DEC and 3Com Corp have put a proposed standard to the IEEE 10BaseT Working on standards for 10Mbit-per-second Ethernets on common telephone wire, saying it offers the best means for supporting existing IEEE 802.3 coaxial standards, meeting the 10BaseT aims and maximising customer investments in thin-cable 10Base2 – and standard-cable – 10Base5 – Ethernets. A key element of the proposal is use of a bi-directional signalling scheme, so a single pair of wires can carry both send and receive signals, enabling multidrop co-ax connections from a single connection to twisted pair. It also defines two attachment unit interface-compatible architectures, one needing a 10BaseT medium attachment unit at each end of the twisted pair segment, providing point-to-point connection between the workstation and the telephone wiring box, the other allowing coaxial multidrop of additional stations from the first. The pair reckon that their users together represent the world’s largest installed Ethernetworks base.
