Thirteen companies in networking, semiconductors, and cabling announced the formation of the Active Copper Cable Multi-Source Agreement (ACC-MSA). The group, based in Santa Clara, California, aims to define specifications for interoperable active copper cable (ACC) solutions.
The ACC-MSA focuses on creating a multi-source ecosystem to address challenges in high-speed copper interconnects, specifically by reducing power consumption, cost, and latency while improving performance.
Founding members include AMD, Amphenol, Ciena, Cisco, Dell Technologies, Keysight Technologies, Luxshare Technologies, MACOM Technology Solutions, Molex, Multilane, NVIDIA, Semtech Corporation, and TE Connectivity. The consortium is co-chaired by MACOM and Semtech.
The initial work targets optimized copper interconnects with integrated linear equalizers. Specifications will cover electrical, firmware, and testing requirements to support interoperability among vendors of networking equipment and copper cables.
Marek Tlaka, Vice President of High Performance Connectivity at MACOM, stated that extending copper cabling reach is necessary for scaling intra-rack connectivity in AI and other high-performance applications. He noted that integrating linear equalizers into cable connectors can increase reach, reduce cable thickness, lower power consumption and latency compared to DSP-based solutions, maintain a low bit error rate, and keep a pluggable interface compatible with existing passive copper and optical interconnects.
Scott Schube, Vice President of Applications and Business Development, Signal Integrity Products at Semtech, said the ACC-MSA seeks to foster innovation and collaboration by establishing a multi-source ecosystem to improve interconnect economics and encourage adoption of next-generation copper connectivity.
Analyst Alan Weckel from 650 Group commented that AI hardware infrastructure spending is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2029, with networking infrastructure approaching $200 billion in the same period. He indicated that ACCs could serve as a key component for low-power, low-cost short-reach interconnects and are expected to contribute significantly to the expanding networking market.
