The challenge of trying to make a good visual for technology resides somewhere in the ability to tell a story and/or leverage a metaphor. As I dug into the logic around why we needed interim speeds to preserve the accelerating capabilities arriving for mobility...I recalled my favorite pastime as a bored kid growing up in Austin, TX looking for ramps to jump on my bike.

Watch Now: "Fundamentals of NBASE-T"

The challenge surrounds the bottleneck of expectations we are seeing in mobile data traffic. Deployed wireless speeds have already started eclipsing that of their wired counterparts. The idea of finding a cabled Ethernet port to get the good stuff...well that is quickly becoming something my kids don't relate to, (the past).

The data flow between a ceiling mounted AP and multiple bandwidth hungry smart phones for instance works better and better in this airspace. The bottleneck is forming behind that AP which is now demanding at as much as 3 to 4 Gbps. Sure the access switch may be just fine with it. That cable however? It's probably got an official max of 1 Gbps. The next official step is 10 Gbps...which is quite a big jump. This jump requires either higher grade copper cabling or a fiber run...replacing that perfectly good copper wiring buried in the walls...in places that cannot be easily accessed...at least not cost effectively.

How well do you understand the problem and your options to solve it? Robb Boyd explains the technology in this latest, 'Fundamentals of NBASE-T' from TechWiseTV.

We need to stay with copper so we can still carry PoE (Power over Ethernet) keep the AP up and running. Bottom line: 10 Gbps is great but if we have to re-cable, its going to be a really big project...and may not be able to happen fast enough to please our users. We really just need something between 1 and 10 that can use the cabling we already have.

This is where the NBASE-T Alliance has been working to give us more options. Thanks to their work, we now have 2.5 and 5 Gbps options available through participating manufacturers.

Want to learn more?

• See what options exist with Cisco Catalyst Multigigabit Switches.
• Follow my friend Peter Jones on Twitter: @petergjones
• Review the Ethernet Alliance Roadmap
• Watch more of everything at http://www.techwisetv.com