What is BS EN 50173-3- Generic cabling systems for industrial spaces about?
BS EN 50173-3 specifies generic cabling to serve the automation islands in industrial premises, or industrial spaces within other types of building.
It covers balanced cabling and optical fibre cabling.
BS EN 50173-3 specifies directly or via reference to EN 50173-1 the:
- Structure and minimum configuration for generic cabling within industrial spaces
- Interfaces at the telecommunications outlet (TO)
- Performance requirements for cabling links and channels
- Implementation requirements and options
- Performance requirements for cabling components
- Conformance requirements and verification procedures
BS EN 50173-3 has taken into account requirements specified in application standards listed in EN 50173-1.
Note: Safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements are outside the scope of BS EN 50173-3 and are covered by other standards and regulations. However, information given in BS EN 50173-3 be of assistance in meeting these standards and regulations.
Who is BS EN 50173-3- Generic cabling systems for industrial spaces for?
BS EN 50173-3- Generic cabling systems for industrial spaces is useful for:
- Information technology industry
- Generic cabling system installing companies
- Generic cabling system designers
- Industrial premises managing departments
Why should you use BS EN 50173-3- Generic cabling systems for industrial spaces?
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.
BS EN 50173-3 specifies generic cabling to serve the automation islands in industrial premises, or industrial spaces within other types of building.
Note: Additionally those premises can include:
- Office spaces for which generic cabling is specified in EN 50173-2
- Data centre spaces for which generic cabling is specified in EN 50173-5
BS EN 50173-3 provides the schematic and contextual relationships between the standards produced by TC 215 for information technology cabling, namely:
- BS EN 50173-3 and other parts of the EN 50173 series
- Installation (EN 50174 series)
- Bonding (EN 50310)
BS EN 50173-3 helps you with guidance on functional elements of generic cabling for industrial premises, 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.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN 50173-3 supersedes EN 50173-3:2007 + A1:2010 + AC:2011. BS EN 50173-3 includes some technical changes with respect to EN 50173-3:2007 + A1:2010 + AC:2011. These include:
- New balanced cabling component Categories 8.1 and 8.2 to support new channel Classes I and II
- A new cabled optical fibre Category OM5 and Category OS1a
- A new Annex on the industrial cabling subsystem
- Amendment of various other subclauses, tables and figures
- Alignment of the document structure across the EN 50173 series and updates the document both technically and editorially

