When you order multiple internetwork systems, you face the problem of organized wiring. In response to this problem, AT&T has devised a uniform wiring scheme for the telephone industry. The wiring scheme uses two color codes—one for a large number of wires that are organized into pairs, and one for a smaller number of wires that might also be organized into pairs. We recommend the use of this wiring scheme whenever possible.
For large numbers of wires, each pair is assigned a two-color code. The colors are selected from 2 groups of 5, resulting in what is called a binder-group of 25 pairs. The colors used for a group are white, red, black, yellow, and violet. The colors used for "pair within group" are blue, orange, green, brown, and slate.
Each pair must have a unique color combination. One wire within each pair has a solid background of its group color and stripes of the "pair within group" color; the second wire has the colors reversed. lists the sequences. Note that red-brown and red-orange wires can be easily confused.
Table B-1 Telephone Industry 25-Pair Color Code and Pin Numbers
Pair Number
Wire Number
Solid Color
Stripe Color
Pin Number
1
1
White
Blue
26
1
2
Blue
White
1
2
1
White
Orange
27
2
2
Orange
White
2
3
1
White
Green
28
3
2
Green
White
3
4
1
White
Brown
29
4
2
Brown
White
4
5
1
White
Slate
30
5
2
Slate
White
5
6
1
Red
Blue
31
6
2
Blue
Red
6
7
1
Red
Orange
32
7
2
Orange
Red
7
8
1
Red
Green
33
8
2
Green
Red
8
9
1
Red
Brown
34
9
2
Brown
Red
9
10
1
Red
Slate
35
10
2
Slate
Red
10
11
1
Black
Blue
36
11
2
Blue
Black
11
12
1
Black
Orange
37
12
2
Orange
Black
12
13
1
Black
Green
38
13
2
Green
Black
13
14
1
Black
Brown
39
14
2
Brown
Black
14
15
1
Black
Slate
40
15
2
Slate
Black
15
16
1
Yellow
Blue
41
16
2
Blue
Yellow
16
17
1
Yellow
Orange
42
17
2
Orange
Yellow
17
18
1
Yellow
Green
43
18
2
Green
Yellow
18
19
1
Yellow
Brown
44
19
2
Brown
Yellow
19
20
1
Yellow
Slate
45
20
2
Slate
Yellow
20
21
1
Violet
Blue
46
21
2
Blue
Violet
21
22
1
Violet
Orange
47
22
2
Orange
Violet
22
23
1
Violet
Green
48
23
2
Green
Violet
23
24
1
Violet
Brown
49
24
2
Brown
Violet
24
25
1
Violet
Slate
50
25
2
Slate
Violet
25
Cables with more than 25 pairs of wires are constructed from 25-pair groups. Very large cables have other variations generally not encountered inside terminal wire plants.
For smaller numbers of wires, such as wires for an individual telephone station or terminal, you may use a second color-code scheme. Table B-2 lists this color code and the usual correspondence with the paired-wire color code. The alternate color code is included because sometimes the station wire uses the first three pairs from the standard color code (white-blue, blue-white, and so on), while at other times it uses the six alternate colored wires.
Table B-2 Second Color-Code Scheme for Smaller Numbers of Wires