High speed plug connector having improved high frequency performance

An electrical cable connector for mating with a receptacle connector, comprising:

• a printed circuit board defining an exterior conductive layer and an interior grounding layer spaced from each other via an insulative layer in a vertical direction,
• the exterior conductive layer including a pair of differential signal traces sandwiched between a pair of grounding traces in transverse direction perpendicular to said vertical direction;
• each of said differential signal traces including a front mating portion for mating with a corresponding signal contact of the receptacle connector, a rear connecting portion to electrically and mechanically connect to a corresponding differential signal wire, and a body portion between the front mating portion and the rear connecting portion in a front-to-back direction perpendicular to both said vertical direction and said transverse direction;
• and
• each of said grounding traces including a front mating section located beside the front mating portion in the transverse direction and extending forwardly beyond the front mating portion in the front-to-back direction, and a body section behind the front mating section to mechanically and electrically connect to either a drain wire or a braiding of a cable including said differential signal wires;
• wherein
• along the vertical direction, a pair of front vias mechanically and electrically connect respectively the front mating sections with the grounding layer and a pair of rear vias mechanically and electrically connect respectively with the body sections with the grounding layer.