side of the circuit card assembly in the overhanging ledge portion 34 and projects through or is otherwise accessible through the opening 58 for connection with a suitably configured mating connector any type of electrical i o connector can be used in the illustrated example the connector 26 includes a pin connector 142 that is connected to the circuit card assembly which is intended to mate with a mating connector on the host board 28 fig6 the connector 26 is accessible through the downward facing opening 58 in the ledge portion 34 with a plurality of connector elements thereof facing downward with reference to fig6 three assemblies 20 are shown arranged side by side on the host circuit board 28 because the fiber optic transceiver is integrated into the assembly room is freed up on the board 28 allowing a reduction in the board size and or freeing space for mounting additional electronic components the assemblies 20 are connectable to an optical back panel via the end 70 of the optical fiber connector 24 that extends from the housing 22 further only the ledge portion 34 of the housing 22 extends over the surface of the board 28 allowing electrical interconnection to the board 28 in contrast with reference to fig1 and 7 the conventional transceiver assemblies 2 mount directly on a host board 150 with fiber pigtails shown in fig1 running from the assemblies 2 to the optical fiber connectors 12 the assemblies 2 take up space on the board 150 further the presence of the fiber pigtails creates problems when installing the assemblies and for maintenance of the board.