To confirm the high-speed future of Ethernet, the IEEE 802.3ae Working Group has defined two physical-layer standards for 10 Gbps optical Ethernet. These include a LAN PHY and a WAN PHY. The LAN PHY does not differ from the existing LAN standard, while the WAN PHY is new. It specifies asynchronous 10 Gbps transmission using the traditional 802.3 Ethernet frame format, stipulates minimum and maximum frame sizes, and recommends a MAC scheme at the client interface. At 1550 nm, it will initially reach 40 kilometers, expanded to 80 kilometers in coming months.

Currently, 10 Gbps Ethernet is standardized for transport over fiber only; no copper twisted pair option is available as in Gigabit Ethernet. When the standard was first conceived, there was little thought given to a need for that kind of bandwidth to the desktop. However, the need is beginning to emerge and some chip manufacturers are now planning for 10 Gbps Ethernet over copper, using a design that will transmit 100 meters without a repeater. Working closely with the standards bodies, this capability will no doubt be reached soon.