Patent ID: 8467654

Claim:
A jack of a modular connector assembly comprising: a jack housing comprising: a front portion having a plug opening formed therein, the plug opening being configured to receive a plug; a back portion having an optical interface formed therein, the optical interface being configured to optically couple with one or more modules that perform optical-to-electrical (OE) conversion and electrical-to-optical (EO) conversion; and an electrical contact configuration that complies with a registered jack (RJ)-45 wiring standard, wherein the jack housing is structured so that if the plug is received by the plug opening of the jack housing to a first distance, the jack housing and the plug form an electrical connection for electrical Ethernet communications, and if the plug is received by the plug opening of the jack housing to a second distance, the jack housing and plug form an optical connection for optical communications, wherein the first distance is different from the second distance.