Ethernet components able to transmit data at speeds of 10Gbit/s over the standard Category 5e network cabling that underpins the vast majority of corporate LANs, may appear sooner than many anticipated.

Semiconductor specialist SolarFlare Communications has said it has created a prototype communications chip for use in switches and network interface cards capable of maintaining sustained 10Gbit/s data transfer rates over lengths of Cat5e, Cat6 and Cat7 UTP (unshielded twisted pair) cabling up to 100m.

The chip uses proprietary signal-processing algorithms that improve data recovery and mitigate noise in copper wires so that they can support the higher data rates, said the firm.

A number of manufacturers currently provide equipment that provides 10Gbit/s bandwidth over far more expensive optical cabling, meaning IT managers have to spend a lot of time and money upgrading their wiring infrastructure in order to use it.

SolarFlare chief Russell Stern said, "[SolarFlare's] achievement will significantly boost [the formulation of] an industry standard for 10 Gigabit Ethernet transmission over twisted-pair copper cable under the auspices of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 committee."

An IEEE working group is also currently working on its own proposals for a 10GBase-T specification.

Other manufacturers, including Cisco, are backing another copper-based 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard, CX4. This pushes 10Gbit/s over non-standard cables based on dual coaxial copper pairs over distances of up to 15m, making it suitable only for server interconnect environments.