IEEE Release 2.5G and 5G Ethernet IEEE 802.3bz Standard

According to media reports, IEEE and IEEE-SA have been released IEEE 802.3bz-2016 “Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Media Access Control Parameters, Physical Layers and Management Parameters for 2.5 Gb/s and 5 Gb/s Operation”

The specification supports Ethernet transmission rates over Cat5e/Cat6 twisted pair copper cabling; however, fiber optic transmission specifications are not included in the standard.

Completed in 18 months, IEEE 802.3bz-2016 defines Ethernet media access control (MAC) parameters, physical layer specifications, and management objects for 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps transmissions.

These specifications are expected to play a role in enterprise wireless access points.