EN 50173-4:2018/A1:2023

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-maj-2024
Informacijska tehnologija - Osnovni kabelski sistemi - 4. del: Bivalni prostori -
Dopolnilo A1
Information technology - Generic cabling systems - Part 4: Homes
Informationstechnik - Anwendungsneutrale Kommunikationskabelanlagen - Teil 4:
Wohnungen
Technologies de l'information - Systèmes de câblage générique - Partie 4: Locaux
d'habitation
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 50173-4:2018/A1:2023
ICS:
33.040.50 Vodi, zveze in tokokrogi Lines, connections and
circuits
35.110 Omreževanje Networking
91.140.50 Sistemi za oskrbo z elektriko Electricity supply systems
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 50173-4:2018/A1

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM December 2023
ICS 33.040.50
English Version
Information technology - Generic cabling systems - Part 4:
Homes
Technologies de l'information - Systèmes de câblage Informationstechnik - Anwendungsneutrale
générique - Partie 4: Locaux d'habitation Kommunikationskabelanlagen - Teil 4: Wohnungen
This amendment A1 modifies the European Standard EN 50173-4:2018; it was approved by CENELEC on 2023-10-25. CENELEC
members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this amendment the
status of a national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.
This amendment exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the
responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as
the official versions.
CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2023 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.
Ref. No. EN 50173-4:2018/A1:2023 E

European foreword
Thi
...

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-maj-2024
Informacijska tehnologija - Osnovni kabelski sistem - 4. del: Bivalni prostori -
Dopolnilo A1
Information technology - Generic cabling systems - Part 4: Homes
Informationstechnik - Anwendungsneutrale Kommunikationskabelanlagen - Teil 4:
Wohnungen
Technologies de l'information - Systèmes de câblage générique - Partie 4: Locaux
d'habitation
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 50173-4:2018/A1:2023
ICS:
33.040.50 Vodi, zveze in tokokrogi Lines, connections and
circuits
35.110 Omreževanje Networking
91.140.50 Sistemi za oskrbo z elektriko Electricity supply systems
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 50173-4:2018/A1

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM December 2023
ICS 33.040.50
English Version
Information technology - Generic cabling systems - Part 4:
Homes
Technologies de l'information - Systèmes de câblage Informationstechnik - Anwendungsneutrale
générique - Partie 4: Locaux d'habitation Kommunikationskabelanlagen - Teil 4: Wohnungen
This amendment A1 modifies the European Standard EN 50173-4:2018; it was approved by CENELEC on 2023-10-25. CENELEC
members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this amendment the
status of a national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.
This amendment exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the
responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as
the official versions.
CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2023 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.
Ref. No. EN 50173-4:2018/A1:2023 E

European foreword
Thi
...

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-maj-2024
Informacijska tehnologija - Univerzalni sistemi polaganja kablov - 4. del: Bivalni
prostori - Dopolnilo A1
Information technology - Generic cabling systems - Part 4: Homes
Informationstechnik - Anwendungsneutrale Kommunikationskabelanlagen - Teil 4:
Wohnungen
Technologies de l'information - Systèmes de câblage générique - Partie 4: Locaux
d'habitation
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 50173-4:2018/A1:2023
ICS:
33.040.50 Vodi, zveze in tokokrogi Lines, connections and
circuits
35.110 Omreževanje Networking
91.140.50 Sistemi za oskrbo z elektriko Electricity supply systems
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 50173-4
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM June 2018
ICS 33.040.50 Supersedes EN 50173-4:2007
In accordance with CENELEC/BT Decision D144/010, this consolidated version is purely
informal and is intended to be used by the CENELEC National Committees only.

This document includes Amendment 1, approved by CENELEC on 2023-10-25.
The start and finish of text introduced or altered by amendment is indicated in the text by tags
!".
English Version
Information technology - Generic cabling systems - Part 4:
Homes
Technologies de l'information - Systèmes de câblage Informationstechnik - Anwendungsneutrale
générique - Partie 4: Locaux d'habitation Kommunikationskabelanlagen - Teil 4: Wohnungen
This European Standard was approved by CENELEC on 2018-03-19. CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC
Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the
same status as the official versions.
CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2018 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.
Ref. No. EN 50173-4:2018 E
EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword 6
Introduction 8
1 Scope and conformance 11
1.1 Scope 11
1.2 Conformance 11
2 Normative references 12
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations 13
3.1 Terms and definitions 13
3.2 Abbreviations 14
4 Structure of the generic cabling system in a home 14
4.1 General 14
4.2 Functional elements 14
4.3 Structure and hierarchy 14
4.4 Cabling subsystems 16
4.4.1 Home cabling subsystems 16
4.4.2 Associated cabling subsystems 17
4.5 Design objectives 18
4.5.1 General 18
4.5.2 Primary home cabling 18
4.5.3 Secondary home cabling 19
4.5.4 Network access cabling 19
4.6 Accommodation of functional elements 19
4.6.1 General 19
4.6.2 Application outlets 20
4.6.3 Distributors 20
4.6.4 Cables 20
4.7 Interfaces 20
4.7.1 Equipment interfaces (EIs) and test interfaces (TIs) 20
4.7.2 Channels and links 22
4.8 Dimensioning and configuration 22
4.8.1 Distributors 22
4.8.2 Cables 23
4.8.3 Connecting hardware 24
4.8.4 Equipment cords 24
4.8.5 Application outlets 24
4.8.6 External network interfaces 25
5 Requirements for channels in homes 26

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
5.1 General 26
5.2 Environmental performance 26
5.3 Transmission performance 26
5.3.1 General 26
5.3.2 Channel construction 26
5.3.3 Balanced cabling 27
5.3.4 Coaxial cabling 27
5.3.5 Optical fibre cabling channels 27
6 Reference implementations in homes 28
6.1 General 28
6.2 Balanced cabling channels 28
6.2.1 General 28
6.2.2 Component choice 28
6.2.3 Dimensions 29
6.3 Optical fibre cabling 30
6.3.1 General 30
6.3.2 Component choice 31
6.3.3 Dimensions 31
6.4 Coaxial cabling 32
7 Requirements for cables in homes 32
7.1 General 32
7.2 Balanced cables of Category 5, 6, 6A, 7, 7A, 8.1, 8.2 and BCT-B 32
7.2.1 General 32
7.2.2 Cables of Category 5, 6, 6A, 7, 7A, 8.1 and 8.2 32
7.2.3 Cables of Category BCT-B 33
7.3 Optical fibre cables of Category OM3, OM4, OM5, OS1a and OS2 33
7.4 Coaxial cables of Category BCT-C 33
8 Requirements for connecting hardware in homes 33
8.1 General requirements 33
8.2 Balanced connecting hardware 33
8.2.1 General requirements 33
8.2.2 Electrical, mechanical and environmental performance 33
8.3 Optical fibre connecting hardware 34
8.3.1 General requirements 34
8.3.2 Connecting hardware for optical fibres 34
8.4 Coaxial connecting hardware of Category BCT-C 34
8.4.1 General 34
8.4.2 Broadcast Outlet 34
EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
8.4.3 Connecting hardware at other locations 34
9 Requirements for cords and jumpers in homes 35
9.1 Jumpers 35
9.2 Balanced cords of Category 5, 6, 6A, 7, 7A, 8.1, 8.2 and BCT-B 35
9.2.1 General 35
9.2.2 Additional requirements for certain cords 35
9.3 Optical fibre cords of Category OM3, OM4, OM5, OS1a and OS2 35
9.4 Coaxial cords of Category BCT-C 35
Annex A (normative) Link performance limits 36
A.1 General 36
A.2 Balanced cabling 36
A.3 Coaxial cabling 36
A.4 Optical fibre cabling 36
Annex B (informative) Application-specific bct outlets and baluns 37
B.1 TV outlets for coaxial cabling 37
B.1.1 Double outlet 37
B.1.2 Triple outlet 37
B.2 Baluns for tv applications using 100 ω balanced cabling channels 37
B.2.1 General 37
B.2.2 Impedance matching balun (100 Ω/75 Ω) 37
B.2.3 Impedance matching and frequency splitting balun 37
Annex C (informative) Application-specific networks for audio/video applications 38
C.1 General 38
C.2 Antenna-fed networks 38
C.3 Cable networks (CATV-, MATV- and SMATV-networks and individual receiving networks) 38
C.3.1 System performance of cable networks 38
C.3.2 Safety requirements for cable networks 38
C.3.3 EMC requirements for equipment and for cable networks 38
Annex D (informative) A-deviations 40
Bibliography 42
Figures
Figure 1 — Schematic relationship between the EN 50173 series and other relevant standards . 8
Figure 2 — Structure of the generic cabling system in a home . 15
Figure 3 — Hierarchical topology of a generic cabling system in support of ICT and/or BCT applications . 15
Figure 4 — Examples of interconnection of primary home and network access cabling . 17
Figure 5 — Network access cabling in premises containing one or more homes . 18
Figure 6 — Accommodation of functional elements . 20
Figure 7 — Equipment and test interfaces in support of ICT and BCT applications . 21
Figure 8 — Channels and permanent links within a home . 23

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
Figure 9 — Reference implementations for ICT and BCT channels (PHD/SHD to TO/BO) . 29
Figure 10 — Primary/secondary home cabling channels . 31
Tables
Table 1 — Contextual relationship between EN 50173 series and other standards relevant for information
technology cabling systems . 9
Table 2 — Maximum channel lengths for reference implementations of ICT and BCT channels . 23
Table 3 — Channel length equations . 30

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
European foreword
This document (EN 50173-4:2018) has been prepared by the Technical Committee CENELEC TC 215
"Electrotechnical aspects of telecommunication equipment" in cooperation with the Technical Committee
CENELEC TC 209 "Cable networks for television signals, sound signals and interactive services".
The following dates are fixed:
latest date by which this document has (dop) 2019-03-19
•
to be implemented at national level by
publication of an identical national
standard or by endorsement
• latest date by which the national (dow) 2021-03-19
standards conflicting with this document
have to be withdrawn
This document supersedes the text of EN 50173-4:2007 + A1:2010 + A2:2012.
The European Standards EN 50173:1995 and EN 50173-1:2002 have been developed to enable the
application-independent cabling to support ICT applications in office premises. Their basic principles,
however, are applicable to other types of applications and in other types of premises.
TC 215 has decided to establish relevant European Standards which address the specific requirements of
these premises. In order to point out the commonalities of these cabling design standards, these EN are
published as individual parts of the series EN 50173, thus also acknowledging that standards users recognize
the designation “EN 50173” as a synonym for generic cabling design.
At the time of publication of this European Standard, series EN 50173 comprises the following standards:
EN 50173-1 Information technology — Generic cabling systems — Part 1: General requirements
EN 50173-2 Information technology — Generic cabling systems — Part 2: Office spaces
EN 50173-3 Information technology — Generic cabling systems — Part 3: Industrial spaces
EN 50173-4 Information technology — Generic cabling systems — Part 4: Homes
EN 50173-5 Information technology — Generic cabling systems — Part 5: Data centre spaces
Information technology — Generic cabling systems — Part 6: Distributed building
EN 50173-6
services
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CENELEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This edition of EN 50173-4:
a) introduces new components 8.1 and 8.2 for balanced cabling to support new channel Classes I and II as
well as optical fibre cabling (OM5) as defined in EN 50173-1:2018;
b) revises the functional elements in Clause 4;
c) clarifies the relation of generic home cabling systems to the network access cabling subsystem in
Clause 4;
d) introduces relevant design objectives for home cabling systems;
e) introduces cable sharing requirements;
f) removes CCCB cabling and relevant component requirements;

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
g) removes Annex B of the previous edition;
h) aligns the document structure across the EN 50173 series and updates the document both technically
and editorially.
EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
Introduction
The importance of cabling infrastructure is similar to that of other fundamental utilities such as water and
energy supply and interruptions to the services provided over that infrastructure can have a serious impact. A
lack of design foresight, the use of inappropriate components, incorrect installation, poor administration or
inadequate support can threaten quality of service and have commercial consequences for all types of users.
This standard specifies generic cabling within a single home.
The home can contain one or more buildings or can be within a building which contains more than one home
(e.g. one home in a multi-dwelling building).
The campus or backbone cabling connecting individual homes within multi-tenant premises is specified
according to the relevant standard (for instance EN 50173-1 or EN 60728 series).
Generic cabling for distributed building services in homes is specified in EN 50173-6 which addresses all of
the above premises and spaces within them.
Figure 1 and Table 1 show the schematic and contextual relationships between the standards produced by
TC 215 for information technology cabling, namely:
1) this and other parts of the EN 50173 series;
2) installation (EN 50174 series);
3) bonding (EN 50310).
Figure 1 — Schematic relationship between the EN 50173 series and other relevant standards

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
Table 1 — Contextual relationship between EN 50173 series and other standards relevant for
information technology cabling systems
Building design Generic cabling Specification Installation Operation phase
phase design phase phase phase
EN 50173-2 EN 50174-1
EN 50173-3
Planning phase
EN 50173-4
EN 50174-2
EN 50173-5
EN 50310 EN 50174-3 EN 50174-1
EN 50173-6 EN 50174-2
EN 50310
EN 50174-3
(these ENs
EN 50310
reference general
requirements of
EN 50173-1)
In addition, a number of Technical Reports have been developed to support or extend the application of these
standards, including:
— CLC/TR 50173-99-1, Cabling guidelines in support of 10 GBASE-T;
— CLC/TR 50173-99-2, Information technology — Implementation of BCT applications using cabling in
accordance with EN 50173-4;
— CLC/TR 50173-99-3, Information technology — Generic cabling systems — Part 99-3: Home cabling
infrastructures up to 50 m in length to support simultaneous and non simultaneous provision of
applications.
In addition, a number of cabling design standards have been developed using components of EN 50173-1
(e.g. EN 50098 series and EN 50700).
The generic cabling specified by this standard provides users with:
— an application independent system capable of supporting a wide range of applications in a range of
installation and operating environments;
— a flexible scheme such that modifications are both easy and economical;
— a multi-vendor supply chain within an open market for cabling components.
In addition this standard provides:
a) relevant industry professionals with guidance allowing the accommodation of cabling before specific
requirements are known; i.e. in the initial planning either for construction or refurbishment and for further
deployment as the requirements of areas are defined;
b) industry and standardization bodies with a cabling system which supports current products and provides
a basis for future product development and applications standardization.
Applications addressed in this standard include those developed by the Technical Committees of IEC
(including the subcommittees of ISO/IEC JTC 1) and study groups of ITU-T as used to support the following
services:
— Information and Communications Technologies (ICT);
— Broadcast and Communications Technologies (BCT).
This standard provides guidance where cabling is designed to support only one of the services listed above.

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
Physical layer requirements for the applications listed in EN 50173-1:2018, Annex F, have been analysed to
determine their compatibility with the cabling performance specified in this standard and, together with
statistics concerning premises geography from different countries and the models described in Clause 4,
have been used to develop the requirements for cabling components and to stipulate their arrangement into
cabling systems.
As a result, this standard:
a) specifies a structure for generic cabling supporting a wide variety of applications including, but not
restricted to, those in EN 50173-1:2018, Annex F;
b) adopts balanced cabling channel and link Classes D, E, E , F, F and BCT-B specified in EN 50173-1;
A A
c) adopts coaxial cabling channel and link Classes BCT-C specified in EN 50173-1;
d) adopts optical fibre cabling channel and link requirements specified in EN 50173-1;
e) adopts component requirements, specified in EN 50173-1, and specifies cabling implementations that
ensures performance of links and of channels meeting the requirements of a specified group (e.g. Class)
of applications.
Life expectancy of generic cabling systems can vary depending on environmental conditions, supported
applications, aging of materials used in cables, and other factors such as access to pathways (campus
pathways are more difficult to access than building pathways).
With appropriate choice of components, generic cabling systems meeting the requirements of this standard
are expected to have a life expectancy of at least ten years.

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
1 Scope and conformance
1.1 Scope
This standard specifies generic cabling for homes. A home can contain one or more buildings or can be
within a building that contains more than one home.
It covers balanced cabling, optical fibre cabling, and coaxial cabling.
This standard specifies generic cabling for two groups of applications:
— Information and Communications Technologies (ICT);
— Broadcast and Communications Technologies (BCT).
This standard specifies directly or via reference to EN 50173-1 the:
— structure and minimum configuration for generic cabling within homes;
— interfaces at the telecommunications outlet (TO) and broadcast outlet (BO);
— performance requirements for cabling links and channels;
— implementation requirements and options;
— performance requirements for cabling components;
— conformance requirements and verification procedures.
This standard has taken into account requirements specified in application standards listed in EN 50173-1.
Safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements are outside the scope of this standard and are
covered by other standards and regulations. However, information given in this standard can be of assistance
in meeting these standards and regulations.
1.2 Conformance
For a cabling installation to conform to this standard the following applies.
a) The configuration and structure shall conform to the requirements of Clause 4.
b) Channels shall meet the requirements of Clause 5.
This shall be achieved by one of the following:
1) a channel design and implementation ensuring that the prescribed channel performance of Clause 5
is met;
2) attachment of appropriate components to a permanent link design meeting the prescribed
performance class of Annex A. Channel performance shall be ensured where a channel is created
by adding more than one cord to either end of a link meeting the requirements of Annex A;
3) for E environments, using the reference implementations of Clause 6 and compatible cabling
components conforming to the requirements of Clauses 7, 8 and 9 based upon a statistical
approach of performance modelling.
c) The interfaces to the cabling at the TO and BO shall conform to the requirements of Clause 8 with
respect to mating interfaces and performance;

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
d) Connecting hardware at other places in the cabling structure shall meet the performance requirements
specified in Clause 8 independent of the interface used;
e) The requirements of EN 50174 series standards and EN 50310 shall be met;
f) Local regulations, including those concerning safety and EMC, shall be met.
This standard does not specify which tests and sampling levels should be adopted. Test methods to assess
conformance with the channel and link requirements of Clause 5 and Annex A respectively are specified in
EN 50173-1. The test parameters to be measured, the sampling levels and the treatment of measured results
to be applied for a particular installation shall be defined in the installation specification and quality plans for
that installation prepared in accordance with EN 50174-1.
In the absence of the channel, the conformance of the link shall be used to verify conformance with the
standard.
Specifications marked “ffs” are preliminary specifications, and are not required for conformance to this
standard.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
CLC/TR 50173-99-2, Information technology — Implementation of BCT applications using cabling in
accordance with EN 50173-4
EN 50173-1:2018, Information technology — Generic cabling systems — Part 1: General requirements
EN 50174-1, Information technology — Cabling installation — Part 1: Installation specification and quality
assurance
EN 50174-2, Information technology — Cabling installation — Part 2: Installation planning and practices
inside buildings
EN 50174-3, Information technology — Cabling installation — Part 3: Installation planning and practices
outside buildings
EN 60728-1, Cable networks for television signals, sound signals and interactive services — Part 1: System
performance of forward paths (IEC 60728-1)
EN 61076-3-104, Connectors for electronic equipment — Product requirements — Part 3-104: Detail
specification for 8-way, shielded free and fixed connectors for data transmissions with frequencies up to
1 000 MHz (IEC 61076-3-104)
EN 61076-3-106, Connectors for electronic equipment — Product requirements — Part 3—106: Rectangular
connectors — Detail specification for protective housings for use with 8-way shielded and unshielded
connectors for industrial environments incorporating the IEC 60603-7 series interface (IEC 61076-3-106)
EN 61754-20:2012, Fibre optic interconnecting devices and passive components — Fibre optic connector
interfaces — Part 20: Type LC connector family (IEC 61754-20:2012)

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EN 50173-1, EN 50174-1 and the
following apply.
3.1.1
application outlet
point at which terminal equipment is connected to the generic cabling in support of an Information and
Communication Technology and/or Broadcast Communications Technology application
3.1.2
balun
device to provide impedance transformation between balanced and unbalanced components
3.1.3
broadcast outlet
fixed connector providing connection to terminal equipment for BCT applications
3.1.4
home
physical structure used as a dwelling place, such as a house or an apartment
Note 1 to entry: This can be an individual building, part of a larger building or more than one building.
3.1.5
primary home cable
cable that connects the primary home distributor to a telecommunications outlet or broadcast outlet or to a
secondary home distributor (where present)
3.1.6
primary home distributor
distributor within a home where the cables serving the application outlets (or optional secondary home
distributor) are terminated
3.1.7
secondary home cable
cable that connects the a secondary home distributor to a telecommunications outlet or broadcast outlet
3.1.8
secondary home distributor
an optional distributor used to provide additional infrastructure flexibility and/or allocate transmission
equipment between the primary home distributor and application outlets (e. g. for homes with multiple floors)
3.1.9
telecommunications outlet
fixed connector providing connection to terminal equipment
3.1.10
terminal equipment cabling
cord and other devices connecting the telecommunications outlet or broadcast outlet to the terminal
equipment
EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
3.2 Abbreviations
For the purposes of this document, the abbreviations given in EN 50173-1 and the following apply.
BO Broadcast Outlet
CATV Community Antenna Television
ENI External Network Interface
HBES Home and Building Electronic System
MATV Master Antenna Television
PHD Primary Home Distributor
SHD Secondary Home Distributor
SMATV Satellite Master Antenna Television
TO Telecommunications Outlet
4 Structure of the generic cabling system in a home
4.1 General
This clause identifies the functional elements of generic cabling to support ICT and/or BCT applications,
describes how they are connected together to form subsystems and identifies the interfaces at which
application-specific components are connected to the generic cabling infrastructure. Channels, created by
connecting application-specific cabling components to the generic cabling, are used to support ICT and/or
BCT applications. Applications listed in EN 50173-1:2018, Annex F, are supported by connecting active
equipment at the external network interfaces, application outlets and the distributors.
NOTE The channels specified in Clause 5 do not generally support the simultaneous transmission of multiple
applications, of the same or different application Classes, within a cable or at an interface to the generic cabling. The
sharing of components by applications can require additional performance requirements and/or supplier instructions to be
applied. These requirements are outside the scope of this standard. Further information can be found in
CLC/TR 50173-99-3.
4.2 Functional elements
The functional elements of generic cabling are as follows:
a) primary home distributor (PHD);
b) primary home cable;
c) secondary home distributor (SHD);
d) secondary home cable;
e) application outlet i.e. telecommunications outlet (TO) or broadcast outlet (BO).
Groups of these functional elements are connected together to form cabling subsystems (see 4.3).
4.3 Structure and hierarchy
Generic cabling systems to support ICT and/or BCT applications contain up to two types of cabling
subsystems: primary home cabling and the secondary home cabling. The cabling subsystems are connected
together to create a generic cabling system with a structure as shown in Figure 2. The composition of the
subsystems is described in 4.4.1.1 and 4.4.1.2. The functional elements of the cabling subsystems are
connected to form a hierarchical topology as in Figure 3.

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
Figure 2 — Structure of the generic cabling system in a home
Connections between cabling subsystems are either active, requiring application-specific equipment, or
passive. Connection to application-specific equipment at the distributors generally adopts an interconnect
approach (see EN 50173-1). Cabling designs that adopt a direct connection to the equipment at the
distributors can be implemented in order to achieve the desired transmission performance but serve to restrict
the flexibility of the infrastructure and are non-conformant with the requirements of this clause.
Passive connections between cabling subsystems adopt either a cross-connect approach, by way of either
patch cords or jumpers, or an interconnect approach (see EN 50173-1).
Passive connections between the primary home cabling subsystem and the network access cabling at the
PHD are generally achieved using a cross-connect approach (see EN 50173-1).

a) Topology with primary home distributor b) Topology with primary home distributor and secondary
home distributor
Figure 3 — Hierarchical topology of a generic cabling system in support of ICT and/or BCT
applications
EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
4.4 Cabling subsystems
4.4.1 Home cabling subsystems
4.4.1.1 Primary home cabling subsystem
The primary home cabling subsystem extends from the PHD to the application outlet.
When an SHD is used, the primary home cabling subsystem extends from the PHD to the secondary home
cabling subsystem. The subsystem includes:
a) the primary home cables;
b) the mechanical termination of the primary home cables at the SHD or application outlet as appropriate;
c) the mechanical termination of the primary home cables together with associated patch cords and/or
jumpers at the PHD;
d) the TO or BO (where a SHD is not used).
Although equipment cords are used to connect the transmission equipment to the primary home cabling
subsystem, they are not considered part of the primary home cabling subsystem because they can be
application-specific.
The home cabling subsystem does not include the interface to the network access cabling at the PHD.
4.4.1.2 Secondary home cabling subsystem
The secondary home cabling subsystem extends from a SHD to the application outlet.
The subsystem includes:
a) the secondary home cables;
b) the mechanical termination of the secondary home cables at the TO or BO;
c) the mechanical termination of the secondary home cables together with associated patch cords and/or
jumpers at the SHD;
d) the TO or BO.
Although equipment cords are used to connect the transmission equipment to the secondary home cabling
subsystem, they are not considered part of the secondary home cabling subsystem because can be
application-specific.
EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
4.4.2 Associated cabling subsystems
4.4.2.1 Network access cabling subsystem
Network access cabling is presented at the PHD as shown in Figure 4.

NOTE The dotted elements represent the boundaries of functional elements and not the enclosure that contains the
functional elements.
Figure 4 — Examples of interconnection of primary home and network access cabling
As shown in Figure 5 the network access cabling:
— in premises containing a single home - provides the connection between the external network interfaces
(ENI, public or private) and the PHD;
— in premises containing multiple homes - can, subject to national or local regulation, also provide the
connection between:
a) the individual homes in the same premises;
b) the premises external network interfaces (public or private) and the PHD in each home.

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
Figure 5 — Network access cabling in premises containing one or more homes
The only interfaces to network access cabling within a home shall be those serving that home.
When used to provide a direct connection between the generic cabling system and an external network
interface in the home, the performance of the network access cabling should be considered as part of the
initial design and implementation of customer applications.
When used to provide a direct connection between the generic cabling system and an external network
interface in the same premises (but not within the home served by the primary home distributor), the network
access cabling shall be in accordance with EN 50173-1 (backbone cabling) for ICT applications and shall
take into account CLC/TR 50173-99-2 for BCT applications in accordance with EN 60728-1.
4.5 Design objectives
4.5.1 General
The design objectives should address the performance and capacity aspects described in 4.5.2, 4.5.3 and
4.5.4.
4.5.2 Primary home cabling
Primary home cabling should be designed to support the broadest set of existing and emerging applications
within the environmental conditions defined in Clause 5 and therefore provide the longest operational life.
This will minimize disruption and the high cost of re-cabling in the home.
This standard allows the use of cable sharing in the primary home cabling subsystem terminating 4-pair
cables as 2-pair interfaces at the TO and PHD/SHD. However, 4 pairs per TO is recommended to support
common applications (see EN 50173-1:2018, Annex F) and 2-pair interfaces should only be considered
where a design assessment has confirmed that there is adequate provision of capacity in terms of cables,
their accommodation and resulting application-provision should it be necessary to re-terminate the 4 pair
balanced cable in a 4-pair configuration.
This standard allows the use of optical fibre cabling in the primary cabling subsystem. Such an
implementation should only be considered where a design assessment has confirmed that there is adequate
provision for applications that do not have optical fibre equivalents (e.g. remote powering), See
EN 50173-1:2018, Annex F for further information.

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
Pathways shall be selected and pathway systems shall be installed in accordance with EN 50174-2 to
support the predicted quantity of TOs and BOs taking into account predicted growth in the number and type
of services to be supported by the cabling. This will minimize the disruption and cost of cable installation to
those locations.
The dimensions and quantities of pathways and pathway systems should take into account the potential of
installation of overlay cabling in accordance with EN 50173-6.
4.5.3 Secondary home cabling
Secondary home cabling should be designed to support the broadest set of existing and emerging
applications within the environmental conditions defined in Clause 5 and therefore provide the longest
operational life. This will minimize disruption and the high cost of re-cabling in the home.
This standard allows the use of cable sharing in the secondary home cabling subsystem terminating 4-pair
cables as 2-pair interfaces at the TO and PHD/SHD. However, 4 pairs per TO is recommended to support
common applications (see EN 50173-1:2018, Annex F) and 2-pair interfaces should only be considered
where a design assessment has confirmed that there is adequate provision of capacity in terms of cables,
their accommodation and resulting application-provision should it be necessary to re-terminate the 4 pair
balanced cable in a 4-pair configuration.
This standard allows the use of optical fibre cabling in the secondary cabling subsystem. Such an
implementation should only be considered where a design assessment has confirmed that there is adequate
provision of applications, including remote powering, that do not have optical fibre equivalents (see
EN 50173-1:2018, Annex F).
Pathways shall be selected and pathway systems shall be installed in accordance with EN 50174-2 to
support the predicted quantity of TOs and BOs taking into account predicted growth in the number and type
of services to be supported by the cabling. This will minimize the disruption and cost of cable installation to
those locations.
The dimensions and quantities of pathways and pathway systems should take into account the potential of
installation of overlay cabling in accordance with EN 50173-6.
4.5.4 Network access cabling
Pathways shall be selected and pathway systems shall be installed in accordance with EN 50174-2 to
support the predicted quantity of access providers taking into account predicted growth in the number and
type of services to be supported by the cabling. This will minimize the disruption and cost of subsequent
cable installation.
NOTE The implementation of optical fibre cabling in accordance with this European standard requires appropriate
equipment to interface with any optical fibre content of an access network.
4.6 Accommodation of functional elements
4.6.1 General
Figure 6 shows an example of how the functional elements are accommodated within a home. As shown it is
possible for the areas served by the cabling to extend beyond the external walls of a building or to serve a
separate building within the home.

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
Figure 6 — Accommodation of functional elements
4.6.2 Application outlets
Application outlets are located through the home, depending on the design of the building.
Application outlets shall be located in readily accessible locations in the room, depending on the design of the
building and subject to the requirements of national and local regulations.
4.6.3 Distributors
4.6.3.1 Primary Home Distributor
Requirements for primary distribution spaces are contained in EN 50174-2.
4.6.3.2 Secondary Home Distributor
Requirements for secondary distribution spaces are contained in EN 50174-2.
4.6.4 Cables
The requirements for pathways and pathway systems accommodating cables are provided in EN 50174-2
and EN 50174-3.
4.7 Interfaces
4.7.1 Equipment interfaces (EIs) and test interfaces (TIs)
Equipment interfaces (EIs) to generic cabling are located at distributors and application outlets. Test
interfaces (TIs) to cabling are located at the ends of each subsystem.
Figure 7 shows the potential EIs and potential TIs within the generic cabling system.
Transmission and terminal equipment are generally connected to an EI using an equipment cord.

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
NOTE 1 The dotted elements represent the boundaries of functional elements and not the enclosure that contains the
functional elements.
NOTE 2 For BCT-C applications the test interface is defined according to EN 61169-1.
NOTE 3 The channels created in Figure 7 c) are not supported by the reference implementations of Clause 6 unless
both the lengths x and y exceed 15 m.
Figure 7 — Equipment and test interfaces in support of ICT and BCT applications

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
4.7.2 Channels and links
4.7.2.1 Channel
The transmission performance requirements of channels are detailed in Clause 5.
The channel is the transmission path between equipment at a distributor (EQP in Figure 8) and the terminal
equipment (TE in Figure 8). A typical channel would consist of the primary home cabling subsystem together
with terminal equipment cords and equipment cords. It is important that the generic cabling channel is
designed to meet the required performance for the applications that are to be run.
For the purposes of testing, the channel excludes the connections at the application-specific equipment.
The creation of a channel between two application outlets via a passive cross-connection at a distributor is
allowed provided that the relevant channel performance of Clause 5 is met.
The maximum channel lengths for each application group are dependent upon the performance of the cable
and connecting hardware used (see Table 2 and Table 3 for maximum channel lengths using the reference
implementations of Clause 6).
Where the performance requirements of an application allow, longer channels can be formed by the passive
connection of cabling subsystems together with equipment cords where appropriate.
4.7.2.2 Links
The transmission performance requirements and relevant configurations of links are specified in Annex A.
If there is no SHD, the permanent link consists of the primary home cable and the termination of that cable at
the application outlet and the PHD as shown in Figure 8.
If there is an SHD, there are two permanent links. The first permanent link consists of the primary home cable
and the termination of that cable at the SHD and the PHD; the second permanent link consists of the
secondary home cable and the termination of that cable at the application outlet and the SHD. These
permanent links are also shown in Figure 8. See B.2 for the use of BCT-B links to support BCT-C
applications.
For the purposes of testing, the permanent link includes the connections at the ends of the installed cabling.
4.8 Dimensioning and configuration
4.8.1 Distributors
The type and number of functional elements used depends upon the type of premises and the application
group(s) served. It is possible to combine multiple functional elements into a single element.
Each home shall be served by a single PHD. The physical volume of the PHD depends upon the complexity
of the infrastructure being served.
The design of distributors should ensure that the lengths of patch cords, jumpers and equipment cords are
minimized. The design lengths of the cords should be maintained during operation.
Distributors shall be located such that the resulting cable lengths are consistent with the channel performance
requirements of Clause 5. For the reference implementations described in Clause 6, the maximum channel
lengths in Table 2 shall be observed subject to any national, regional, and local regulations or service
provider instructions which can restrict the maximum channel length between the application outlet and the
external network interface.
EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
NOTE 1 The dotted elements represent the boundaries of functional elements and not the enclosure that contains the
functional elements.
NOTE 2 The channels of Figure 8 c) are not supported by the reference implementations of Clause 6 unless both
permanent link lengths exceed 15 m.
Figure 8 — Channels and permanent links within a home
Table 2 — Maximum channel lengths for reference implementations of ICT and BCT channels
Cabling type
ICT BCT-B BCT-C Optical
100 m -L 11,8 -L 34 m 100 m
m
-M 25 m -M 73 m
NOTE 1 -L channels allow BCT applications across the frequency range
47 MHz - 862 MHz to be distributed without any compensation, whereas -M
channels require compensation across that frequency range of up to 6 dB
NOTE 2 Some implementations of optical channels are not supported over
the maximum lengths (see 6.3.3 for performance and length
considerations).
NOTE 3 Reference implementations are not intended to restrict the use of
shorter lengths.
4.8.2 Cables
4.8.2.1 Cable provision
For ICT channels, the primary (or secondary, as appropriate) home cables shall contain four balanced pairs
capable of supporting ICT channels in accordance with Table 3.

EN 50173-4:2018+A1:2024 (E)
For BCT channels, the primary (or secondary, as appropriate) home cables shall be either:
a) balanced, containing at least one pair capable of supporting BCT-B channels in accordance with Table 3;
b) coaxial, capable of supporting BCT-C channels in accordance with Table 3.
Optical fibre cables, additional balanced cables (for ICT and/or BCT applications) or coaxial cables (for BCT
applications) should be provided as defined by the:
1) number and mix of applications (e.g. satellite feed, multi-cable feed of CATV, in-house generated video);
2) number of application outlets to be served.
All cable elements within areas served shall be terminated at application outlets. A cable element shall not be
terminated at more than one application outlet. This does not exclude Radio/TV-outlets, see B.1.1.
NOTE Cabling configurations beyond the application outlet that provide such connections (e.g. physical bus) are
application-specific and lie outside the scope of this standard.
4.8.2.2 Cable sharing
In order to maximize the capacit
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