Methods and apparatus are provided for securely and cost effectively attaching one or more shielded cables to a planar substrate. A cable assembly includes a printed circuit board (PCB) coupled to a distal end of the one or more shielded cables. Perpendicular alignment of the distal cable ends promotes a dense array that is achieved using angular mounting brackets for coupling cable shields to electrical contacts on an engagement surface of the PCB. Mounting brackets are attached between the cable shield and shield contacts using electrically conductive attachment techniques including soldering and laser welding. The PCB also includes one or more signal contacts for each cable. Distal ends of the internal conductors are each bent about 90 degrees from the vertical cable axis to align with the horizontal engagement surface. Internal conductors are surface mounted to their respective signal contact using one or more of soldering and laser welding.