Methods and apparatus for accessing interstitial areas of a cable
In accordance with one or more embodiments, a cabling system can include a plurality of cables, and a tapered supporting structure coupled to the plurality of cables. The tapered supporting structure can facilitate exposure of an endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables, and the endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables can be coupled to a communication device that facilitates transmitting electromagnetic waves that propagate along the plurality of cables without requiring an electrical return path. Other embodiments are disclosed.
1. A cabling system, comprising:
a plurality of cables each having an end portion with an endpoint; and
a tapered supporting structure coupled to the plurality of cables and supporting the respective end portions, the tapered supporting structure having a plurality of holes formed therethrough, each of the plurality of holes having an ingress at a first exterior face of the tapered supporting structure, the ingress enabling insertion of the end portion of one of the plurality of cables and an egress at a second exterior face of the tapered supporting structure angled with respect to the first exterior face of the tapered supporting structure, the egress facilitating exposure of the endpoint of the one of the plurality of cables, wherein the endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables is coupled to a communication device that facilitates transmitting electromagnetic waves that propagate along the plurality of cables without requiring an electrical return path, the communication device comprising a millimeter wave integrated circuit (MMIC) located on the second exterior face of the tapered supporting structure.
2. The cabling system of claim 1 , wherein the endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables comprises a conductive core.
3. The cabling system of claim 2 , wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate along the conductive core.
4. The cabling system of claim 1 , wherein the endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables comprises a dielectric core.
5. The cabling system of claim 4 , wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate along the dielectric core.
6. The cabling system of claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate along interstitial areas formed between the plurality of cables.
7. The cabling system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cables comprises a plurality of twisted pair insulated conductors available for use for Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) communications.
8. The cabling system of claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic waves are generated by the communication device in accordance with at least one of a plurality of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) techniques.
9. The cabling system of claim 1 , wherein the endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables is coupled to the communication device via a coaxial wire.
10. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a communication device, a communication signal; and
responsive to the communication signal, generating, by the communication device, electromagnetic waves that propagate along a plurality of cables without requiring an electrical return path, wherein each of the plurality of cables has an end portion with an endpoint, wherein a tapered supporting structure coupled to the plurality of cables and supporting the respective end portions has a plurality of holes formed therethrough, each of the plurality of holes having an ingress at a first exterior face of the tapered supporting structure, the ingress enabling insertion of the end portion of one of the plurality of cables and an egress at a second exterior face of the tapered supporting structure angled with respect to the first exterior face of the tapered supporting structure, the egress facilitating exposure of the endpoint of the one of the plurality of cables, and wherein the endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables is coupled to the communication device to facilitate the generating, the communication device comprising a millimeter wave integrated circuit (MMIC) located on the second exterior face of the tapered supporting structure.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables comprises a conductive core.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate along the conductive core.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables comprises a dielectric core.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate along the dielectric core.
15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate along interstitial areas formed between the plurality of cables.
16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of cables comprises a plurality of twisted pair insulated conductors.
17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the electromagnetic waves are generated by the communication device in accordance with at least one of a plurality of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) techniques.
18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the electromagnetic waves are received by a receiving device via interstitial areas between the plurality of cables.
19. A communication device, comprising:
a processing system including a processor; and
a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
receiving a communication signal; and
transmitting, according to the communication signal, electromagnetic waves that propagate along a plurality of cables without requiring an electrical return path, wherein each of the plurality of cables has an end portion with an endpoint, wherein a supporting structure coupled to the plurality of cables and supporting the respective end portions has a plurality of holes formed therethrough, each of the plurality of holes having an ingress at a first exterior face of the supporting structure, the ingress enabling insertion of the end portion of one of the plurality of cables and an egress at a second exterior face of the supporting structure angled with respect to the first exterior face of the supporting structure, the egress facilitating exposure of the endpoint of the one of the plurality of cables, and wherein the endpoint of each cable of the plurality of cables is coupled to the communication device to facilitate the transmitting, the communication device comprising a millimeter wave integrated circuit (MMIC) located on the second exterior face of the supporting structure.
20. The communication device of claim 19 , wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate along an interstitial area formed between the plurality of cables.