Electrical connector having contact modules with differential pairs on both sides of a printed circuit board

An electrical connector comprising:

• a printed circuit board having a front edge defining a plurality of first plated through holes disposed in a rear area and a plurality of second plated through holes disposed in a front area;
• a plurality of upper contact modules stacked along the front edge on a top side of the printed circuit board, each of the upper contact module having at least one first conductor pairs for transferring signal differential pairs lined along a column perpendicular to the printed circuit board and a first insulator encapsulating a center portion of each first conductor of the first conductor pairs, each first conductor of the first conductor pairs further comprising a front portion for mating with a complementary connector and a rear portion mounted into corresponding first plated through hole of the printed circuit board;
• and
• a plurality of lower contact modules stacked along the front edge on a bottom side of the printed circuit board, each of the lower contact module having at least one second conductor pairs for transferring signal differential pairs lined along a column perpendicular to the printed circuit board and a second insulator encapsulating a center portion of each second conductor of the second conductor pairs, each second conductor of the second conductor pairs further comprising a front portion for mating with the same complementary connector and a rear portion mounted into corresponding second plated through hole of the printed circuit board.

An cable connector assembly comprising:

• a printed circuit board defining a front region along a front-to-back direction with thereon opposite first and second surfaces in a vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction;
• a plurality of first contact modules side by side stacked with one another along a transverse direction perpendicular to both said front-to-back direction and said vertical direction, to form a first subassembly essentially located upon the first surface, each of said first contact modules including a first insulator with a stepped structure along an edge to receive a portion of said front region of the printed circuit board in the vertical direction, a first differential pair embedded in the first insulator, and a first ground contact attached to the first insulator;
• and
• a plurality of second contact modules side by side stacked with one another along the transverse direction to form a second subassembly essentially located upon the second surface, each of said second contact modules including a second insulator with another stepped structure along another edge to receive a remaining portion of said front region of the printed circuit board in the vertical direction, a second differential pair embedded in the second insulator, and a second ground contact attached to the second insulator;
• wherein
• a front portion of said first subassembly and that of said second subassembly are expanded toward each other in the vertical direction and above the corresponding first surface and second surface of the printed circuit board for intimate confrontation with each other.