Ribbon cable connector with ground bus

The invention relates to a connector for terminating flat ribbon cable having a plurality of closely-spaced parallel signal and ground conductors. An electrical connector for terminating flat cable of the type having a plurality of signal and ground conductors in parallel alignment comprises a housing which holds a plurality of signal contacts and a ground bus. Each of the signal contacts has a signal conductor termination slot configured for insulation displacement termination of a respective said signal conductor. The ground bus has a plurality of ground conductor termination slots each configured for insulation displacement termination of a respective said ground conductor, and at least one bypass slot configured to permit at least one of said signal conductors to pass through said ground bus without termination thereto. The signal conductor termination slots, the ground conductor termination slots and the at least one bypass slot are arranged such that the plurality of signal and ground conductors reside in a common plane in the connector after termination thereto.