A networking device includes a media access controller, a first rate adaptation layer communicating with the media access controller, a first physical extension module communicating with the first rate adaptation layer, a second physical extension module communicating with the first physical extension module, a second rate adaptation layer communicating with the second physical extension module, and a physical layer device communicating with the second rate adaptation layer. The physical layer device communicates with the second rate adaptation layer using an extended 10 Gbps media independent interface (EXGMII). The EXGMII includes a plurality of signal interconnections, a first mapping of signals of a media independent interface (MII) to the signal interconnections, a second mapping of signals of a 1 Gbps MII (GMII) to the signal interconnections, and a third mapping of signals of a 10 Gbps MII (XGMII) to the signal interconnections.