FOA Newsletter


October 2024

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News    Technical    Worth Reading    Q&A    Training/FiberU    Resoures    Safety About

INDEX
Newsletter Sections Click on any link to jump to that section

Features
Aerial Cable Plant Workmanship Guidelines
Using Fiber Cables To Detect Dig-ups
Insanity & Data Centers
What Is An FOA Credential?
New FOA Badge In Fiber Optics
New Fiber U Course on Safety
History Of The Utility Pole
New Edition of FOA Basic Fiber Textbook
FOA Programs For STEM Education
What's New And Popular On FOA Website

News
ITU, World Bank Map Fiber Optic Networks
New Submarine Cable Map - Telegeography
Fiber Broadband Without Government Grants
Community Broadband In The US
Podcast "Future Of The Fiber Optic Network"
Broadband Communities Summit West
New FTTH Textbook in Serbian Language

Technical
Gigawatt Visual Fault Locator?
PON Miniaturization
Is It Just The OTDR?
Important Change in Singlemode Fiber
What Is A Fiber Identifier?
Updated OTDR Trainer
How Good Are Your OTDR Test Cables?
NECA/FOA Standard Withdrawn
Information From A Cable Scrap
Managing Projects - Gantt Charts
FOA Color Code Guides
FOA Online Loss Budget Calculator

Worth Reading Lots of interesting articles to read, watch or listen to.

Q&A    Interesting questions from our readers

Workforce Training/FiberU
Types Of Work Done By Fiber Techs
FOA-Approved School News
Fiber U MiniCourses

Resources
New FOA Technical Resources

Safety

About the FOA

FOA Certified Techs:

2024 At FOA - Heading For 100,000

Time To Renew Your FOA Certifications?

You can renew online with credit cards or PayPal

Jobs

See FOA Jobs Web Page and FOA on

The FOA Jobs

Using your FOA Training/Certification to Find the Right Job in Fiber Optics

Where Are The Jobs In Fiber Optics?

Join The FOA eMail Newsletter List
Want to be notified when the FOA Newsletter is updated? Sign up for the FOA eMail Newsletter.

Trademarks: The FOA logo and name, CFOT® (Certified Fiber Optic Technician) and Fiber U® (the FOA online learning site) are registered trademarks of the FOA.

Want to know more about fiber optics? Looking for specific information? Here's the largest technical reference on the web: The FOA Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide.

Free online self-study programs on many fiber optics and cabling topics are available at Fiber U, FOA's online web-based training website.

FOA Reference Books
Available Printed or eBooks
The fiber book is available in Spanish and French



Click on any of the books to learn more.

Fiber Optic Safety Poster to download and print

FOA Videos on

FOA is a member of:

The FOA Newsletter is edited by Jim Hayes - send your stories, leads, ideas, comments to <jim @ foa.org>

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Current Issue of FOA Newsletter

Time To Renew Your FOA Certifications?
To keep your FOA certifications active, you need to renew them when they expire every 3 years. Now we have a new more convenient way to renew - an online store at Paypal - where you can quickly and conveniently use your PayPal account or your credit card to renew your certifications.

Renew online with a credit card or PayPal

Join FOA On Social Media

FOA has 3 LinkedIn Groups
FOA - official page on LinkedIn - covers FOA, technology and jobs in the fiber optic marketplace
FOA Fiber Optic Training - open to all, covers fiber optic technology and training topics
Grupo de La Asociación de Fibra Óptica FOA (Español)

Aerial Cable Plant Workmanship

Over the years, FOA has published many photos illustrating poor workmanship on aerial cable plants. Workmanship in aerial cable networks can affect the performance and reliability of the network of course, but also the aesthetics of the visible aerial cable plant. Aerial cables should be installed "in a neat and workmanlike manner;" which can be interpreted as "what is correctly done also looks good." Recent discussions with FOA's worldwide network of technical advisors has helped us create some guidelines for aerial installations.

Here are some guidelines for aerial installations, illustrated primarily by bad examples.

Installers must follow local ordinances and customer requirements for the aerial cable plant.

Cables on poles sharing electrical and telecom/CATV cables must be installed in the telecom space with proper clearance from both electrical cables and other low voltage cables. This includes separation mid-span where both electrical cables and the messenger/fiber cables both sag from their weight.

All aerial cables should be installed clear of any obstructions including buildings, trees and other cables. Weather conditions, e.g. storms, icing or potential wildfires, at the location may justify greater separation from trees.

The span must be analyzed for the size of messenger, the tension required for the span length and cable weight to meet sag requirements. Sag is generally limited to <2% of span length and maximum tension <30% of cable minimum breaking strength. Recommended reference: ANSI/ICEA P-79-561-2020 Guide for Selecting Aerial Cable Messengers and Lashing Wires.

Cables must be sufficiently high above the ground to clear all obstacles including traffic that may pass underneath it.



All cables must be securely lashed to the messenger and/or cable(s) with no loose hanging cables anywhere along the span. Messenger wire must be neatly terminated at the ends.

Splice closures should be attached to poles with necessary service loops using appropriate hardware. Closures attached to the messenger and their cable(s) must be securely attached and service loops secured along the current cables with showshoe turnarounds or a cable loop that respect the cable's minimum bend diameter.

No service loops or cables awaiting further installation may be left hanging from the span. All loops of cable must be secured to a pole at the end of the span. Excess cable awaiting installation may be secured at poles for short periods of time only.

The steel messenger wire and lashing wire are electrical conductors and should be properly grounded.

Overlashing must consider the current cable loading, the weight of the cable intended to be added and the affects on span tension and sag.

Any damage done to current cables during OMTR (one touch make ready) or overlashing must be reported to the permitting authority and the owners of the other cables on the span.

This was taken from the recently updated FOA Guide sections Aerial Cable Installation and Aerial Cable Plant Workmanship.

We continue to wonder what kind of installer would leave an aerial cable plant looking like these examples. One question we ask is why are there no industry standards for fiber optic aerial cable plant installation, just those written by companies or local governments. Another puzzling question is do local authorities and/or the owners of these cable plants (who pay for the construction) never inspect them? The poor installation shown here should never have been allowed or approved by the owner. Would a contractor who installed these cables use them as a reference for prospective new customers?

It's puzzling!

Aerial cable systems have a hard life - From Recent News Stories

The Atlantic/Mario Tama/Getty

A pole following a wildfire in Wrightwood, CA, US September 11, 2024.

NYTimes/Josh EdelsonAFP-Getty

The Park Fire in Tehama County, CA July 2024

NYTimes/Marco Bello/Reuters

Hurricane Helene toppled poles in Crawfordville, FL September 27, 2024. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, 4 million people were left without power in the SE US.

Using Fiber Optic Cables As Sensors To Detect, Locate, And Perhaps Prevent Dig-Ups
Fiber has been used for sensors as long as it has been used for communications, measuring electrical voltage and current in transmission lines, as acoustic sensors for detecting submarines, and more recently using fibers in underground communications cables as seismic monitors detecting earthquakes. A modification of the earthquake sensor technique has been tested as a way to detect unauthorized digging near fiber optic cables and perhaps stopping the digging before the cable is damaged.

Image Texas 811, click on the image for a larger version.

Contractors digging near underground utilities like fiber optic cables are supposed to "Call Before You Dig - Call 811" to create a "ticket" and ensure the underground utilities are marked and located before digging. Damage caused by excavations without a one-call ticket is huge. CGA data says that 24% of all damages nationwide result from excavations without a one-call ticket. We need a way to provide protection to high-value underground facilities even when there is no one-call ticket.

Fiber Optic Sensing provides a way to do that. Fiber Optic cables within approximately 30 feet (10 m) of an underground facility can detect and identify unique vibration signatures in the area, some of which represent excavation activity. Once excavation activity is detected, an alert is sent to the call center to determine if there is an active ticket for the area. If not, alerts can be sent to the proper operators with information on the type of digging and GPS location. The facility operator can respond to the excavation site to intervene before damage occurs.

Read more at Texas811.

"Insanity Is Doing The Same Thing Over And Over Again And Expecting A Different Result"
That is a famous quote usually - and erroneously - attributed to Albert Einstein. Perhaps a better definition today is "Insanity is a common affliction among believers of their own hype." To which we offer the following evidence:

Internet data centers are fueling drive to old power source: Coal

AI is exhausting the power grid. Tech firms are seeking a miracle solution (atomic fusion)

Oracle is designing a data center that would be powered by three small nuclear reactors

Three Mile Island nuclear plant will reopen to power Microsoft data centers (Remember Three Mile Island, the biggest nuclear disaster in the US?)

Amazon just bought a 100% nuclear-powered data center.

An Underwater Data Center in San Francisco Bay? Regulators Say Not So Fast

Certainly a good deal of the insanity here is the powering of data centers using coal or nuclear power which have known issues, but how about claiming that nuclear fusion is an option when fusion has been studied for half a century already with no real success - or heating up the water in San Francisco Bay without regard to the environmental impact?

The real insanity here may be why the data centers are being planned. Most are intended for AI (artificial intelligence) applications that must consume vast computing resources. But have they read ....

Will A.I. Be a Bust? A Wall Street Skeptic Rings the Alarm. NYTImes. Jim Covello, Goldman Sachs’s head of stock research, warned that building too much of what the world doesn’t need “typically ends badly.”

Mr. Covello, the head of stock research at Goldman Sachs, has become Wall Street’s leading A.I. skeptic. Three months ago, he jolted markets with a research paper that challenged whether businesses would see a sufficient return on what by some estimates could be $1 trillion in A.I. spending in the coming years. He said generative artificial intelligence, which can summarize text and write software code, made so many mistakes that it was questionable whether it would ever reliably solve complex problems.

The Goldman paper landed days after a partner at Sequoia Capital, a venture firm, raised similar questions in a blog post about A.I. Their skepticism marked a turning point for A.I.-related stocks, leading to a reassessment of Wall Street’s hottest trade.

But Mr. Covello, 51, has experience with tech booms and busts. He followed the bursting of the dot-com bubble as a semiconductor analyst and was scarred by watching colleagues lose their jobs.

Remember the effect of the Dot Com bubble bursting on the fiber optic industry in 2001? We do. What Covello describes was felt heavily by the fiber optic industry. The fiber optic market collapsed, dropping by about 70% in what seemed like days. Companies went out of business. Big companies laid off many employees, including senior personnel with years of experience. That experience was felt in the industry for years, including at FOA where several of our founders were laid off or took early retirement and left the fiber optic business. The collective knowledge and business momentum that was lost then took years to recover.

What's Is An FOA Credential?
As FOA counts down to our 100,000th CFOT® certified technician, introduces the "FOA Badge In Fiber Optics" for others working in the field and adds new courses at Fiber U which offer a "Certificate of Completion," it's a good time to explain the differences.

FOA Certification
FOA started in 1995 to develop a workforce to build the future fiber optic networks. Included in the FOA charter was to set standards for train fiber optic technicians and certify them. FOA was not the training organization; that was left to training organizations at schools, companies, agencies, unions, and independent trainers. FOA set the standards for certifying the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) of fiber optic technicians with the help of the trainers and educators who founded FOA. It was not until 2003 that an international standard for certification was created (ISO 17024) and to our amusement it follows closely the FOA program. Someone with a CFOT, CPCT or any other FOA certification has demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities defined for that certification by obtaining training and/or work experience and passing a comprehensive test of their knowledge. They must renew every 3 years, confirming their continued work in the industry.

FOA Badge in Fiber Optics
The FOA Badge in Fiber Optics was created at the request of those working in the fiber optic industry in other professional occupations. For a CFOT or CPCT, FOA could define the KSAs expected of a fiber tech who would be designing, installing or operating a fiber optic network, but there are many other professionals that work in other essential jobs in the industry; manufacturing, marketing/distributing, managing, planning, etc. where no one set of "skills" can be defined for all those jobs. The solution was a credential for those with experience in any of those jobs who had knowledge of the industry proven by passing an FOA test. Having a FOA Badge means you have a credential you can share online that confirms your knowledge of fiber optic technology and applications.

Fiber U Certificate of Completion
FOA offers two dozen free online self-study programs at Fiber U which match up to most FOA certification subjects and include many other areas of interest in fiber optics and premises cabling. Those taking the courses who want evidence of their completion of the course may take an online test at a nominal fee to get a Fiber U Certificate of Completion. The Fiber U Certificate of Completion requires taking an online test about the material in the course, so it shows that the holder of a Fiber U Certificate of Completion has completed the online self-study course and learned the relevant knowledge covered in the online course. Fiber U Certificate of Completion does not require or test any skills or abilities, only knowledge about the subject of the online course.

Who's Qualified For The Job? Check Their Credentials.
If you are an employer, project manager or contractor hiring installers, FOA Certifications should help you judge the qualifications of potential hires. If you are hiring someone for a job with a manufacturer, distributor, agency or project group, the FOA Badge tells you the holder is knowledgeable about fiber optics and has experience in the field. Anyone who holds a Fiber U Certificate of Completion has shown they have studied a particular topic and gained knowledge in that area.

That is the basic idea of credentials; they allow evaluating workers qualifications.

And now, introducing a new FOA credential.
The "FOA Badge In Fiber Optics"
An industry-wide credential for professionals working in fiber optics

FOA is best known as the certifying body for the nearly 100,000 FOA-certified fiber optic technicians who build worldwide networks. FOA has been asked many times about credentials for other professionals in fiber optics.

Besides the technicians that design, build and operate the fiber optic networks the world uses for communications, there are many other professionals that are essential for the success of the fiber optic and cabling industries. These professionals manufacture, sell and distribute fiber optic components or plan and manage the projects that include fiber optics.

For everyone working in the fiber optic field. FOA now offers the new FOA Badge in Fiber Optics.

Go here for more information on the FOA Badge in Fiber Optics.

New Fiber U Course: Fiber Optic Safety Covers Construction And Installation

This new Fiber U course focuses on safety in fiber optic installation. There are two lessons in this course, fiber optic construction and fiber optic installation. The dividing line between the two courses is the installation of the fiber optic cables. Construction leads up to and/or is completed when the cables are installed. Installation begins when the fiber tech installs the cable, then completes the splicing, termination testing and documentation. The overlap between the two is the installation of the cables where both construction personnel and fiber optic techs are involved.

Here is the new Fiber U "Fiber Optic Safety" self-study program. Take the course and get your certificate of completion.

Enhance your safety with the FOA Safety Vest.

The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) publication A Natural History of the Wooden Utility Pole, This document (PDF) begins with an excerpt form a John Updike poem titled, appropriately, "Telephone Poles." Next comes an illustrated history of communications, including the Pony Express and the telegraph which replaced it, then the use of poles for electrical distribution. The pictures are priceless!

The links in the CPUC) Resources For Broadband Projects can be most useful for contractors. It includes pages about pole use, permitting, one touch make ready (OTMR), and environmental compliance. But don't miss A Natural History of the Wooden Utility Pole.

New Edition of FOA's Basic Fiber Optics Textbook

It has been 5 years since we have updated the FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics, so it is certainly time for an update. The latest version is different enough we call it a new edition. Many of the updates are for new technologies which are reshaping the fiber optic industry like coherent transmission, BI fibers, etc. We've also added a section on the fiber optic workforce which has much relevance because this book is used to train those entering the workforce. We've also worked on making the book more readable, adding formatting that eases reading and a new comprehensive index.

Inflation was an issue, but the price only goes up $2 to $29.95 for the paperback and $12.95 for the Kindle version.

The new edition of the FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics is available from Amazon and booksellers worldwide.

FOA Programs Support STEM Education
Classroom Resources For STEM Teachers In K-12 And Technical Schools

Teachers in all grades can introduce their students to fiber optic technology with some simple demonstrations. FOA has created a page for STEM or STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) teachers with materials appropriate to their classes. Fiber Optic Resources For STEM Teachers.

FOA also has a YouTube Video on "Careers in Fiber Optics" and a "Careers In Fiber Optics" Website. See below.

All FOA Certification Credentials Are Now Online
All FOA Certified Fiber Optic Technicians now have their certification credentials online.
if your FOA certification has not expired you should have been notified you have an online credential. If you did not get notification it may be because FOA did not have a valid email for you. Contact FOA to inquire about your certification credential.

Whats New And Popular?

New/Updated Web Pages

Splices And Connections Of Regular to BI Singlemode FIbers.

Fiber Optic Safety - Installation and Construction.

Fiber Optic Network Troubleshooting.

Books

FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics, second edition of the basic fiber textbook.

The Fiber Optic Association Guide To Fiber Broadband Is A Hit With Broadband Planners Paperback ($12.95) and Kindle ($9.95) versions available from Amazon or most booksellers. Kindle version is in color!

New In The FOA Guide - Introduction To Broadband and Guidelines For Fiber Optic Project Planners

FOA Guide To The Fiber Optic Workforce - what we've learned in developing the fiber optic workforce over more than a quarter century and almost 100,000 certified techs.

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

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

FOA Newsletter Sections

News    Technical    Worth Reading    Q&A    Training/FiberU    Resoures    Safety About

News

Lots more news in Worth Reading below

ITU, World Bank, Mozilla, Internet Society And More Join To Map World's Fiber Optic Networks

While companies like Telegeography map the 500 or so submarine cables connecting the continents, the mapping of all the terrestrial networks is probably a task beyond the capabilities of any one company. However, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), World Bank, Mozilla (the Firefox browser company), the Internet Society and others have cooperatively undertaken this Herculean task.

Steve Song of Mozilla described the need for this information well: "In order to understand the true extent of the internet, we need to start with the basics, the physical infrastructure that carries the internet around the world. The first step in developing a solid foundation on which to understand the growth of the internet are terrestrial fibre optic networks, the high-capacity backbones that carry thousands of terabits of internet traffic every day across vast distances."

Building on Open Data principles, Mozilla has partnered with the World Bank, the International Telecommunications Union, Mozilla Corporation, the Internet Society, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, CSquared, and Digital Council Africa to support the development of the Open Fibre Data Standard and to promote its adoption. Thanks to financial support from the World Bank, the Open Data Services Cooperative (ODSC), a consultancy with extensive experience and expertise in Open Data standard development, was contracted to provide technical assistance in the development of the standard.

ITU has created information on this project and maps and mapping tools with demographic data than can ve used now. Go here to see the ITU maps and data.

Telegeography Introduces New Submarine Cable_Map

Telegeography's submarinecablemap just got an upgrade. Interactive map users can now search by region and route, navigate to the new Region and Route pages. A new Filter button is available in the sidebar on Region, Country, Landing Point, Route, and Supplier pages that return a list of three or more cables.

The Submarine Cable Map is a free and regularly updated resource from TeleGeography.

Fiber Broadband Doesn't Always Depend On Government Handouts

From all the talk about the US NTIA BEAD program for broadband, you might think that service providers were dependent on the government grants to build broadband. The BEAD program, however, is only funding a small portion of the US broadband construction, the areas that commercial ISPs have not been covering because of the poor ROI (return on investment) of unserved and underserved areas.

But expanding FTTH for broadband is a much bigger business in the US and is not being ignored by investors. It was recently reported in Broadband Communities that Race Communications had secured more than $500 million in new capital from investors to expand their networks in California. Race Communications is the leading fiber internet provider in California, covering both urban and rural areas.

The funding includes investment from equity investors like Oak Hill Capital and AB Private Credit Investors. Oak Hill is a leading investor in fiber broadband with investments in 31 states.

FOA has long been an advocate of investments in FTTH, pointing to success stories like Solana Beach, CA, the first "Terabit City." A more recent event, the Verizon bid for Frontier Communications, helps put a value on FTTH. Verizon's $20 Billion bid for Frontier values Frontier's 2.2 million customers, 7.2 million premises passed at about $9000 per customer or $3300 per home passed. We've tracked CATV system sales and they have typically been in the $4500-7500 range per subscriber.

The Rising Tide Of Community Broadband In The US

Today, more than 700 communities in the US are served by more than 400 municipal broadband networks across the country. The new Community Networks Map from ILSR illustrates this explosive growth.

While 16 states still restrict or ban cities from building their own telecommunications infrastructure, this number is steadily decreasing. Explore this interactive map to find more insights related to population size, business model, and other network characteristics.
“It’s striking to see just how many communities have decided to solve their own local connectivity challenges by building publicly owned, locally controlled networks after being left behind or neglected by the big monopoly Internet service providers,” ILSR’s Ry Marcattilio said.

Read more at ILSR.

Podcast "Future of The Fiber Optic Network"
We suspect many of you like to listen to podcasts as your are driving. Here is one that can also update you on the fiber optic industry.

Telecommunications Industry Therapy Podcast: Future of The Fiber Optic Network, July 10, 2024
Scott Stekr and Michelle Kang of interview Jim Hayes, President of The Fiber Optic Association to provide clarification on what fiber optic networks are, who builds them, and what the FOA is doing to help train and grow the workforce.

Future of The Fiber Optic Network (Podcast, 48 minutes)

Coming To San Diego October 30-31, 2024

The inaugural Broadband Communities Summit West will be held in San Diego on October 30-31. The conference is the latest addition to the Broadband Communities event portfolio and will bring together 1,000 like-minded professionals, who are invested in delivering better connectivity for communities in the Western United States. You'll be hearing from public officials across 12+ states on how they intend to ensure meaningful and long-lasting change in their communities.

New Technical Book On FTTx In Serbian

Vladimir Grozdanovic is a graduate electrical engineer for telecommunications with more than 10 years of experience in access networks (HFC and FTTH) in large cable operators in Serbia (SBB and Jotel). He has been writing technical articles for the FOA Newsletter based on his personal experiences. Now he has applied his writing talents to a textbook on FTTx in his native language, Serbian.

The book can be ordered through the publisher Infoelektronika website https://www.infoelektronika.net/. Delivery is available to all countries worldwide via standard mail or international express mail EMS.

Quote Of The ~~Month~~ Year:
(this is worth repeating)

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, AT&T’s CEO John Stankey said, “There’s a fallacy to say there’s fixed networks and wireless networks. There are only fiber networks with different access technologies on the end of them. That’s where this is all going.”

Technical

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

The FOA Update Page covers the new technology and applications we covered in this newsletter recently. Now you can review all that new tech at once.

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
FOA Videos
We have also rearranged the 100+ FOA videos in similar categories on the Contents Page of the Online Guide, making the videos, especially the lectures, much it much easier to find a video on a particular topic.
FOA Videos Guide.

Want to know more about fiber optics? Study for FOA certifications? Free Self-Study Programs are on Fiber U®

If It Would Work, You Would Not Want It!

An ad for this visual fault locator (VFL) showed up this month. You've probably seen these ads before, promising VFLs that could test out to 20 - 30 km or more. There are several problems with this claim and more problems if it could actually do what they claim. It merely illustrates what the manufacturer doesn't understand about fiber optics, fiber attenuation, optical power or loss in dB.

The attenuation of an optical fiber is highly dependent on wavelength. VFLs use visible red lasers at 650 nm wavelength. At 650 nm, the scattering attenuation in optical fiber is about 6-10 dB/km, compared to ~0.3 dB/km at 1310 to 1550 nm. A VFL from a reputable manufacturer has an output of ~ 1 milliwatt, a class II laser. They are generally useful for 3-4 km of optical fiber. That implies a range of about 30 dB, with ~ 1 microwatt visible at the end of the fiber.

To be able to be useful for 30 km, the VFL would need to be powerful enough to work over 180 to 300 dB of fiber attenuation (30 km X 6 dB/km = 180 dB, X 10 dB/km = 300 dB). If 1 microwatt is visible at the far end, the laser would have to be emitting a power level of more than 1 gigawatt! That's not a VFL, that's a laser weapon or fusion igniter! It would probably vaporize the connector and fiber attached to it! Maybe the user too!

These high power VFLs are not gigawatt lasers but are still probably in violation of laser safety regulations and potentially harmful to your eyes.

Here is an example of the power required to reach fiber lengths:

1 milliwatt laser (0 dBm) to 1 microwatt visible = 30 dB loss = 3-5 km

(That's 1,000 times the visible light llimit required to go 3-5 km at 6-10 db/km. Remember 30 dB is a factor of 1,000 in power, so every additional 30 dB is multiplying the power by another 1,000 times))

1 watt laser (+30 dBm) to 1 microwatt visible = 60 dB loss = 6-10 km

(Another 1,000 times the power only gets you another 3-5 km)

1 kilowatt laser to 1 microwatt visible = 90 dB loss = 9-15 km

(The power level used for cutting and welding is in the low kw level. Above this level, lasers are used for weapons, research experiments for laser fusion, etc.)

1 megawatt laser to 1 microwatt visible = 120 dB loss = 12-20 km

1 gigawatt laser to 1 microwatt visible = 150 dB loss = 15-25 km

That's an interesting lesson in optical power expressed in dBm and the effects of fiber attenuation.

Miniaturization Comes To The PON

The essence of technology is that over time it becomes smaller and cheaper. That has happened to many fiber optic components over the years, including SFP transceivers and coherent modules. Not it's come to PONs. COMTREND has introduced a pluggable module that converts a switch or router to an OLT.

The COMTREND TiBit Microplug is a module that plugs into a switch or router to implement a XGS-PON OLT for PON systems. COMTREND claims you can eliminate the OLT chassis with their pluggable module and the router that connects to the Internet. This could be a good solution to lowering costs for connecting small towns or rural areas.

More information on COMTREND TiBit Microplug.

Understanding Optical Distribution Frames (ODFs) And Patch Panels

FOA contributor Vladimir Grozdanovic explains the types, uses and management of optical distribution frames and patch panels in this new technical paper. Read it in the FOA Guide.

Is It Just The OTDR Or Is Singlemode Loss Really Directional?

Our series of articles on the compatibility and splicing of G.652 and G.657 summarized below and explained fully here raised another question from a knowledgeable reader.

"When you do a bidirectional OTDR test and average, you remove the backscatter differences. But it seems to me that two fibers of different MFDs would have an actual directional loss difference, much like mismatched MM fiber. Do you have any information that addresses this?"

One of FOA's technical contacts at a fiber manufacturer gave us this explanation. "With singlemode fibers there is simply one mode. The loss is simply the overlap of the modes in the two fibers and is the same in either direction since only one mode propagates and all other modes are cladding modes." So there you have it -

Singlemode splices showing different losses in bidirectional losses are just a artifact of how the OTDR tests

Averaging the loss in the two directions gives the actual splice loss

The actual splice loss the same in either direction.

Read the explanation of OTDR directional differences in the FOA Guide page on OTDRs.

A Quiet But Important Change In The Fiber Optic Cable You Buy
With so many cable designs today, like microcables or high fiber count cables, requiring bend-insensitive fibers, would it make sense to make all or most singlemode fibers as bend insensitive fiber?

Two manufacturers (Corning and OFS) told FOA the industry is moving towards a G.657.A specification in fiber, because the industry is moving towards smaller denser cables in the network & the bend resilience is a requirement for the cable design. So singlemode fiber is moving to being BI fiber, exactly what happened with 50/125 laser optimized fibers a decade ago. With most new fiber, compatibility is not an issue. But it is recommended to check with the cable manufacturer if you are not sure what fiber is being used in the cable you are purchasing.

Read the entire FOA report on compatibility of G.652 and G.657 singlemode fiber that includes this summary.

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Updated FOA OTDR Trainer

FOA has rewritten the FOA OTDR Trainer around Fiberizer. The Fiberizer PC software was the version we used for creating the Trainer, but the basic techniques apply to all versions of Fiberizer. FOA provides a folder of sample traces in 3 categories - Parameter Traces, Sample Traces and PON Traces - around which we build the trainer. If you set up Fiberizer, you can complete the FOA OTDR Trainer lessons and then use the same software to analyze other traces you may have, even from other brands of OTDRs, as long as they are .sor files.

The FOA OTDR Trainer is ready to help you learn about OTDRs. Go to the OTDR Trainer page,
tech/ref/testing/OTDR/OTDRsimulator.html, choose your version of Fiberizer, download the FOA Traces and you are ready to go.

FOA wishes to thank VeEX for permission to use their Fiberizer® software in our OTDR trainer. And our compliments to them for making the ap available on multiple platforms that ensure anybody can use it.

How Good Are Your OTDR Launch/Receive Cables?
FOA received an inquiry about some OTDR traces that showed failures. Quite a few fibers failed at the final connection to the receive cable, indicating that there could be a problem with the connection - dirt of a bad connector on the receive cable. Have you checked the connectors on your OTDR - or OLTS - reference cables recently? You should inspect and clean them regularly - every few connections - to ensure they are good. If they are bad, they will cause false failures on the cable under test.

NECA/FOA 301 fiber optic installation standard withdrawn
The NECA/FOA 301 fiber optic installation standard has been withdrawn. It's almost a quarter century old and a decade since the last update. It has been decided the standard needs to be replaced with a more modern document covering current technology and written in a format that allows easier updating.

In the meantime, there is lots of useful information in the standard and you can still download a free copy from FOA.

Download your free copy of ANSI/NECA/FOA-301 here (PDF)

FTTH Technical Papers

FOA contributor Vladimir Grozdanovic has created another technical paper on testing FTTH PON based on his field experiences.

Optical Distribution Frames (ODFs) And Patch Panels

Using Fiber Identifiers

Testing The FTTH PON Network (new)

Troubleshooting PON Installations.

Installation of FTTH Active Equipment in the FOA Guide.

Optical Splitters in the FOA Guide.

Examples of poor installation of FTTH in the aerial outside plant and in the customer premises.

Recycling Fiber Optic Cables? Contact LD4 Recycle

Learning Important Information From A Found Cable Scrap

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. That turned out to be an important part of the information we learned from the cable. Then, as you will see below, we dissected the cable and learned even more.

Red more about what this cable marking tells you and what the cable looks like when you open it up to prepare for splicing.

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:

You might remember an article in the FOA Newsletter in April 2022 or the FOA Guide page on Project Management about the timing of a fiber optic project where we showed the progression of steps in a project like this:

The Gantt Chart is simply this list converted to a Gantt Chart using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. You can download a copy of the FOA Gantt Chart spreadsheet (xlsx file - 16kB) and use it to create your own Gantt Chart for any project. All you have to do is to input your own data and change the activity names as necessary. You can also follow the directions from Microsoft to create your own version.

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 are the links to download your own FOA Guides to Fiber Optic Color Codes
FOA Guide to Fiber Optic Color Codes (print your own version) PDF
FOA Guide to Fiber Optic Color Codes (electronic version for your smartphone, tablet or PC) PDF

And Color Codes For UTP Cabling
FOA Guide to UTP Cabling Color Codes (print your own version) PDF
FOA Guide to UTP Copper Cabling Color Codes (electronic version) PDF

Warning For Techs Doing OSP Restoration

FOA received an inquiry about whether techs working on restoring OSP links should be concerned about eye safety if the link used fiber amplifiers. To answer this question, we had to do some research on fiber amplifiers. The short answer is YES, you should be concerned. The long answer is more technical and includes details that every OSP tech needs to know.

See "Fiber Amps And Restoration" in the FOA Newsletter Archives..

Try The FOA's Online Loss Budget Calculator

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've created a online Loss Budget Calculator that does the work for you. Just input your cable plant data and it calculates the loss budget. It works on any device, especially smartphones and tablets for field use and even allows printing the results.

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



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"

AT&T PR photo from the mid 1970s

The FOA's History

Stories From The Past FOA Newsletters

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. .
Building Rural FTTH - Learning From The History Of Rural Electrification.
Warning For Techs Doing Restoration (Fiber Amplification).

The Future Of Work Is Skills - So Stop Worrying About Degrees - The reality is the future of work is about skills, not just degrees. (FOA Newsletter Feb 2020)

Recent articles from The FOA Newsletter
Fake OTDR Traces Submitted For Testing Documentation January 2023 Tech
Using OTDRs To Test Transoceanic Cables And PONs February 2023
POF - the Other Fiber March 2023
What Do Employers Expect From A Fiber Optic Tech? April 2023
Are Standards Ignoring The OSP? May 2023
FOA Has Proven Results In Fiber Optic Workforce Development June 2023
BEAD Funding For States Announced And Analyzed July 2023
Wisdom From The Street (Analyzing the printing on a fiber optic cable) July 2023
Focus On Disasters August 2023
FOA's Role In Education and Work Done By Fiber Techs September 2023
The Workforce: New US DoL Bureau of Labor Statistics Telecom Tech Category October 2023
How Many Telecom Techs Do We Need and How Big Is The Fiber Optic Market November 2023
Guidelines For Fiber Optic Project Planners December 2023
2023 Year In Review. Kentucky Shows The Value Of Fiber January 2024.
What is Broadband? History of the Cable Modem February 2024
It's Just Economics. Things you need to know. March 2024.

Fiber To The Shore - Undersea cables along the coast April, 2024.
The Future Of The Fiber Tech May 2024.

Worth Reading (And Watching Or Listening):

September

The Tech Friend: ‘5G’ on your phone is a lie. Washington Post

U.S. Wireless Data Use Passes 100 Trillion MB in 2023 - ISEMAG   nearly half of consumer mobile data was used for video streaming

Utility Poles: The California Public Utilities Code gives the California Public Utilities Commission the authority to allow public utilities to access all utility poles, and requires investor-owned utilities and incumbent providers to provide telecommunications and cable TV providers with access to their poles. All public utilities must grant each other access to their utility poles, and must set rates, terms, and conditions for access. From The California Public Utilities Commission "Resources For Broadband Projects"
(And it is a web page of very interesting reading about permitting and rights-of-way!)

Previously:

On the Heels of Certifying 100,000 Fiber Optic Technicians the FOA Releases a New Book - CI&M. The Fiber Optic Association has been having a successful year with the promise of certifying an astounding number of technicians and launching the second edition of one of the association’s most popular textbooks.

The State Of Fiber Optics In The Utility Industry - Utility Expo

Podcast
Telecommunications Industry Therapy Podcast: Future of The Fiber Optic Network
JULY 10, 2024 by Scott Stekr and Michelle Kang of Telecommunications Industry Forum interview Jim Hayes, President of The Fiber Optic Association to provide clarification on what fiber optic networks are, who builds them, and what the FOA is doing to help train and grow the workforce.

Deep Dives (Takes a while to read but worth it)

Investing In Fiber Optic Networks -Hexatronic - not like venture capital investing, but how financial decisions in network design may have big effects on the total cost of a network.

VIAVI "NITRO" Fiber Sensing Solutions - VIAVI is offering systems to use fibers as sensors for finding cabling problems, structural monitoring and security. Focus is on electrical power transmission, piplelines, and critical infrastructure. IT might apply to your network.

June 2024:

Investing in Middle Mile Can Help Communities Achieve Broadband Equity. US Ignite

Obstacles to Fiber Optic Workforce Training and Certification ISE Magazine

Houston, Missouri’s Municipal Fiber Network Revs Up City’s Economic Development Engine With Big City Connectivity. Community Networks

What happened to BEAD? Deployments slow even as federal and state funding looms - Broadband Communities

May 2024

Quote of the month: “Middle mile is like the middle child that keeps getting ignored. If we continue ignoring it, at one point in time, we will not be able to connect all of these new last mile connections that we are planning on building in the next four years.” Sachin Gupta, Director of Government Business & Economic Development at Centranet.

Recent Articles

Responsible Fiber Deployment: Strategies for Protection and Damage Prevention - Excavation Safety Alliance - YouTube video, 1hr.

Can Our Industry Develop Fiber Talent? ISE Magazine. Learn how states, schools and training organizations must work together to develop fiber field talent.

Landlines are dying out. But to some, they’re a lifeline. Washington Post Providers want to scale back landline service, but people with poor cell reception still rely on it for emergencies.

Pre-Excavation Safety Checklist (PDF) - Excavation Safety Alliance - essential steps before breaking ground for underground construction.
Fiber vs Wireless - Are You Kidding? ISE Magazine Of course we need both!

Developing a Fiber Workforce Really Does Take A Village - ISE magazine looks at the role of manufacturers' training in developing the fiber workforce.

How Many More Fiber Techs Do We Really Need? - ISE Magazine
Telegeography Submarine Cable Map 2023 - You can also buy copies - Telegeography

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.

Do You Believe In Magic? Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. ISE Magazine.

The Secret to Future Proofing, ISE Magazine

The 45 Year Old Overnight Sensation - ISE Magazine (Read the complete Nov/Dec issue of ISE Magazine here.

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

Conocimiento Esencial: ¿Por qué la fibra óptica? creado por FiberWizards

Recruiting And Training Today's Fiber Optic Workforce - Learn the fundamentals to recruit and train new fiber optics -ISE Magazine.

Google Video On Their Undersea Cables YouTube Slick but interesting video on how undersea cables are designed, built and used.

Construction Without Disruption - ISE Magazine

Fiber Optics Installed By The Lowest Bidder - ISE Magazine

Building Broadband During Component and Worker Shortages - Broadband Communities - Completing broadband builds requires competent fiber optic techs, but training them requires understanding how they learn.

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.

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

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

Structured Cabling News - a website and weekly newsletter about cabling

RTI Telecom Magazine from Brazil, in Portuguese. A revista RTI do mês de abril já está disponível online e recomendo a leitura de alguns artigos:

FOA was founded in 1995 - FOA's History
As part of celebrating 25 years of serving the fiber optic industry in 2020 as its primary source of technical information and independent certifying body, FOA thought it appropriate to create a short history of the organization and how it has developed to help the fiber optic industry. We also wanted to recognize the contributions many people have made to the organization over the years that made FOA what it is today.

The FOA history is now archived on the FOA website where you can read it anytime or link to it.   Updated info - dB, total internal reflection and science projects,

Worth Reading - History & Technical

1983 Video of AT&T's First Test Of A Submarine Cable System From the AT&T Tech Channel archives (worth exploring!)

Richard Epworth's Optical Fiber History from his work at STL from 1966 with Charles Kao.

50th Anniversary of The Development of Low Loss Fibers A history of the development of low loss fiber, a fascinating story by Jeff Hecht on the OSA (Optical Society of America) website.

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

"Who Lost Lucent?: The Decline of America's Telecom Equipment Industry"
This is a MUST READ for managers in telecom or any industry!

Communications Systems Grounding Rules: Article 800 provides specific requirements by Michael Johnston, NECA Executive Director of Standards and Safety in EC Magazine

US Broadband Coverage By Service Provider from the FCC

How To Build Rural Broadband, Learning From History
In the August 2021 FOA Newsletter, we published a lengthy article on rural broadband and compared it to rural electrification in America in the last century. Much of the comparison was based on an article written in 1940 by a USDA economist, Robert Beall, called "Rural Electrification." If you are interested in or involved in rural broadband, we recommend you read the article "How To Build Rural Broadband, Learning From History" in the August 2021 FOA Newsletter and read the Beall article also.

Recycling Fiber Optic Cable - Contact:
Steve Maginnis
LD4Recycle/ CommuniCom Recycling
(Visit website)
sm@LD4Recycle.com
803.371.5436

Sumitomo's Ribbon Splicing Guide - download from one of the leaders in splicing.

OFS also has an excellent website and blog of tech articles worth browsing.

IEC 60050 - International Electrotechnical Vocabulary - An extensive dictionary for fiber optics in English and French. Highly technical - this is one definition: "mode - one solution of Maxwell's equations, representing an electromagnetic field in a certain space domain and belonging to a family of independent solutions defined by specified boundary conditions"

Restoration: 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 Requires 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.

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.

Infrastructure Get Some Respect, NY TImes "On Tech" "The magic of the internet requires a lot of very boring stuff behind the scenes. "
DIRT Report On Damage To Utilities Common Ground Alliance (CGA) annual DIRT report provides a summary and analysis of the events submitted into CGA’s Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) for the year 2018. The complete report is available for download here. In addition, there is an interactive dashboard that allows users to filter the data more by factors contributing to damages.

Fiber Trivia From Corning.

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

Besides the FOA reference materials, two JDSU/VIAVI textbooks, Reference Guide to Fiber Optic Testing, Volumes 1 and 2, were used as references for some of the FOA courses and are recommended for instructors and students. The books are available from VIAVI as eBooks and the everyone should download them and recommend them to others.Download yours now. Volume 1. Volume 2. Viavi Books

Ciena's Submarine Cable Handbooks (4 to download)

How OFS Makes Fiber
Interesting YouTube video on how fiber is made. Perhaps a little too much "show biz" but fascinating. If you have ever seen fiber manufacture, look at this video. You will be amazed at how big preforms have become!

The True Cost of Telco Damages (what backhoe fade or target practice can cost)

Rural Electric Cooperatives: Pole Attachment Policies and Issues, June 2019.

Q&A

When readers ask us questions, we genrally 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

OTDR Measures Fiber Length
Q: What property (or defect) of SM G.652D could possibly lead to span length (fiber length determined by OTDR) being shorter than cable length? The cable length is 2.517km vs 2.508km fiber length.*
A: It is not uncommon for the OTDR measured fiber distance to differ from the cable distance read from the cable jacket. OTDR measurements have errors typically greater than the differences you gave. However there is another likely difference. THe OTDR measures time of flight (test pulse out and return) to the end of the cable and calculates the length based on the index of refraction of the fiber. Most cables have a fiber length about 1% longer than the cable length to prevent stress on the fiber when the cable is pulled, so your results showing the fiber length as being shorter indicated the particular fiber in the cable has an index of refraction that is different from the value being used by the OTDR. This is a parameter which can be set if you know the proper value for the fibers used in the cable.

What is Long Haul?
Q: Do we have a characterisation for long haul plant in terms of length? How long should a fibre plant be to be called long haul? How long is a metro and a campus fibre? Apart from length, are there any other features required for a fibre plant to be called "long haul"?
A: There is no standard definition for “long haul,” but most people probably use the following guidelines:
Long haul: >20km
Metro: 2-20km
Campus: <2km
Premises: <500m
Again, there are no standards for the term “long haul,” so while most long haul today is high speed (>10Gb/s) and may include WDM, some long haul systems for special applications like electrical utility grid monitoring may go long distances but at very low bit rates.

What's The Light Path Link
Q: Generally, how much does the distance travelled by the light pulse (one way) differ from the length of the fibre (as measured on the drum) There are probably differences (how ever small) between the path of the light pulse (as it ping-pongs inside the core) and the length of the strand.
A: In singlemode fiber, the light path length is the fiber length. In multimode fiber it depends on the type of fiber and the individual modes. Cable is generally made with the fiber being about 1% longer than the cable to prevent tension on the cable elongating it and stressing the fiber.

Reducing Attenuation
Q: What is the best way of reducing fiber optic attenuation
A: In any cable plant, the loss comes from the loss of the optical fiber and loss at joints (splices or mated connectors) plus any stress losses caused by bad installation of the cable. For a give cable plant, the options are lower loss fiber or lower loss at joints. If you need lower loss, the fiber loss is a function of the attenuation coefficient (dB/km) times the length (km)., e.g 0.4dB/km X 10 km = 4.0 dB. So if the length is fixed, you can try to find lower loss fiber. The loss at joints is a fucntion of the methods of joining. Splices have very low loss - 0.1 dB or less on singlemode fiber. slightly more on multimode fiber. Connections can have loss from 0.1 dB to more than 0.5 dB, depending on the type of connector chosen. On SM fiber, if connecctors are top quality fusion splice on connectors and are properly cleaned loss can be under 0.2 dB. Some connectors like the MPO multifiber array connector can have losses up to 0.75 dB or more. Replacing connectors with fusion splices is also a way to lower loss at joints. Here is a reference to loss budgets: https://foa.org/tech/lossbudg.htm

Safe handling of fiber optics;
Q: Is there a particular glove recommended for safe handling of FO's? I appreciate dexterity in handling may be important, but glass shards / splinters into the skin is a significant risk as well. There are vague references to using gloves, but looking for the preferred / recommended type of glove.
A: Gloves are hard to use when dealing with bare fiber but thin surgical gloves work for some people. Regular gloves are too clumsy and some cannot stop fiber penetration. When working with cable, especially armored cable or large cables, work gloves are good protection. You can also get kevlar gloves that resist cuts but are flexible and cooler. They are often advertised as kitchen gloves to prevent knife cuts.

Fault Location
Q: How do you detect fault location of fiber optics in the field? How much time it takes to detect geo-location?
A: The simple answer is an OTDR but the physical location depends on cable plant documentation and location data like GIS data. The time depends on the availability of data and equipment. Minutes to days?

"Certified' Cables
Q: we will be using a large number of fiber cables . We have specific testing and reporting requirements for the cables that are shipped to us. Each end needs to be tested in accordance with IEC-61300-3-35, IEC 61300-1:2022 with automated analysis microscopy. Instead of purchasing the cables and getting them certified upon receiving them, is there an option out there that allows you to purchase Fiber Optic Cables that have already been certified according to the above listed requirements and come with some sort of clear proof of that?
A: The question is the matter of definition of “certified.” Generally it means testing to a standard as you note. Any reputable manufacturer of these cables will supply documentation with the cables that includes loss testing and connector inspection reports. If the cable manufacturer does not supply that documentation, I suggest finding another supplier. At incoming, it may be desirable to do a AQL sampling, but testing these cables is very specialized. Not many contractors are equipped with the special test equipment needed.

Past Questions

Calibrating Multimode Optical Power Meters
Q: Should I be calibrating multimode optical power meters with an LED source or a laser? I know that standards call for testing multimode loss with LEDs not lasers.
A: The reason standards call for testing MM fiber with LEDs is the coherence of lasers leads to modal noise in the fibers and unpredictable variations in loss. But the wide spectral width of LEDs makes calibration less accurate than when using lasers at the correct wavelengths. Calibrate meters with lasers, test fibers with LEDs.

Color Codes On Higher Fiber Count Cables
Q: Why do buffer tubes 13-24 repeat the colors with a black stripe (black will have a yellow stripe)? Why does it start with black stripe vs starting with blue? And what happens when you get to black tube color again do you skip it?
A: Color codes are an interesting topic. The basic color codes go back to the beginnings of multi-pair phone cables. TIA added color codes for premises cable jackets and connectors in TIA-598 to the 1-12 color codes for fibers and buffer tubes. FOA covers that basic system in the online Guide here: https://foa.org/tech/ColCodes.htm
The question about the second black fiber, fiber 20, is an interesting one. Many cables use black with a yellow stripe but Corning uses a clear buffer with a black stripe. https://www.corning.com/catalog/coc/documents/application-engineering-notes/AEN029.pdf
It turns out that cable manufacturers don’t all do it the same way for higher fiber counts. Most use the 1-12 colors for fibers and the same for buffer tubes. 12 fibers per colored buffer tube is the tradition, but there are 24 fibers in some tubes, so it’s 1-24 colors.
Ribbon cables are another story. With the older hard ribbon designs, cable manufacturers often printed information on each ribbon. Those are becoming obsolete and you can’t print on the new flexible ribbons the same way, so I’ve seen schemes to print dots and dashes on the fibers in the ribbons!
So what we have is a standard, but standards are voluntary, so not everybody follows them!

Repairing Fiber Optic Connector Ferrules
Q: Can you take an existing fiber optic number connector and polish the end if the end is to dirty or damaged that it cannot be cleaned via dry or wet methods?
A: Yes, using special polishing techniques. We have a page on that in the FOA Guide: Fiber Optic Connector Repair

Grounding Armored Jumper Cables
Q: Do you need to bond/ground FTTH drop "jumpers" that ise an armored cable?
A: Yes, just like any other cable that has conductive elements. A manufacturer of the cables Tinifiber seems to agree: https://tinifiber.com/bonding-and-grounding-armored-fiber-cable/
I do not know of any fiber optic connectors that address this, unlike the RJ-45/modular 8-pin connectors for UTP copper.

Disoposal Of Fiber Optic Cables
Q: How does an organization dispose of unwanted fiber optic cables in an environmentally safe manner?
A: We recommend that users save some reels leftover from an installation for possible use in restoration. If a cable break occurs, getting cable quickly can be a problem. We also have a contact who says he can recycle fiber optic cable:
Contact: Steve Maginnis, LD4Recycle/ CommuniCom Recycling, (Visit website https://ld4recycle.com), sm@LD4Recycle.com, 803.371.5436
Otherwise, it is basically landfill.

Finding Buried Fiber Optic Cables
Q: We have a client that needs their private fiber located. We have been on site and confirmed the lines were installed with no tracer wire or conductive conduit/sheathing. Want to know if you had any suggestions on how to locate or if there was specialized equipment that I am aware of.
A: Interesting question on an important topic. The answer is a qualified maybe. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) can sometimes spor fiber optic cable, maybe more easily if it is in duct or conduit. It requires someone with a lot of experince in GPR. There are companies around the US with this capability. Then there is a new proposal using the sensing capability of fiber with above ground vibrators. Nothing commercial is available here as far as I know.
https://www.winlab.rutgers.edu/~hansiiii/papers/OECC_2020_Liu.pdf

Fiber Optics For Alarm Systems
Q: Can you please help me with having information about if do you know if someone did use fiber for complete fire alarm systems, sensor, smoke detectors, panels etc.
A: FOA checked with my technical contact at the IBEW, Jim Simpson, for this topic. Here is his answer:
NFPA does indeed have requirements for fiber in fire alarm systems. Keep in mind, the requirements may vary depending on which edition of NFPA 72 the jurisdiction has adopted. The info below is based on the 2022 NFPA 72.

Chapter 12 covers Circuits and Pathways

Section 27.4 covers Communications Methods

Section 27.7 covers Public Cable Plant

Updating FOA Courses And Reference Materials
Q: How often are FOA courses updated? And when they get updated, what happens to those who would have done a previous version?
A: The FOA certifications are updated as needed to stay current with technology and applications. Udates are incremental and we do not require current certification holders to retake courses or exams. Some of our updates are almost humorous. For example, over the last 20 years the definitions of “hybrid” and “composite” cables have flipped twice in several international standards. At the last time, we changed all references to these cable types in all our materials to note the confusion it creates, then purged all questions from our exams that covered this confusing topic.

Older questions can be found on the FAQs page.

Fiber Optic Color Codes Reference Chart
Q: Has anyone made a fiber optic pocket reference chart that has cable color orders, frequencies, or other commonly used info on it?
A: The FOA has a page on its Online Guide that covers color codes (https://foa.org/tech/ColCodes.htm). It is the most popular page in the FOA Guide! It works great with a smartphone.

More Q&A in the FOA FAQs Page

The word on the "Dig Once" program is getting out - FOA is getting calls from cities asking us for information and advice. Here are some links:

The DoT page on the administration’s Executive Order: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/otps/exeorder.cfm

And the one to download and hand out:
A “How To” Guide from The Global Connect Initiative: https://share.america.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/6.-GCI-Dig-Once.pdf

Training / FiberU

News and resources to help you learn more and stay updated.

Learn about the fiber optic/ broadband workforce

Find a listing of all the FOA-Approved schools here.

Free online self-study programs on many fiber optics and cabling topics are available at Fiber U, FOA's online web-based training website.
Free online training at Fiber U

The FOA has >100 videos on

New Edition of FOA's Basic Fiber Optics Textbook

Just like they say in the product ads, it's new and improved!

It has been 5 years since we have updated the FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics, so it is certainly time for an update. The latest version is different enough we call it a new edition. Many of the updates are for new technologies which are reshaping the fiber optic industry like coherent transmission, BI fibers, etc. We've also added a section on the fiber optic workforce which has much relevance because this book is used to train those entering the workforce.

We've also worked on making the book more readable, adding formatting that eases reading and a new comprehensive index.

Inflation was an issue, but the price only goes up $2 to $29.95 for the paperback and $12.95 for the Kindle version.

The new edition of the FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics is available from Amazon and booksellers worldwide.

Online Credentials For FOA Schools And Certified Instructors

FOA switched to online credentials 1-1/2 years ago. Now every active FOA certified fiber optic and premises cabling tech has an online credential they can use to prove their certification, print paper certificates and share on social media. When they add another certification or renew, their online credential is updated.

FOA has now expanded the online credentials to its network of FOA Approved training organizations and FOA Certified Fiber Optic Instructors (CFOS/I and CPCT/I.) Now FOA Approved training organizations and FOA Certified Fiber Optic Instructors can now also share their credentials online.


Those evaluating fiber optic or premises cabling training organizations will be able to quickly determine the status of the training organization they are considering by following the link to the organizations online credential. Likewise the qualifications of the instructor are also available on their online credential which lists all their FOA certifications.

More about FOA's network of approved training organizations.

The Types of Work Done By Fiber Techs And How It Affects Training

What is a fiber optic technician? What kinds of work do they do? Those topics were the center of FOA discussions with the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics that led to the new job category of "Telecommunications Technician" on the BLS website. The focus of this job category is primarily the installation and operation of the fiber optic cable plant, but one should not forget the cable plant must be designed also as part of a more extensive communications network.

In our discussion with the BLS analysts, we pointed out the various stages of a fiber optic communications network project and how techs with various knowledge and skill sets are needed and involved in every step. Here is how FOA defines these stages of a project and the skills of the techs. This is not unique to FOA; it's what has been traditional at telecom companies forever.

Planning and Design: Once needs for a communications network is established, project managers will be responsible for all the details of the project while experienced fiber techs trained and experienced in fiber optic network design (CFOS/D) will design the cable plant itself. (FOA Guide - Design)

Construction: Aerial cable plants may require installing new poles or doing make-ready on existing poles and messengers. Underground construction requires trenching and installation of ducts. In many cases the actual construction is done by general construction workers, as the construction work in many cases is not unique to fiber optics. Heavy machinery is required for much of the construction work and training is focused on safety as well as operating the machinery. (FOA Guide - Construction)

Fiber Optic Cable Installers: Once the route is prepared, the fiber optic cable can be installed. Aerial cable installation depends on the type of cable. Regular OSP cable, figure 8 cable and ADSS cable requires special hardware and installation techniques so the techs must understand the process appropriate for each cable. (FOA Guide - Installation)

Splicers: Since the beginning, fiber techs have been called "splicers" because that was the original job unique to fiber optics. Construction and cable installation was not very different from earlier copper cables, but splicing was very different. Even today, fiber techs are often called splicers and splicing is a core skill for any fiber tech whether they are joining cables or terminating them. (FOA Guide - Splicing)

Testers: After the fiber optic cable is installed and spliced, it must be tested. Testing goes together with splicing since every splice will be tested, often as soon as it is made so if it needs redoing, it should be done before the splice closure is sealed. (FOA Guide - Testing)

Network Operators: Once the cable plant is built and the communications equipment installed, it needs techs who know how to operate the comms but may only know how to connect new gear or change connections on current gear. These techs should also know how to troubleshoot systems in an outage and either do the restoration themselves or call a tech who can. (FOA Guide - Operation)

These categories merely define the stages of installation of a fiber optic project. Of course there are subsets of these categories and most fiber techs are expected to have skills and jobs that cross into multiple groups, as FOA has defined in the KSAs (knowledge, skills and abilities) for a CFOT.

What an individual worker does differs according to their job. An independent fiber contractor may cover every job except operation and a FTTH subscriber installation tech may only understand installing cables, testing and connecting equipment within the scope of FTTH systems. A construction company may handle the trenching and even pole setting as well as parts of the traditional fiber work.

The FOA defined its role early on to focus on educating and certifying techs in the fiber specific skills: cable installation, splicing, testing and restoration. FOA would like to see more schools get into the construction phase, especially for newer techniques like microtrenching and blowing cable, but these require large outdoor areas for training and large investments in equipment. Most techs who learn these processes now do it with OJT - on-the-job-training - and hopefully get OSHA training for safety.

New In Spanish - Nuevo en español

FOA Spanish Textbook And Online Guide Updated

The FOA Spanish textbook and Online Guide on basic fiber optics has just been updated. The new version includes all the latest updates and is intended for use with FOA CFOT certification classes presented in Spanish. Both paperback and Kindle versions are available. The textbook and the updated CFOT class curriculum are available now.

Libro de texto en español y guía en línea de FOA actualizados
Se acaba de actualizar el libro de texto en español y la Guía Online de FOA sobre fibra óptica básica. La nueva versión incluye las últimas actualizaciones y está diseñada para usarse con las clases de certificación FOA CFOT presentadas en español. Están disponibles versiones de bolsillo y Kindle. El libro de texto y el plan de estudios actualizado de la clase CFOT ya están disponibles.

FOA Adds Fiber Optic Network Design in Spanish

The FOA Design textbook and course curriculum are available in Spanish also. The FOA CFOS/D curriculum in Spanish includes the necessary materials for an instructor to present the course in Spanish and give thCFOS/D certification exam in Spanish. The material is available to any FOA-approved school. For more infirmation on becoming a FOA approved school, go here.

El libro de texto de FOA Design y el plan de estudios del curso también están disponibles en español. El plan de estudios de FOA CFOS/D en español incluye los materiales necesarios para que un instructor presente el curso en español y dé el examen de certificación CFOS/D en español. El material está disponible para cualquier escuela aprobada por la FOA. Para obtener más confirmación sobre cómo convertirse en una escuela aprobada por la FOA, vaya aquí.

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 100,000 certified fiber techs (with ~130,000 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.

Complete listing of FOA Approved Training Organizations

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

FOA often gets inquiries from an organization that has personnel that needs training in fiber optics. Recent inquiries have included contractors, a manufacturer of high-reliability products using fiber optics and a cable manufacturer. In many cases, where there are several people needing training, FOA can recommend a FOA Approved School and Certified Instructor who will come to their location to teach a class. The advantage is of course the savings in travel costs if the class comes to you, but it also offers the opportunity to customize the course to fit your needs, even use your equipment or work on your components, so the training is more relevant to those taking the class.

Contact FOA to discuss the idea of a custom, on-site class to see if it will better meet your needs.

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

The FOA Fiber U OJT program for novices combines online study at Fiber U with OJT with mentoring by experienced co-workers and their supervisor to help new employees develop into experienced FOA-certified technicians.

The FOA Fiber U “OJT-To-Cert” program includes both fiber optics and premises cabling (copper, fiber & wireless), so it covers techs working in both outside plant and premises jobs.
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

Experienced fiber optic technicians can become FOA Certified using their experience in fiber optics and study for the FOA certification exams online at Fiber U. Thousands of industry professionals have applied to the FOA directly for certification without the need for classroom training, based on their knowledge and skills developed working the field. Since FOA certifications are based on KSAs (knowledge, skills and abilities), current techs can show the skills and abilities required through their field experience. FOA provides free online self-study courses at Fiber U for the knowledge part to prepare you for FOA certification exams which you can also take online.

If you are an experienced field tech interested in certification, and FOA is the internationally recognized certifying body for fiber optics, you can find out more about the FOA Direct Certification Program here.

If you are already a CFOT, FOA also offers many specialist certifications you can obtain based on your experience as a field tech. See what's available at Fiber U.

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.

FOA has introduced a new type of Fiber U course, the MiniCourse, a free online course you could take in a short time, perhaps as you ate lunch at your desk or took a coffee break. The topics of these courses should explain what they are about, and these are all very important topics to fiber optic techs.

New Fiber U MiniCourse - Fiber Optic Jargon
There is a new MiniCourse at Fiber U - Fiber Optic Jargon. Jargon is the most important thing you need to learn when you learn about a new technology. This short Fiber U MiniCourse is intended to introduce you to fiber optic jargon and make learning about fiber much easier. It's aimed at novices but is a good refresher for even experienced techs.

Fiber Optics In Communications

Fiber Optic Jargon

How Optical Fiber Works

Fiber Optic Network Restoration

Fiber Optic Connector Identification

Fiber U Color Codes

The Mysterious dB of Fiber Optics

Fiber Optic Cable Bend Radius

Fiber Optic Link Loss And Power Budgets

Fiber Optic Connector Inspection And Cleaning

Fiber Optic Media Conversion

Fiber Optic Cable Midspan Access

Reading An OTDR Trace

Reference Cables For Testing

Fiber Optic Attenuators

The courses have two components, video lectures and readings, that are complementary. As usual there is a self-test to allow you to check your comprehension. As with other Fiber U courses if you desire, you can take a short test for a Fiber U Certificate of Completion that costs only $10.

All these free courses and many more are available at Fiber U.

What Fiber Techs Don't Know -

What We Learn From FOA Certification Tests

As FOA moves more testing over to our digital online testing system at ClassMarker, we have access to more data about our testing, including what questions and topics on the tests are answered incorrectly most often. Having this data gives us an opportunity to evaluate the questions and how they are stated, but more importantly it allow us to help our instructors teach the subjects and us to change our curriculum and online courses to emphasize these particular topics. These are some of the topics that we have noticed are answered incorrectly more often in FOA and Fiber U tests.

Most of the questions missed are on testing.

1. OTDRs - particularly what information is in the OTDR trace.

2. The difference between dB and dBm

3. Loss budgets - both the concepts and doing the math

4. Insertion loss testing - single-ended or double ended for testing patchcords or cable plants, how to set 0dB references

5. Units of measure - fiber is measured in microns, wavelengths in nanometers, etc.

At FOA, we're working to add Fiber U MiniCourses on these topics and working with our schools to emphasize these topics in their classes.

If you are going to be taking a FOA certification course or test in the near future, these topics should be on your final exam study list.

What We Learn From Hands On Labs
We learn about students performance in hands-on labs from the feedback of our instructors and our own experiences too. One big problem is the use of hand tools. Growing up today, you learn how to use keyboards, mouses and touch screens, but decades ago, you also learned how to use basic hand tools. This is big enough of a problem that we're considering adding some video lessons on basic hand tools to prepare students for cable prep, termination and splicing that require the use of hand tools.

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 Direct Certification 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.

Publications / Resources

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)

In less than half a century, fiber optics has revolutionized communications and to a large extent, society in general. Broadband, what many today call high speed Internet access, has become a necessity for everyone, not a luxury. The technology that makes broadband possible is fiber optics, connecting the continents, cities, and just about everybody. Even fiber to the home (FTTH) brings broadband to hundreds of millions worldwide.

How did we get from an era when communications was making a telephone call or sending a telegram to today’s world where every piece of information – and misinformation – is available at the click of a mouse or touch on a screen? How did we get from a time when a phone was connected on copper wires to being able to connect practically anywhere on a handheld device with more computing power than was available to scientists and engineers only decades ago?

How does broadband work? Without fiber optics it would not work.

This book is not the typical FOA technical textbook - it is written for anyone who wants to understand fiber broadband or fiber optics or the Internet. It's also aimed at STEM teachers who want to include communications technology in their classes. This book will try to explain not only how fiber broadband works, but how it was developed. It is intended to be an introduction to communications technology appropriate for a communications course at almost any level (junior high, high school or college,) for managers involved with broadband projects, or for anyone who just wonders how all this stuff works.

The Fiber Optic Association Guide To Fiber Broadband

Paperback ($12.95) and Kindle ($9.95) versions available from Amazon or most booksellers. Kindle version is in color!

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.

Here is a listing of all the FOA textbook Translations

Spanish Editions:
Guía de Referencia de la Asociación de Fibra Óptica (FOA) Sobre Fibra Óptica: Guía de estudio para la certificación de la FOA Amazon
La Referencia de Cableado para Predios de la FOA: Guía para Certificación de la FOA   Amazon
La Asociación de Fibra Óptica Manual de Fibra Hasta el Hogar : Para Planificadores, Gestores, Diseñadores, Instaladores y Operadores De FTTH Amazon
Guía de Referencia de la FOA sobre Diseño de la red de fibra óptica: Guía de Estudio para la Certificación de la FOA Amazon

And the FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics:
French Edition: Le Guide de référence de la FOA pour la fibre optique et et guide d'étude pour la certification FOA: Guide d'étude pour la certification FOA Amazon
Portuguese Edition: Guia de Referência sobre Fibra Óptica da FOA : Guia de Estudo para a Certificação da FOA Amazon
The subject matter of these books is also translated in the FOA Guide online.

Planning A Fiber Optic Project?
The FOA Guide To Fiber Optic Projects includes this timeline and comments on project planning and implementation.

FOA Video Lectures On YouTube

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 .

Fiber Optics (4 languages), Premises Cabling, OSP fiber and construction, Network Design, Testing, FTTH Handbook and our latest - FIber Broadband

   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.

FOA has reprinted

"Lennie Lightwave's Guide" on its 25th anniversary in a special print edition.

Lennie and Uncle Ted's Guides are online.

Click on any of the books to learn more.

Fiber Optic Safety Poster to download and print

Resources For Teachers In K-12 And Technical Schools
Teachers in all grades can introduce their students to fiber optic technology with some simple demonstrations. FOA has created a page for STEM or STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) teachers with materials appropriate to their classes. Fiber Optic Resources For Teachers.

Safety

On Safety

New Fiber U Course: Fiber Optic Safety

Safety must be the first concern of everyone involved in a fiber optic project, including those planning, designing, managing or supervising and of course those doing the installation.

FOA is often asked about safety for fiber optics. Some inquiries ask where it's covered in the FOA Online Guide or textbooks or if we have a course on safety at Fiber U. Almost all Fiber U Courses have lessons covering safety, because safety is important in every aspect of a fiber optic project.

This new Fiber U course will focus on safety alone. There are two lessons in this course, fiber optic construction and fiber optic installation. The dividing line between the two courses is the installation of the fiber optic cables. Construction leads up to and/or is completed when the cables are installed. Installation begins when the fiber tech installs the cable, then completes the splicing, termination testing and documentation. The overlap between the two is the installation of the cables where both construction personnel and fiber optic techs are involved.

Here is the new Fiber U "Fiber Optic Safety" self-study program. Take the course and get your certificate of completion.

Enhance your safety with the FOA Safety Vest.

The FOA is concerned about safety!
FOA considers safety an integral part of all our programs, curriculum materials and technical materials. We start all our textbooks and their online versions with a section on safety in the first chapter, like this: Before we get started - Safety First!

There are pages on the FOA Guide on Safety procedures Including Eye Safety and. Digging Safely

And a YouTube lecture: FOA Lecture 2: Safety When Working With Fiber Optics

In our OSP Construction Section, these pages cover many safety issues including those related to the construction of the cable plant: Project Preparation And Guidelines, Underground Cable Construction, Underground Cable Installation and Aerial Cable Installation.

There is even a safety poster for the fiber activities: PDF Safety Rules For Fiber Optics

Other Safety Resources:

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

FOA/About

About The FOA

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

FOA has a company page and four LinkedIn Groups

FOA - official company page on LinkedIn

FOA - covers FOA, technology and jobs in the fiber optic marketplace

FOA Fiber Optic Training - open to all, covers fiber optic technology and training topics

Grupo de La Asociación de Fibra Óptica FOA (Español) What is The FOA?

The FOA is a, international non-profit educational association chartered to promote professionalism in fiber optics through education, certification and standards.

Founded in 1995 by a dozen prominent fiber optics trainers and leaders from education, industry and government as a professional society for fiber optics and a source of independent certification, the FOA has grown to now being involved in numerous activities to educate the world about fiber optics and certify the workers who design, build and operate the world's fiber optic networks.

Read More

FOA History

FOA Timeline of Fiber Optics

Contact Us
The Fiber Optic Association Inc.
https://www.foa.org or email <info@foa.org>
https://www.thefoa.org or email <info@thefoa.org>
Telephone/text: 760-451-3655

The FOA Home Page

Want to know more about fiber optics? Study for FOA certifications? Free Self-Study Programs are on "Fiber U®." Looking for specific information? Here's the largest technical reference on the web: The FOA Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide.

Free online self-study programs on many fiber optics and cabling topics are available at Fiber U, FOA's online web-based training website.

Contact Us
The Fiber Optic Association Inc.

The FOA Home Page

Fiber Optic Timeline

(C)1999-2023, The Fiber Optic Association, Inc.

FOA Logo Merchandise

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

The FOA has created a store on Zazzle.com offering lots of new logo merchandise. It has lots of versions of shirts and other merchandise with "FOA," "Fiber U," "Lennie Lightwave" designs and more so you should find something just for you! See FOA on Zazzle.

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!
Contact FOA at info@thefoa.org to get logos in file format for your use.

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.

October 2024

Links To Sections

Time To Renew Your FOA Certifications?

Aerial Cable Plant Workmanship

Using Fiber Optic Cables As Sensors To Detect, Locate, And Perhaps Prevent Dig-Ups

"Insanity Is Doing The Same Thing Over And Over Again And Expecting A Different Result"

What's Is An FOA Credential?

The "FOA Badge In Fiber Optics"

New Fiber U Course: Fiber Optic Safety Covers Construction And Installation

New Edition of FOA's Basic Fiber Optics Textbook

FOA Programs Support STEM Education

FOA Newsletter Sections

News

ITU, World Bank, Mozilla, Internet Society And More Join To Map World's Fiber Optic Networks

Telegeography Introduces New Submarine Cable_Map

Fiber Broadband Doesn't Always Depend On Government Handouts

The Rising Tide Of Community Broadband In The US

Podcast "Future of The Fiber Optic Network"

New Technical Book On FTTx In Serbian

Quote Of The Month Year:

Technical

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

If It Would Work, You Would Not Want It!

Miniaturization Comes To The PON

Understanding Optical Distribution Frames (ODFs) And Patch Panels

Is It Just The OTDR Or Is Singlemode Loss Really Directional?

A Quiet But Important Change In The Fiber Optic Cable You Buy

Updated FOA OTDR Trainer

How Good Are Your OTDR Launch/Receive Cables?

NECA/FOA 301 fiber optic installation standard withdrawn

FTTH Technical Papers

Recycling Fiber Optic Cables? Contact LD4 Recycle

Learning Important Information From A Found Cable Scrap

Managing Fiber Optic Projects - The Gantt Chart

(With An Excel File To Make Your Own)

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

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

Worth Reading (And Watching Or Listening):

FOA was founded in 1995 - FOA's History

Worth Reading - History & Technical

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

Q&A

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

More Q&A in the FOA FAQs Page

New Edition of FOA's Basic Fiber Optics Textbook

Online Credentials For FOA Schools And Certified Instructors

The Types of Work Done By Fiber Techs And How It Affects Training

New In Spanish - Nuevo en español

FOA Spanish Textbook And Online Guide Updated

Libro de texto en español y guía en línea de FOA actualizados

FOA Adds Fiber Optic Network Design in Spanish

FOA School News

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

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

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

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 To Fiber Optic Workforce Development

Latest FOA Book: Fiber Broadband (Paperback and Kindle)

More Translations of FOA Textbooks

Planning A Fiber Optic Project?

FOA Video Lectures On YouTube

FOA Loss Budget Calculator On A Web Page 5/2020

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New Fiber U Course: Fiber Optic Safety

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