High-speed pulse propagation, up to several hundred Mbps or higher, will play an important role in telecommunication systems for B-ISDN. High-performance packaging, especially high-speed, high-throughput interconnection, is strongly required. For advanced telecommunication systems, giga-bit signal transmission has been developed at the multi-chip module level, and 300 to 600 Mbps signal transmission has been reached at the printed circuit board level. Electrical inter-cabinet interconnections of 150 to 300 Mbps have been achieved for up to several tens of meters. High-speed, high-throughput connectors are the key to achieving high-performance telecommunication packaging systems. Two technologies are extremely important. One is for high-density, high-pin-count connectors, and the other is for high-speed signal transmission connectors. The requirements for the connectors needed for advanced high-performance telecommunication systems are described. Several high-density, high-bandwidth connectors developed for high-performance packaging system are introduced.

B-ISDN telecommunication systems will require signal processing speeds up to 600 Mbps or more. We must therefore consider the affects of signal reflection, signal attenuation, time dalay, and so on when designing these systems. The higher the signal speed, the larger the electrical noise induced around the connector, especially in the plated through holes (PTHs) area. This paper presents the results of our investigation focused on connector mounting configurations in the signal transmission line, especially whether or not signals transmit through the PTH in a printed circuit board (PCB). How the signal reflection characteristics depend upon transmission line configurations are discussed and experimental results and simulation analyses for a transmission line system using a small miniature A-type (SMA) connector as an example are performed. It is suggested that designs for future high-speed signal transmission circuits take into account the PTH diameter and/or the PTH pitch conditions, values for which can be determined from simulation analysis.