August 2023

Sections

Features

Newsletter Sections

FOA Certified Techs: 

See FOA Jobs Web Page and FOA on 

The FOA Jobs Web Page has been updated and a new page added on Using your FOA Training/Certification to Find the Right Job in Fiber Optics

 

  

Fiber Optic Safety Poster to download and print

FOA Videos on

• Last Gasp For Multimode Fiber?  
• Who Lost Lucent? The Decline of America's Telecom Industry.
  
• How Many Fibers? Optimal cable Size. 
• Women Installers In Alaska. 
• FOA OJT To Cert Program. 
• Building Rural FTTH - Learning From The History Of Rural Electrification. 
• Warning For Techs Doing Restoration (Fiber Amplification). 
• Timeline Of Fiber Optics - History Of Fiber Optic Technology - See below

The Archives: Past Issues.

Use these links to read past issues or use FOA's  Custom Search to look for specific topics on our website.

Highlights from the FOA Newsletter in 2022  

New Fiber U Self Study Programs

Time To Renew Your FOA Certifications?

Renew online with a credit card or PayPal

 

   

 

Focus On Disasters And The Weather's Role In Installation

We began working on this month's FOA Newsletter planning to discuss the FOA's role in educating the fiber optic workforce, but nature stepped in and filled the news with stories of extreme weather, wildfires, floods and other natural disasters. We decided to cut the education section short and focus on the issues of weather and disasters and their role in designing, building and operating fiber optic networks. Next month we'll get back to education.

What's Weather Got To Do With Fiber Optics?

NTIA slide from TIA BEAD Success Summit  


It's not just aerial cables that are at risk. We've seen flooding in many areas during this very wet winter/spring and sea rise is threatening many coastal cities. That can cause problems with underground infrastructure if flooding has not been part of the design. And winter can bring a special set of problems to underground cables. FOA has been sent photos of splice closures that filled with water and froze, disrupting the network. FOA was even sent a photo of a flooded manhole that froze solid in a very cold winter. The question was how do you thaw up a frozen manhole; the answer was wait for springtime.

The FOA has always had technical information on preparing for and restoring network outages caused by the cable plant (FOA Guide on Restoration and Fiber U MiniCourse on Restoration), but with all the disruptive weather we have been having, several groups have contacted FOA to ask for advice on planning and designing networks to survive disasters. It's not a simple subject and there will be a wide variety of conditions to plan for, but it has become a very important topic.

Here are some things to consider right now.

Safety While Working In Extreme Heat

100 degrees F (38 deg C). He and a friend had just started working as installers while they were finishing college. According to news reports, his friend/coworker tried to help cool him down but his supervisor, not recognizing his condition, delayed him getting medical care and he died. (Reported in the Guardian)

Heatstroke is a condition caused by your body overheating, usually as a result of prolonged exposure to or physical exertion in high temperatures. This most serious form of heat injury, heatstroke, can occur if your body temperature rises to 104 F (40 C) or higher. Symptoms of heatstroke may include rapid, shallow breathing, flushed red skin, headache, nausea and vomiting, racing heart rate, confusion, agitation, slurred speech, irritability, delirium, seizures and coma - and death. The installer died in a hospital from severe heatstroke and had a recorded internal temperature of 109.8F (43.2C).

Heatstroke requires immediate emergency treatment. Untreated heatstroke can quickly damage your brain, heart, kidneys and muscles. The damage worsens the longer treatment is delayed, increasing your risk of serious complications or death. While waiting for medical personnel, keep the person into the shade or cool areas indoors and cool the person with sprays or mists of water or cold ice packs.

Companies need to ensure employees understand the risks of working in high temperatures, a safety issue just like any other. There are many good websites like this one from the Mayo Clinic about heatstroke that explain what to look for and how to provide emergency treatment.



For more information on heat illness prevention, go to OSHA.gov/heat. 

Rural Communications Are Important To Save Lives

But Vulnerable To Natural Disasters Like Wildfires

Rural broadband and wireless have been the focus of our attention for the last few years, especially now that the US Government is now funding projects. For some rural projects, natural disasters can be a big problem that is hard to plan for, especially wildfires. California and the American West are famous for wildfires in the hot dry summer, but this year we've also got wildfires in Canada, Greece, and practically on every continent but Antarctica.

Unless you have been through one of these monstrous wildfires or seen the aftermath, it is hard to conceive of the intensity of the fires, the speed with which they can move and the destruction they leave behind. But a recent article in the LA Times can help you understand what happens in a wildfire. They created a time-lapse video of a wildfire on July 18, 2023 in California - the Rabbit Fire.

The video used to create this time lapse video was taken from AlertCalifornia, a wildfire-focused public safety program launched in May by UC San Diego, that collects data on natural disasters. The program has more than 1,000 wildfire-monitoring cameras across the state to study how fires start and spread and to provide real-time data. Each camera system has multiple camera angles for each monitored area and can view as far as 60 miles during the day and 120 miles on a clear night. Some new cameras are equipped with sensors that can identify hot spots and flareups even in smoky and hazy conditions. Several of the cameras taking these videos are on rural wireless towers so you can see how the fires threaten the communications systems.

Here are stills from the video:









After the fire burned past this cell tower, you can see the surrounding area is burned to the ground - the white areas are the ash left after the super-hot fire consumed the brush and trees. Note the area cleared around the site; it's important to prevent fire damage to the equipment.

Planning for a natural disaster like this is important but not easy. The power company often turns off power because their aerial power cable sometimes the cause of the fires. Even if they don't these fires can consume wood utility poles just like trees, leaving wires - power and  communications - hanging or on the gorund. Backup power and communications links are important to consider.

Residents of local areas often rely on their cell service for warnings about wildfires and the need to evacuate. Loss of service can be deadly. Planning for disaster is important as many areas have learned recently.

Wildfires And Aerial Cables

wildfire in Southern California show.



A major fire raced through this field near the I15 Freeway, leaving all these power and communications cables laying in the ashes covering in the field. The fire destroyed all the wooden poles, leaving the cables on the ground. Below is an example of what the fire did to one wooden pole.



Wildfires are so hot they consume anything flammable in their path. Wood utility poles are particularly vulnerable as old dry wood. Some utilities in California are now converting to metal or concrete poles in some high risk areas to help prevent losses like this. Some utilities are considering moving infrastructure underground, which is expensive but prevents even more expensive damages.

Preparations For Disaster Recovery

Good Lessons About Restoration For Managers Of Infrastructure Projects

1. Empower strong leadership
2. Speed up the bureaucracy
3. Encourage creativity
4. Work together

Latest FOA Book: Fiber Broadband (Paperback and Kindle)

The article above points out the need for officials involved in a project to know enough technical details about the project to be able to make good decisions. That was why FOA created its latest book, Fiber Broadband. It is intended to be an introduction to broadband technology for managers involved with broadband projects, communications courses at high school or technical college level or for anyone who just wonders how all this stuff works.

Feature Articles From The July FOA Newsletter  

New Fiber U MiniCourse - Fiber Optic Jargon

FOA's World Map Of Approved Training Schools Updated  

FOA's School Map 

FOA Newsletter Sections

News

Lots more news in Worth Reading below

Old Leaded Telecom Cables May Be Environmental Hazard

You Will Now Be Recognized As A Telecom Tech

The New BLS "Telecommunications Technician" Website Will Be Available September 6

AAPB, the American Association of Public Broadband Founded

How Many Low Earth Orbit Satellites Does It Take To Make A Network

We have written several times about satellite Internet and the Space-X low earth orbit (LEO) satellites being launched to build a network. Space-X is launching satellites weekly and currently has over 4,500 Starlink satellites in orbit. This CelesTrak graphic shown in a recent NY Times article shows how many satellites Starlink already has in orbit.

Community College Grads Can Earn More Than Elite University Peers

TIA BEAD Success Summit Presentations Available

Slides and videos from the TIA BEAD Success Summit are now available online. There are some interesting presentations and information here.

Registration Open For ISE Expo 2023

Global Excavation Safety Conference 2024 in New Orleans

Global Excavation Safety Conference will be held in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, from March 19-21, 2024. This is an opportunity for damage prevention & excavation safety professionals from all over the world to come together and learn, network, and share their knowledge and expertise in this vitally important field.

More info on Global ESC 2024

Technical

Fiber optic technology, standards, equipment, installation, etc.

Cross Reference To FOA Technical Reference Materials

The FOA has almost 1,000 pages of technical information on the FOA Guide, 100+ videos and two dozen online courses at Fiber U, all this can make it difficult to find the right information.

Cross Reference To FOA Tech Materials
To help this, we have created a cross reference guide to the textbooks, Online Guide and Fiber U courses, all the FOA technical information. Besides the textbooks, online Guide and Fiber U, each section of the Guide also includes links to the 100+ FOA videos available.
Cross Reference Guide to Textbooks, Online Guide and Fiber U

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Until 10-15 years ago when fiber to the home (FTTH) became possible, HFC (hybrid fiber coax CATV) with a cable modem was the best solution for broadband services. Internet service over the telephone network was very bad, and CATV companies did not have real competition. Because of that, all buildings had HFC installation.

Nowadays, the FTTH is the best access network which enables high quality broadband services. Today, every new building has FTTH installation. Telephone cables and coaxial cables are not installed. The installation process of FTTH installation is completed during the building construction process. In this way, ducts, pipes, cables, etc. are not visible. All of this equipment are in the wall.

One of the main problems with old buildings is high quality broadband services. In situations when tenants do not allow installation of a new FTTH network, telecommunication companies must use FTTx scenarios with old copper cables (telephone, coaxial, or UTP cables) with MoCA, G.fast, or G.hn technologies.

Usually, tenants do allow the installation of a new FTTH network. Then, telecommunication companies have to pay attention to neatness and quality. A bad installation can have a very bad company reputation, and very often, serious negative effects which can stop the next installation in another building.

In this article, We will show many bad examples of indoor construction in FTTH networks. Many telecommunication operators want to cut costs and use low-quality, incomplete, or inadequate equipment, as well as untrained low-paid staff. In these examples, the main problem is untrained or inexperienced staff.

What's Inside: Corning Rocket Ribbon 864 Fiber Cable

Below is the information printed on the cable jacket.

Reading The Important Information On The Cable Jacket

While walking down the street near the FOA office, we found this cable laying in the gutter. What a find! A short length of Corning Rocket Ribbon 864 fiber cable left over from an installation by a contractor.



We brought the cable back to our office with the intention of opening it up and creating a video about the construction of this modern high fiber count cable, but something got our attention first. The cable had a very long line of printing on it with lots of interesting and useful information. So before we started deconstructing it, we decided to photograph the printed information and interpret it.



Click on the photo above for a bigger photo. Or read on.



The text on the cable starts with the Corning product name "Corning Rocket Ribbon (TM) Optical Cable," date of manufacture "01/2022" and a serial or build number. The phone handset graphic denotes this as a telecom cable.

• 864F means the cable contains 864 fibers
• SM means singlemode fiber
• 250 means the fiber has a 250 micron buffer coating
• 0.89IN means the cable has a diameter of 0.89 inches (metric would be in mm)
  
• 206 LB/KFT means the cable weighs 206 pounds per 1000 feet (metric would be kg/km)
  
• MBD 27IN means the minimum bend diameter is 27 inches (metric would be in mm or cm)
• 600LBF means the maximum pulling tension is rated at 600 pounds (metric would be in Newtons)
  

minimum bend diameter is important if the cable is being coiled or pulled over a capstan, sheaves or blocks. And the pulling tension applies if the cable is pulled, not in the case of aerial installation like this one.



The next text is the cable model number and the length.

New Tool For Wet/Dry Cleaning

Optix QuickCleans clean fiber  faster and also avoids skin exposure to repeated use of cleaning solutions
The QuickClean tweezer design includes lint free pads for superior cleaning and a loop tie down on end to prevent from getting lost. They can be used wet or dry and are made of non-woven, high density, hydro-entangled, 45/55 cellulose/polyester blend for optimum purity. High strength with excellent absorbency, these QuickCleans are tested to over 100 uses each before they can be discarded. Ten QuickCleans per pack plus one fluid bottle (1 ounce).

More information and a datasheet.

Microtrenching - More Vulnerable To Cable Cuts?

Germany may be having more problems with dig-ops because of microtrenching, although the real problem may be documenting the cable plant and contractors not using available location information before beginning digging.

NATE Video On Work Zone Protection

NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced today the official release of a video on Work Zone Protection. The video shines a spotlight on the safety best practices associated with Work Zone Protection, specifically relating to the appropriate use of temporary traffic control devices, proper signage, the type of PPE safety gear technicians working in these environments are required to wear, and the different scenarios workers are confronted with while deploying fiber, network equipment, and communications infrastructure in areas near pedestrian and traffic flow.

Watch the video here. 

Problems With Old Cables And New High Fiber Count Cables?

A FOA CFOT reported that they have been doing fiber characterization testing on cable plants that include both old and new fibers, a common result from building out from a legacy cable plant. One surprising result was that some relatively short links are showing CD and PMD problems even when only short segments of the cable plant are older fibers. PMD has become an issue as speeds increase but earlier fibers we not optimized to prevent PMD. This is just another reason to do fiber characterization before trying to upgrade network speeds. (There is more information on Fiber Characterization in the FOA Guide and a fiber characterization course on Fiber U.

Managing Fiber Optic Projects - The Gantt Chart

(With An Excel File To Make Your Own)

The most common way to track projects is the Gantt Chart, a chart of activities that tracks the progress of projects along a timeline. each activity is represented by a bar and the position and length of the bar represents the starting date and duration of the activity. This allows you to see what activities are needed for the project, when the activities start and end so it can be used to track the progress of the project visually. Here is what a Gantt Chart for a fiber project might look like:

More Help On Color Codes (Including Copper Cabling And Fiber Optics)

The FOA has created a print-your-own pocket guide to fiber optic color codes. It has color codes for fibers and buffer tubes, connectors and premises cables inside and on the back, QR codes to take you directly to the FOA Guide and Fiber U.

The FOA Guide page on Fiber Optic Color Codes is one of the most read pages on the FOA website and the Fiber Optic Color Codes minicourse on Fiber U very popular also.

Here's a do-it-yourself FOA Guide To Fiber Optic Color Codes card. Just download the PDF file, print it on a color printer and fold it up as shown. Then you have your own pocket guide to color codes. Make a bunch for your co-workers too.

Then we realized that many of your also do structured cabling work, so it was a natural to add a Color Code Guide for UTP copper cabling in printable (below) and electronic (above) versions.

Warning For Techs Doing OSP Restoration

Try The FOA's Online Loss Budget Calculator

Worth Reading

Each month we read hundreds of newsletters and online articles. These are the ones we think you will find "worth reading."

FOA  has a web page with resources on fiber broadband networks and the IIJA/BEAD funding programs.

Cross Reference Guide to FOA Textbooks, Online Guide and Fiber U

FOA Timeline of Fiber Optic History  and the new FOA video "The History Of Fiber Optics"

Worth Reading (And Watching):

August 2023

Recycling Optical Cable Scrap In India - a leader in plastics recycling. Grit Industries recycles plastics and optical fiber cable for India. Watch their video introduction here.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $1 Billion in New Internet for All Funding Available to Tribal Lands  

More communities building own broadband networks - ILSR 

Demystifying Next Generation Fiber Workforce Development - ISE Magazine - it's becoming clear that the gap is not due to a lack of available training programs, but rather a lack of general interest among new generations in pursuing telecom trade jobs.

19-core optical fiber is the world’s fastest - Laser Focus World - An advancement in optical fiber produces the equivalent of 10 million high-speed home internet connections at full capacity.

July 2023

Bringing FTTH Broadband to Remote and Rugged Areas - Broadband Properties - By Michael A. Solitro, CEO of Sertex Broadband Solutions.

NTIA Says State Muni-Bans Won’t Delay BEAD Funding - ILSR says "Maybe"

US Proposes Designating Portion of Radio Spectrum for 5G in the Americas Nextgov.com If approved, the proposal could enable countries in the Americas to use the band to deploy 5G mobile services.

Significant progress reported on California middle-mile network - CA Dept of Technology

Recent Case of Severe Microwave Syndrome Reveals Problems With 5G - Epoch Health -
One woman's recent illness highlights the issue of only considering radiofrequency radiation's thermal effects

May 2923

Do You Believe In Magic? Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Jim Hayes's column in March/April ISE Magazine.

After federal investment, supply chain jams and labor shortages still hinder tribal broadband access - Marketplace on Public Radio

Fiber To The Office (FTTO) On A College Campus In The Netherlands - NEXANS

You can also buy copies - Telegeography




March 2023

CABL® (cabl.com) serves the business needs of the Broadband industry (including traditional cable TV, fiber, telecom and satellite providers) with employment listings, classified ads, discussion forums, and more. A contractor told us it's where they find lots of opportunities for subcontracting.

Fiber optics take the pulse of the planet It’s like radar, but with light. Distributed acoustic sensing — DAS — picks up tremors from volcanoes, quaking ice and deep-sea faults, as well as traffic rumbles and whale calls. Knowable Magazine.


Worth Reading - Magazines, Websites and Newsletters

CABL® (cabl.com) serves the business needs of the Broadband industry (including traditional cable TV, fiber, telecom and satellite providers) with employment listings, classified ads, discussion forums, and more. A contractor told us it's where they find lots of opportunities for subcontracting.

New Fiber Optic Magazine In Spanish

Todo Fibra Optic magazine has many years experience in the fiber optic industry so he knows the industry well. FOA will be working with him to share our extensive technical materials in Spanish.

Read their newsletter here. It is now available online in English and Spanish.



 

1995-2020 - FOA's 25th Anniversary!

Worth Reading - News Summary - Past Links Worth Repeating

ESRI has created an ebook on GIS location technology for telecom. Use the link to download the book.

The First Transcontinental Telephone Line  began operation on  July 29th in 1915 - 3400 miles between New York and San Francisco - required over 100,000 telephone poles! Wonders of World Engineering

If you are interested in restoration - aren't we all? - you should also read this article in dpPro magazine by FOA President Jim Hayes: Damage Protection Requies Looking Overhead As Well As Underground - dpPRO Magazine - about the problems with aerial cables. His previous article for the magazine was New Techniques for Fiber Optic Installation.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance weekly newsletter has lots of interesting articles and links.

Universal access to broadband is a cornerstone to a strong economy, Achieving universal access will require community partnerships. by Alfreda B. Norman, Sr. VP,  Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

FIBER TO THE FARM: The co-ops that electrified Depression-era farms are now building rural internet. Be sure to check out the high-tech equine installation equipment.

Next Century Cities Newsletter - News from cities around the US including Detroit and New York plus small

Infrastructure Get Some Respect, NY TImes "On Tech"   "The magic of the internet requires a lot of very boring stuff behind the scenes. "

The job market is hot. So why are half of U.S. grads missing out?  

VIAVI Books On Fiber Optic Testing (2 volumes) - They're back!

Q&A

When readers ask us questions, we generally refer them to FOA resources where they can find the answer to their question and many more. We first send them to the FOA Guide which is the table of contents for the FOA technical resources. There they can find pages indexed by topic and a search engine for the FOA website. It also links them to FOA videos and courses on our free online learning site Fiber U.

The FOA Fiber FAQs Page (FAQs = frequently asked questions) gathers up questions readers have asked us (which first ran in this newsletter) and adds tech topics of general interest.

Good Question!

Tech Questions/Comments From FOA Newsletter Readers 

More Q&A in the FOA FAQs Page  

• Single fiber or ribbon splicing?
• Type of splice closure
• Type of cable (loose tube, ribbon, flexible ribbon, high density, armored, ADSS, etc.)
• Installation: aerial or underground
• Location: urban or rural
• Set up time (same for low fiber count cable as high fiber count cable)

More Q&A in the FOA FAQs Page  

ANSI/NECA/FOA-301 is available free from FOA.



Download your free copy of

Why should a tech want to take certifications beyond the CFOT?

FOA School News

 FOA's roster of approved schools is growing as more organizations recognize our expertise in workforce development and our comprehensive support for getting new schools started. FOA has over 25 years experience and nearly 90,000 certified fiber techs (with ~120,000 certifications). As a non-profit organization founded by the industry specifically to develop a competent workforce, FOA provides the consultation, curriculum and contacts to get schools started as a free service to new schools.

Need A Fiber Optic Course Onsite? Invite an FOA School To Come To You

Fiber U On-The-Job Training (OJT) Program

Like other FOA programs, the OJT-To-Cert program is free. If you and/or your company is interested in the FOA OJT-To-Cert program, contact FOA.

To explain how OJT works and FOA's OJT-To-Cert program, FOA created a short video: Lecture 62: On The Job Training For Fiber Optics Using Fiber U     

FOA Direct Certification Program For Experienced Fiber Optic Techs

Experience Plus Online Study At Fiber U = FOA Certification

Fiber U "Basic Fiber Optics" Online Self-Study Course Now In Spanish

El curso de autoaprendizaje en línea "Fibra óptica básica" de Fiber U ahora en español

El sitio de aprendizaje en línea de FOA, Fiber U, tiene más de dos docenas de cursos de autoaprendizaje gratuitos sobre fibra óptica y cableado de instalaciones. Como era de esperar, el tema más popular es el curso "Fibra óptica básica", que se utiliza para iniciarse en la fibra óptica y como curso de preparación para realizar el examen de certificación FOA CFOT.

Ahora el curso básico de fibra óptica está disponible en español, utilizando el libro de texto FOA en español, la sección de la Guía en línea en español y la capacidad de YouTube para traducir subtítulos de video al español. El curso funciona exactamente como la versión en inglés con 10 lecciones, cada una con cuestionarios y una opción para tomar un examen de Certificado de finalización.

Para presentar el nuevo curso de español Fiber U, el examen Certificate of Completion es gratuito, así que dígaselo a sus contactos.

Curso Básico de Fibra Óptica de Fibra U en español.

New Fiber U Course: Fiber Characterization 
FOA has added a new course at Fiber U on Fiber Characterization. Fiber characterization is the process for testing long fiber cable plants for its ability for carrying high speed communications. With so many networks now operating at 100, 200, 400 or even 800 Gb/s, fiber characterization is important, especially on older fiber optic cable plants.The free Fiber U Fiber Characterization course is available in two forms, as a standalone Fiber U fiber Characterization Course with its own Fiber U Certificate of Completion and as a separate Lesson in the Fiber U Fiber Optic Testing course. This course is recommended for those studying for the FOA CFOS/FC Fiber Characterization certification.

Fiber U MiniCourses: Got An Hour Or Less? Learn Something New About Fiber Optics.

What Fiber Techs Don't Know -

What We Learn From FOA Certification Tests

FOA Guide "Basics Of Fiber Optics" Now Available Online in Portuguese (6/2020)

Here is the FOA Guide in Portuguese, Spanish and French translations.

Time To Learn - Online

And Fiber U has the new Fiber U DIY Basic Skills Lab lesson with directions on how to purchase inexpensive tools online and use them to learn basic fiber optic skills. Videoconferencing allows the instructor to remotely monitor their work and provide help as needed. Contact the FOA for more information.


FOA Zoom Exam Proctoring

FOA offers free online self-study programs at Fiber U. Many users are preparing for FOA certification programs - taking courses at our schools or using the "Work-to-Cert" program. Some of our schools are requiring Fiber U programs as prerequisites for their classroom courses so they can spend more time on hands-on activities.

FOA School Offers Toolkit With Online Training

Slayton Solutions (FOA Approved School #156) is offering a simple fiber optic tool kit that includes a 29-piece set of fiber optic tools and a power meter along with training videos and online instruction for only $499. 29 Piece Kit includes all tools and devices a technician needs to install fiber optic connectors and test optical power. You can contact them for more information at  slaytonsolutions@sbcglobal.net or https://www.fiberopticsinstitute.com

Cross Reference To FOA Tech Materials
FOA has so much technical reference material, we created a cross reference guide to the textbooks, Online Guide and Fiber U courses, all the FOA technical information. Besides the textbooks, online Guide and Fiber U, each section of the Guide also includes links to the 100+ FOA videos available.

Cross Reference Guide to Textbooks, Online Guide and Fiber U

FOA Guide To Fiber Optic Workforce Development

To help those new to fiber optic workforce development, FOA has created a web page we call  "Fiber Optic Workforce Development."  In this page, we share what we have learned about the fiber optic workforce, who they are and how they learn their trade. We discuss what defines a fiber optic tech and how they should be certified.

Read the FOA Guide To Fiber Optic Workforce Development online.

Latest FOA Book: Fiber Broadband (Paperback and Kindle)

More Translations of FOA Textbooks

FOA is a very international organization and it works hard to accommodate the language needs of everyone. We have been translating our books and website into the languages most requested, and this month, we add two more textbook translations. We also want to thank Jerry Morla, FOA CFOS/I instructor and Director who has been doing the recent translations into Spanish, his native language.

Planning A Fiber Optic Project?

More New FOA Video Lectures On YouTube

Did you know YouTube will close caption videos in many languages? Here are directions.

Did you know YouTube will close caption videos in many languages?


Sign in with Google to get translations for closed captioning. Click on the settings icon (red arrow.) Choose "Subtitles".  English is the default language. Click on the arrow after "English (auto-generated) >". In the new window click on "Auto-translate" and choose the language you want. 

FOA Loss Budget Calculator On A Web Page 5/2020

FOA has written many articles about loss budgets, something everyone involved in fiber optics needs to know and needs to know how to calculate. We recently discovered how to get a spreadsheet ported to a Web page, so we created this web page that calculates loss budgets. We have an iOS loss budget app, but with this web page, you can calculate loss budgets from any device, smart phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer that has web browsing capability.

 

Bookmark this page (especially on your smartphone): FOA Loss Budget Calculator Online

We are continually updating the Online Reference Guide to keep up with changes in the industry and adding lots of new pages of technical information. When you go to the FOA Guide Table of Contents to see the latest updates - look for .

Recent updates:

FOA's FTTH Handbook: We've gathered all our information on FTTH from the FOA Guide and past issues of the FOA Newsletter and edited it into a 112 page "FTTH Handbook." We even added a section on planning and managing FTTH Projects.
The Fiber Optic Association Fiber To The Home Handbook is available from Amazon in print and Kindle editions.

Sitio web y manual de FTTH ahora en español

Sitio web y manual de FTTH ahora en español - FTTH Website And Handbook Now In Spanish

     

 
Fiber Optics (4 languages), Premises Cabling, OSP fiber and construction, Network Design, Testing and FTTH

   The FOA has it's own reference books for everyone working in fiber optics - contractors, installers and end users as well as for use as textbooks in classes at educational institutions. They are available as printed books or Kindle at much lower prices than most textbooks since we self-publish and sell online, cutting out the middlemen. Click on the book images for more information. The Reference Guide To Fiber Optics is also available in Spanish, French and Portuguese. The Design book is available in English and Spanish.

Click on any book for more information about it.

  

Fiber Optic Safety Poster to download and print

On Safety

There is a toll-free "call before you dig" number in the USA: Dial 811. See www.call811.com for more information in the US. Here is their map of resources by states.

In Canada, it's "Click Before You Dig.com" They also have a page of resources by US states and Canadian provinces.

The Common Ground Alliance has an excellent "Best Practices Guide" online

The US Department of Transportation has a website called "National Pipeline Mapping System" that allows one to search for buried pipelines.   

Why We Warn You To Be Careful About Fiber Shards

Photo courtesy  Brian Brandstetter,  Mississauga Training Consultantcy

Global Excavation Safety Conference

GlobalExcavationSafetyConference.com:

 


The magazine, dp-Pro, sponsor of the conference, has also published it's latest issue with an article by FOA on "New Construction Techniques in Fiber Optics" and a overview of the FOA. You can read the magazine here.

When You Bury Marker Tape, Bury One That Will Work (July 2021)

Contact Us:  http://www.foa.org or email <info@foa.org>

Contact Us
The Fiber Optic Association Inc.
       

 FOA Logo Merchandise

New FOA Swag! Shirts, Caps, Stickers, Cups, etc.

Your Name, CFOT® - It pays to advertise!

The FOA encourages CFOTs to use the logo on their business cards, letterhead, truck or van, etc. and provides logo files for that purpose. But we are also asked about how to use the CFOT or CFOS certifications. Easy, you can refer to yourself as "Your Name, CFOT" or "Your Name, CFOS/T" for example.

Feel free to use the logo and designations to promote your achievements and professionalism!

Privacy Policy (for the EU GDPR): The FOA does not use cookies or any other web tricks to gather information on visitors to our website, nor do we allow commercial advertising. Our website hosts may gather traffic statistics for the visitors to our website and our online testing service, ClassMarker, maintains statistics of test results. We do not release or misuse any information on any of our members except we will confirm FOA certifications and Fiber U certificates of completion when requested by appropriate persons such as employers or personnel services.
Read the complete FOA Privacy Policy here.