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Comment by necovek

11 hours ago

Weren't phone lines something like RJ11 or RJ12?

FWIW, TIL about 8P8C.

Yes, and RJ45. It used to be defined by the US FCC[1] in 47 CFR Part 68 Subpart F. Along with others, like RJ31X, RJ38, etc. The "RJxxy" numbers were the Universal Service Order Codes (USOCs), the `y` value described the use (e.g. W for wall-mounted jacks). Pages 143 & 144 of the PDF (403 & 404 of the print version) have the electrical connection diagram and the USOCs, pages 125-129 (385 -389 print) have the mechanical drawings. The unkeyed 8p8c connector we use today is also in there (pdf pgs 103-113), but the RJ45 series used the keyed connector! It's RJ31X & RJ38X that used the unkeyed 8-position series jack & 8-position plug we call RJ45 today (pdf pages 137-138).

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20170705131407/http://www.tscm.c...