A connector system for a pluggable IO connector is disclosed that includes a plug with two rows of pads on two sides of a mating blade and a receptacle with two connection regions that is configured to engage the two rows of pads. In an embodiment the connector system can support double the data bandwidth of a typical connector, such as a QSFP connector, while allowing for backward compatibility with convention plug assemblies that have a single row of pads on each side the mating blade.