Abstract: The present invention provides a circuit board having a differential signal pad pair consisting of a first signal pad and a second signal pad. The first signal pad has (i) a signal via extending therethrough for electrically connecting the first signal pad to a first transmission line of a differential signal path located within the circuit board and (ii) a contact section for receiving a first contact element of a connector. The second signal pad has (i) a signal via extending therethrough for electrically connecting the second signal pad to a second transmission line of the differential signal path and (ii) a contact section for receiving a second contact element of the connector. The distance between the signal via in the first signal pad and the signal via in the second signal pad is greater than the distance between the contact section of the first signal pad and contact section of the second signal pad.