technical Account Manager

at Nexans Cabling Solutions, says:“Pre-termi-

nated fibre cables can provide a reduction in

installationtimeonsitebybeingeasiertoinstall

and the improved link loss budget allows for

moreconnectionsinthefibrechannel.Mostof

theworkthough,hastobedonepre-installation

andthatiswhereourexpertise,andthatofour

installationpartnersmakesthedifference. It is

allaboutbeinginnovativeandflexible,seeingit

throughto theendandfindingaway tosolve

thecustomer’sproblem.”

Inonecase,wheretheunder-floorcablingtrays

were almost full, Nexans and its installation

18

partnerdevisedawayofinstallingasecondlevel

of trays.As space was limited and installation

had to be completed swiftly to avoid disrup-

tiontobusiness,Nexanspre-terminatedcables

provided the perfect answer.A total of 92,000

metres of zip-twin construction (ZC), duplex

low-smoke zero-halogen (LSZH), high per-

formanceOM3fibreswereinstalled,organized

intobundlessotheycanbeeasilymovedorre-

distributed later.“Thatwasofreal importance

–wewereabletofindasolutionbecausewere-

spondedtothecustomer’srequestandbecame

involvedintheearlystages”,notesPhillips.

Another installation has seen the use of

LANmark-OF snap-in connectors, enabling

DID YOU KNOW?• The combined totals of Nexans cable and connec-

tors used in three such projects in the City of London

were …

» Over 750 copper patch panels;

» 2000 + copper patch cords;

» 1000 + fibre patch panels;

» 900,000 metres of OM3 fibre core.

• The use of pre-terminated fibre assemblies, often

utilising high density panels or snap-in adaptors is a

key to success for the rapid and flexible installation to

meet clients space and financial constraints, for either

a full or phased installation programme.

dId YOU alSO KNOw?

Nexans delivers high yields for Finland’s dairy farmers

Cabling solutions are used in some of the most unusual places. In Finland for example, LANmark systems are being deployed on dairy farms as part of a solution designed to maximise milking yields.

The milking sheds is a harsh environment – detergents and water sprays are in constant use, there are high levels of humidity, gases and chemicals.

Cabling also comes under physical stress – with hundreds of cows often crammed into a confined space. Amidst this chaos it is hard to control where the animals will place their considerable weight.

Reliability is vital to efficiency. To maximise efficiency, farmers must stick to strict daily cycles of feeding and milking. Break the routine and yields will go down so

it’s vital to have a robust and reliable solution – and one that can be repaired quickly.

Nexans solutions meet all these requirements. That’s why Finnish installer Tampereen SähköPalvelu Oy, has provided them to more than 80 farms. The customer benefits from having a dependable cabling solution, capable of withstanding the stresses and strains of a working farm. As they are modular, Nexans solutions are also flexible and easy to deploy in such challenging conditions. They are also easier to repair – should a connection be broken by a stray hoof, it can be fixed quickly and at low cost.

In this way, Nexans is helping Finland’s dairy farmers to maximise their yields and deliver the highest quality milk at competitive prices.

patchpanels tobepopulatedonlyasrequired,

withnowastedpositions.Over50kmofmini

zip fibrewasusedhere. Inanother,pre-termi-

natedTightBuffered cable,pre-configured for

switch interfaces at one end and panels at the

other was installed, totaling 261km of OM3

core.

Inallcases,assembliesare100%pre-testedand

come with the full LANmark-OF application

warranty.Thisreassurance,alliedwithNexans’

reputationasthegloballeaderincablingtech-

nologies, and the innovation, experience and

expertiseofourengineersandinstallers,iswhy

Nexansisthesupplierofchoiceforpre-termi-

natedfibresolutions.J

1�SERVICES | Space saving innovation

Information flow is the heartbeat of the business. If the network stands still, so does business. In a world of converged IP applications, security and regulation, managing change is becoming increasingly complex. LANsense Intelligent Infrastructure Management (IIM)

solutions provide visibility of a physical network by automatically mapping, locating, reporting and alerting on any network event. With scalable solutions for Enterprise, Data Centres, and Converged Networks, LANsense keeps business running smoothly.

Because so much of your performance runs through cables.

Nexans Cabling Solutions UK, 2 Faraday Office Park, Faraday Road, Basingstoke, RG24 8QQ England www.nexans.com/LANsystems ncs.uk@nexans.com

Global expert in cablesand cabling systems

LANsense

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