| Full title | ANSI/TIA-568.1, Commercial Building Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard |
| Publisher | Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), committee TR-42.1 |
| Current revision | ANSI/TIA-568.1-E, March 2020, with Addendum 1 (568.1-E-1), March 2023 |
| Status | Current. A revision, 568.1-F, is in development (as of late 2025) to consolidate 568.0, 568.1 and TIA-862 |
| Previous revisions | 568.1-D (2015) and Addendum D-1 (2018); TIA-568-C.1 (2009); TIA/EIA-568-B.1; first published as EIA/TIA-568 in 1991 |
| Related standards | ANSI/TIA-568.0, 568.2, 568.3, 569, 606, 607; ISO/IEC 11801-2; EN 50173-2 |
What it covers
ANSI/TIA-568.1 sets requirements for planning and installing structured cabling in commercial buildings and between buildings on a campus. It covers cabling topology, recognised media, distances and outlet configurations. The cabling is intended to support voice, data, video and other applications.
It is the commercial building application of the generic model in ANSI/TIA-568.0. It does not set component or field test limits itself. Those come from 568.2 and 568.3.
How the 568 series fits together
| Document | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 568.0 | Generic Telecommunications Cabling for Customer Premises | Generic structure, topology, distances, installation and testing for any premises |
| 568.1 | Commercial Building Telecommunications Infrastructure | Applies the generic model to commercial buildings |
| 568.2 | Balanced Twisted-Pair Telecommunications Cabling and Components | Category 5e to 8 component, link and channel performance and testing |
| 568.3 | Optical Fiber Cabling and Components | Fibre cable, connector, polarity and test requirements |
| 568.4 | Broadband Coaxial Cabling and Components | Coaxial cabling |
| 568.5 | Balanced Single Twisted-Pair Telecommunications Cabling and Components | Single pair cabling |
568.0 uses generic terms (Distributor A, B and C, Cabling Subsystems 1, 2 and 3). 568.1 uses the familiar commercial building terms such as telecommunications room, horizontal cabling and work area.
568.0-E was also published in March 2020, with Addendum 568.0-E-1 (2022) adding single balanced twisted-pair topology and installation requirements.
Building elements
- Entrance facility: where outside cabling and access provider services enter the building
- Equipment room: houses main cross-connect and shared equipment
- Backbone cabling: between entrance facility, equipment room and telecommunications rooms, and between buildings
- Telecommunications room and telecommunications enclosure: house the horizontal cross-connect for a floor or area
- Horizontal cabling: from the telecommunications room to the work area outlet
- Work area: where users connect equipment to the outlet
The topology is a hierarchical star. Horizontal cable is limited to 90 m between the telecommunications room and the outlet, whatever the media. Cords add to this, giving the familiar 100 m twisted-pair channel. These elements and the 90 m limit have been in place since at least 568-C.1 (2009) and are understood to carry into 568.1-E.
Recognised media
Notes show when each provision was introduced. They are understood to carry into 568.1-E.
| Media | Notes (introduced in) |
|---|---|
| 4-pair 100 ohm balanced twisted-pair | Category 6A may be needed for a wider range of applications (568.1-D, 2015). Category 8 added by Addendum D-1 (2018) |
| Multimode optical fibre | OM4 or higher recommended for horizontal and backbone cabling (568.1-D, 2015). OM5 added by Addendum D-1 (2018) |
| Single-mode optical fibre | Recognised for horizontal and backbone cabling |
| 75 ohm broadband coaxial | Recognised for horizontal and backbone cabling from 568.1-D |
| Single balanced twisted-pair | Added by Addendum E-1 (2023) |
The D revision also raised the minimum backbone fibre count from one to two fibres per port or channel, allowed fibre array connectors in the work area, and moved open office provisions (consolidation points and multi-user telecommunications outlet assemblies) into 568.0.
Addendum 1 (568.1-E-1)
Released in March 2023, Addendum 1 adds balanced single twisted-pair cabling and a requirement for two Category 6A cables to each wireless access point. TIA describes the wireless access point requirement as harmonising with recent changes in other standards documents.
How it relates to other standards
- ISO/IEC 11801-2 (office premises) and EN 50173-2 are the nearest international and European equivalents. They use classes for channels and categories for components, while TIA uses categories for both.
- ANSI/TIA-569 covers pathways and spaces, ANSI/TIA-606 administration and labelling, and ANSI/TIA-607 bonding and grounding.
- ANSI/TIA-942 covers data centres, and ANSI/TIA-1179 healthcare facilities, building on the same generic model.
What it means in practice
- When a specification cites TIA-568, check which part and revision it means. Topology and distances sit in 568.0 and 568.1; component and test limits sit in 568.2 and 568.3.
- Keep installed horizontal cable to 90 m or less. Field test the permanent link to 568.2 or 568.3 limits.
- Plan two Category 6A cables per wireless access point location.
- Allow at least two fibres per backbone port or channel, the minimum since 568.1-D.
- Expect references to change when 568.1-F, which merges 568.0, 568.1 and TIA-862, is published.
Related reading: What is structured cabling? · Cat5e vs Cat6 vs Cat6A: which cable is right?.