FOA Guide 

FOA Reference Guide To Outside Plant Fiber Optics

And Study Guide To FOA CFOS/O Certification


FOA Reference Guide To Outside Plant Fiber Optics


Introduction

The purpose of this website is to provide a reference guide to those involved with outside plant fiber optic networks, either in design, installation, use, maintenance or troubleshooting, or those teaching the personnel who will work with it. This website along with its companion book is also the reference guide for FOA Outside Plant Specialist Certification, CFOS/O. With a subject so broad, it’s impossible to cover every aspect of the topic in depth. What will be covered is the basics of fiber optic applications for communications systems that utilize outside plant fiber optic cable as a transmission medium.

The Fiber Optic Association, Inc., the nonprofit professional association of fiber optics, has become one of the principal sources of technical information, training curriculum and certifications for the cabling industry. As technology has driven the rate of technical change ever faster, it has become a challenge to provide printed reference books that are not hopelessly out of date. Instead, many readers turn to the Internet for more up-to-date technical information. 

The information on the Internet, however, is often biased toward commercial interests or application points of view, even that on supposedly non-commercial websites, and anonymous sources must be assumed to be untrustworthy or have a commercial agenda. The FOA is focused on education of technicians, not selling products, and we think it’s important that every tech knows as much as possible about fiber optic technology without bias so they can deal successfully with design and installation in all types of applications.

The FOA created its Online Reference Guide  to provide a more up-to-date and unbiased reference for those seeking information on cabling and fiber optic technology, components, applications and installation.  It’s success confirms the assumption that many users prefer the Internet for technical information.

With the companion printed books, we address the needs for those who prefer printed books or who must have them to meet academic requirements. For those who want this printed version but also want access to the web for color graphics, self-study programs with automatic self-testing or links to even more technical information, we have this FOA Online Reference Guide website to find additional information on the sections covered in this book.

Fiber U

The FOA offers "Fiber U" as a free online training site for learning about fiber optics and cabling. It includes online self-study courses including OSP to help everyone learn about cabling and fiber optics.

If you have feedback on the website or book, feel free to email comments or questions to the FOA at <info @ thefoa.org>.

OSP Website Contents
Each page will open in a new window to keep this index open.
Basic Overview   
The Jargon and the Technology  
Basic Applications and Transmission Systems  
Fiber Optic Datalinks    
Optical Fiber  
Fiber Optic Cables 
Splicing and Termination   
Testing   
Network Design   
Installation  
Definitions of Terms  

Check your comprehension: take the section quizzes! Links are at the bottom of each page.

Also see OSP Construction in the FOA Guide

FOA Reference Books
FOA Reference Guide to OSP Fiber Optics book   FOA Reference Guide to OSP Fiber Optics book   FOA Reference Guide to Premises Cablng book    FOA Reference Guide to Fiber Optics book

The basic fiber book (blue cover) is also available in Spanish and French

OSP Guide

The FOA OSP Civil Works Guide can be downloaded free from the FOA Website.
    

This website is accompanied by textbooks, The FOA Reference Guide to Outside Plant Fiber Optics and The FOA Outside Plant Construction Guide. We have created three new FOA books to be used in training for FOA certifications and as reference books for contractors, installers and end users of fiber optics. All are available printed, in eBook formats for the Amazon Kindle or Apple iPad/iPhone. A self-study program is also available as an iPad/iPhone app. Click on each book for details.



Table of Contents: The FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics




 


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