FOA Newsletter


November 2025

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INDEX

Newsletter Sections

Click on any link to jump to that section

Features
Is Hollow-Core Fiber Mainstream?
New FOA Installation Standard
New Edition Of FOA Design Book
Seen On The Street - Photos Of Fibers
Resources For STEM Teachers
What's New And Popular On FOA Website

News
Changes In TIA Nomenclature
New TIA Project For >100 Meters
Broadband Reaching Saturation in UK
$20 Billion Vanishes From BEAD
Vandalism Causes Verizon Outages
Google Quantum Computer Advances

Technical
"Call Before You Dig" Video
AFL Precision Stripper
Free VIAVI Testing Pocket Guide
What Technical Advisors Are Telling US
Updated OTDR Trainer

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 Courses

Resources
New FOA Technical Resources

Safety

About the FOA

FOA Certified Techs:

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

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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 Kindle eBooks
Some books are available in translations



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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The Archives: Past Issues.

Use these links to read past issues or use FOA's Custom Search to look for specific topics on our website.
1/25, 2/25, 3/25, 4/25, 5/25, 6/25, 7/25, 8/25, 9/25, 10/25, 11/25,

1/24, 2/24, 3/24, 4/24.5/24, 6/24, 7/24, 8/24, 9/24, 10/24, 11/24, 12/24

1/23, 2/23, 3/23, 4/23, 5/23, 6/23, 7/23, 8/23, 9/23, 10/23, 11/23, 12/23
1/22, 2/22, 3/22, 4/22, 5/22, 6/22, 7/22, 8/22, 9/22, 10/22, 11/22, 12/22

1/21, 2/21. 3/21, 4/21, 5/21, 6/21, 7/21, 8/21, 9/21, 10/21, 11-12/21,

1/20, 2/20, 3/20. 4/20, 5/20, 6/20, 7/20, 8/20, 9/20, 10/20, 11/20, 12/20,

1/19, 2/19, 3/19, 4/19, 5/19, 6/19, 7/19, 8/19, 9/19, 10/19, 11/19, 12/19

1/18, 2/18, 3/18, 4/18, 5/18, 6/18, 7/18, 8/18, 9/18, 10/18, 12/18.

1/17, 2/17, 3/17, 4/17, 5/17, 6/17, 7/17, 8/17, 9/17, 10/17, 11/17, 12/17

1/16, 2/16, 3/16, 4/16, 5/16, 6/16, 7-8/16, 9/16, 10/16, 11/16, 12/16

1/15, 2/15, 3/15, 4/15, 5/15, 6/15, 7/15, 8/15, 9/15 , 10/15, 11/15 , 12/15

1/14, 2/14, 3/14, 4/14, 5/14, 6/14, 7/14, 8/14, 9/14, 10/14, 11/14, 12/14
1/13, 2/13, 3/13, 4/13, 5/13, 6/13, 7/13, 8/13, 9/13, 10/13, 11/13, 12/13
1/12 , 2/12, 3/12, 4/12, 6/12, 7/12, 8/12, 9/12, 10/12, 11/12, 12/12
1/11 , 2/11, 3/11, 4/11, 6/11, 7/11, 8/11, 9/11, 10/11, 11/11, 12/11,
1/10 , 2/10, 3/10, 4/10, 05/10, 07/10, 08/10, 09/10, 10/10, 11/10
1/09 , 2/09, 3/09, 04/09, 05/09, 07/09, 08/09, 09/09, 10/09, 11/09, 12/09
1/08 , 2/08, 3/08, 4/08, 5/08, 6/08, 7/08, 8/08, 09/08, 10/08, 11/08, 12/08
12/07 , 11/07, 10/07, 09/07, 08/07, 07/07, 06/07, 05/07, 04/07, 03/07, 2/07, 1/07
12/06 , 11/06, 10/06, 09/06, 8/06, 7/06, 6/06, 5/06, 4/06, 3/06, 2/06, 1/06,
12/05 ,11/05, 10/05, 09/05, 08/05, 07/05, 6/05, 5/05, 4/05, 2/05, 01/05,
12/04 , 10/04, 9/04, 8/04, 7/04, 6/04, 5/04, 4/04, 3/04, 1/04,
12/03 , 11/03 10/03 9/03, 8/03, 7/03, 6/03, 3/03, 10/02 , 8/02, 5/02

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. You can use your credit card or 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)

Is Hollow Core Fiber Becoming Mainstream?

Recent news about hollow core fiber (HCF) indicates that it is becoming more widely accepted, not just by users but by major fiber manufacturers who are adding it to their product lines. Earlier this year, Prysmian announced a partnership with Relativity Networks, a company started by researchers at the University of Central Florida to manufacture HCF at their facilities in The Netherlands. In September, Corning announced a partnership with Microsoft Azure who acquired Luminisity started by researchers at the University of Southampton, UK. OFS/Furakawa (now named Lightera) has been producing HCF for 5 years already.

In addition, equipment companies are announcing support for HCF. Test equipment companies EXFO and VIAVI announced support for HCF testing. Furakawa and Lightera announced a splicer for HCF and multicore fiber. Recent studies have been published on special conversion fibers used to splice HCF to regular singlemode fiber. When installation equipment manufacturers begin offering products for a new technology, you can bet it's becoming real.

What's the reason for all this interest? Latency can be reduced by the speed of HCF fiber. When people talk about speed in relation to optical fiber, they usually mean bandwidth, not the speed a pulse of light is transmitted down an optical fiber. But typical optical fibers where the light is traveling in pure glass, has a "speed of light" about 2/3 that of light in the vacuum of space or air. So in HCF, the pulse of light travels at about 1.5 times as fast as in a glass fiber. That makes a big difference in latency - about 1.5 microseconds per kilometer. For applications that want minimal latency, high speed stock trading for instance, that is a lot of time to save.

Besides high speed latency, data center operators are looking at the lower latency of HCF that can allow them to place data centers in more remote areas - especially those with more available electrical power or water for cooling - without incurring high latency.

Not that HCF doesn't also have the bandwidth for today's communications speeds. HCF is compatible with coherent transmission used for data rates above 100 Gb/s. Data rates above 1 Tb/s have been achieved.

A problem until recently has been the attenuation of HCF. But recent technical advantages in anti-resonant HCF have not only matched typical SM fiber but bettered it, with losses below 0.1 dB/km being achieved, much better than current glass SM fibers.

Cabling is still an issue. HCF fibers are larger than regular SM fibers (up to 300 microns in diameter) and more sensitive to stress, so loose tube cable designs are common with fewer fibers per tube.

Another obstacle to adoption of HCF is cost. Estimates seem to indicate that HCF is about ten times more expensive than regular singlemode fiber. And there are the practical considerations of installations and testing discussed below.

At the current time, HCF is a very small specialty use in fiber optics, but as data speeds increase and more users want lower latency, it may become more common and fiber techs should keep up to date on what they may be working with in the future.

For installation of HCF cable plants, the technology is about where optical fiber was in 1976-77. Installation is being done primarily by Ph.Ds from the manufacturers, but as applications grow in number, more qualified fiber installation technicians will be needed.

Practical Considerations - Installation and Testing
No new tech can succeed unless the support for installation and testing becomes available. That's beginning to happen for HCF. Fibers are cabled like regular fibers but the splicing and testing are quite different according to the sources FOA contacted.

Furakawa/FITEL is the only company currently offering a splicer for HCF that's also useful for multicore fiber, the FITEL S185EVROF. This machine has some very different features. It has an optical system that not only provides X-Y alignment, but it views the ends of the fibers to inspect cleaves and can rotate them to align the complex inner structure of HCF fibers. It has three instead of 2 electrodes that create a uniform heat profile around the fiber to heat the fiber evenly and provide precise temperature control, necessary for the complex structure of HCF. As we understand it, getting low loss requires only fusing the cladding, not the HCF core which must remain undisturbed at the splice. Datasheet for the splicer.

Having the proper tools is only part of the solution. As we have been told, splicing needs to be done quickly before too much outside air gets into the fiber. HCF is really hollow, but filled with a gas as part of the manufacturing process. As the fiber cools down the gas pressure in the fiber decreases. To keep outside air out of the fiber, the ends are sealed. Moist outside air is a problem; in regular fiber the fiber is coated with a plastic coating for protection. When HCF is cleaved, the low pressure sucks outside air into the fiber causing potential long term problems. Splicing seals the two spliced HCF fibers to prevent further moisture ingress. It almost sounds like a technique similar to TIG welding is needed, where an inert gas is used during the welding process to protect the materials being welded.

And while you can splice HCF to HCF to create long lengths, at the ends you need to splice HCF to regular SM fiber to connect to equipment or patch panels. HCF and SM fiber have very different mode field diameters (MFD), creating a problem for loss and reflectance at splices than can cause multipath interference. One solution today is to use an "adapter fiber," a graded index fiber that provides matching MFDs, and cleaving at an angle to reduce reflectance.

Once the HCF cable plant is installed, it needs testing. EXFO recently announced support for HCF testing in their products and shared their knowledge with FOA.

Insertion loss testing with a light source and power meter or OLTS is basically the same as any other fiber optic cable plant, except where they measure length. An OLTS that measures the length of the fiber is calibrated for an index of refraction of glass fiber of 1.46 - 1.47, while HCF has an index of refraction of around the index of refraction of air, say 1.003 - 1.005. If you measure the length of a HCF fiber link with a regular OLTS, the length will indicate about 2/3 of the actual length. So an instrument measuring length needs to be programmed for the index of refraction of HCF.

OTDR testing however is quite different and requires considerable differences in analysis software. Just like an OLTS, the length measurement requires reprogramming to the index of refraction of the HCF to get accurate length measurements. But the biggest difference is HCF fiber is essentially hollow, so the OTDR does not see the backscatter created in glass fiber, making the trace look very different. If anything the OTDR trace looks like the trace of a copper time domain reflectometer (TDR) without the characteristic backscatter of the OTDR trace of a glass optical fiber.

HCF also needs testing for attenuation at typical wavelengths (1310 and 1550 nm), chromatic dispersion (CD) and polarization mode dispersion (PMD) just like glass fibers. Test equipment is becoming available for all these tests from companies like EXFO.

As we say above, installation today is being done primarily by Ph. D.s from the manufacturers, but as applications grow in number, more qualified fiber installation technicians will be needed. And they will need some specialized training.

The New FOA Installation Standard

Available as a free download or purchase printed or Kindle versions online at Amazon.

Every fiber optic cable project is unique. The communications systems, cable plant, routing, environment, design, components, and installation processes are all unique. This uniqueness makes creating a universal installation standard challenging. This document focuses on the processes for installing a fiber optic project and provides guidance on the design, installation and management of the project.

This standard was created from the inputs of those in the industry, especially the FOA technical advisors, who are highly experienced in both doing the work involved and teaching it to others. They have been contributors to the extensive knowledge base the FOA has made available both printed and online.

The standard covers outside plant installations, both aerial and underground, and premises cabling including the various installations methods commonly used. Since this standard covers many types of projects, it is left to the user to determine the relevant sections and use them in the documentation of their particular project.

This is an open source standard. Users are free to choose the sections that apply to their project, modify those sections to fit their project and incorporate that into their documentation like the SOW (Scope of Work) or other project paperwork. Provide copies to your planners, designers, contractors, installers and suppliers.

Now it's ready: The FOA Standard For Installing Fiber Optic Cable Plants.

More information and a Table of Contents.

Download a free copy of The FOA Standard For Installing Fiber Optic Cable Plants. (PDF 1.6MB)

Purchase printed ($14.95 US) or Kindle ($9.95 US) versions online at Amazon.

Project Management Added To New Edition Of FOA Design Book And Fiber U Course

FOA has just published a new edition of its textbook on fiber optic network design, an expanded version with new material covering project management. Fiber optic network design and network management are closely related topics, both highly important in the success of a fiber project.

The previous edition was created a decade ago as a reference book for fiber optic network designers and a textbook for FOA CFOS/D certification courses training fiber optic techs to design fiber optic networks.

Adding project planning and management adds more information about the beginning of a project, from concept through planning and including things a manager needs to know to get a project off the ground. It also expands on the project manager role in planning and overseeing the installation of the cable plant.

The new book is available as a paperback or Kindle book. You can buy it from Amazon or local booksellers worldwide. (ISBN: 9798262274611)

The Fiber U Design self study program has also been updated for project management.

Coming Soon - FOA CFOS/D Certification Curriculum And Fiber U Course Update
Along with the update of the FOA textbook, there will be an update of the FOA CFOS/D certification to add project management to the curriculum. That will involve an update of the CFOS/D curriculum used by our schools and the certification exam. This will all be updated for 2026.

Seen On The Street - This Month's Photos

We're back in Malibu, CA on the Pacific Coast Highway again. This is near the area where many houses burned, so maybe it's just coping with the tragedy, unless it's part of the mess this section was before the fire.

A few miles away in the Santa Monica Mountains is Paramount Ranch, a National Park better known as a filming site for movies and television shows. Originally owned by Paramount Studios, it had a complete western town created for filming. You have probably seen some of the 100+ movies or television shows filmed here, like the recent HBO series Westworld.

The western town movie set was destroyed in the 2019 Woolsey wildfire, unfortunately. However, the National Park Service has worked to rebuild the film site to attract filming again. The park was opened soon after the wildfire to hikers and horseback riding.

During a recent visit to hike at the ranch, we noticed an interesting part of the reconstruction, the installation of power and communications conduits needed for film crews.

To access the hiking trails, you cross a bridge leading to the reconstructed filming site. That's when we noticed a new part of the construction. Vaults for communications (left) and power had been installed, and conduits were being installed along the bridge.

From the other side of the bridge you can see the conduits - the larger one for power and the smaller ones for communications. On the right you can see the supports for the new conduits and older pipes for water below.

"Filming" these days is almost all digital recording and studios and some film sites have lots of high speed connections. So we suspect the smaller conduits will have some fiber. We'll be looking for them when we hike there again soon.

Jump to News

Classroom Resources For STEM Teachers In K-12 And Technical Schools
Here is the POF kit sent to teachers for demonstration.

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.

What Is An FOA Credential?
FOA has certified over 100,000th CFOT® Certified Fiber Optic Technicians, introduced 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 between them. FOA has created a page to explain the differences in certifications, certificates and badges.

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.

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

Now available in Spanish - Ahora también disponible en español

FOA is best known as the certifying body for over 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 offers the new FOA Badge in Fiber Optics.

Go here for more information on the FOA Badge in Fiber Optics or watch the YouTube video.

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.

We bought one ourselves - it's well made and distinctive.

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.

New/Updated Web Pages
Index Of Articles On Fiber Broadband Networks From The Fiber Optic Association - dozens of articles on fiber broadband over the last 4 years.

FOA Credentials: the differences in certifications, certificates and badges.

Satellite Communications

OSP Aerial Construction Workmanship

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, 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 30 years and more than 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

Changes in TIA Nomenclature - A Return To Things We Know

About 15 years ago, the TIA TR-42 committee responsible for the TIA-568, 569 and 606 structured cabling standards decided that "archaic" terms like telecom equipment room, main cross connect, backbone cabling and horizontal cabling should be replaced, Unfortunately, the generic terms used to replace them had no obvious meaning. Distributor A/B/C or Cabling Subsystem 1/2/3 were not descriptive and somewhat counterintuitive. FOA created a web page to try to explain it but never adopted it in our textbooks or online references.

When the latest proposal for the revision of TIA 606, Administrative Standard For Telecommunications Infrastructure, came out this month, it contained a welcome surprise right there in the Foreword:

Significant technical changes from the previous edition
Adopted the terminology for distributors and cabling used in TIA-568.1-F, including replacing
Cabling Subsystem 1 with horizontal cabling, and Cabling Subsystems 2 & 3 with backbone
cabling.

In other words, TIA is returning to the traditional telecommunications terminology we all know and abandoning the new generic terminology completely.

One of our contacts on the committee provided us with a table showing the generic terminology that is being abandoned and the telecommunications terminology TIA is returning to.

Cheers to TIA!

TIA Project For >100 Meter Copper Cabling

TIA 568 structured cabling standards specifies a 100 meter channel length for structured cabling using UTP cable Category-rated from Cat 3 to Cat 6A. (Cat 8 was limited to 30 meters.) Recognizing that some applications may exceed this 100 meter distance, TIA has opened a project to create a Technical Systems Bulletin (TSB) with guidance for using UTP beyond the 100 meter standard. Technical issues regarding bandwidth for higher speed Ethernet systems and resistance losses for Power Over Ethernet (POE) will be addressed.

The TIA TR-42.7 Copper Cabling Systems Subcommittee (the same committee that developed the TIA 568.5 standard for single pair UTP cable) is currently developing TSB-5073, tentatively entitled, “Guidelines for supporting Extended Distance over 4-pair Balanced Twisted-Pair Cabling.” The content is developing rapidly and is expected to be ready for industry review within a year, with final publication anticipated within two years. You can download a copy of the TIA white paper discussing the project here.

Of course fiber optics has been available for cabling beyond 100 meters since before TIA 568 was written.

Is "Churn" The Next Step As Broadband Reaches Saturation?

A recent article from the UK indicates that the broadband market there is flattening, providing evidence that saturation is being reached. Fiber connections continue to grow, but coverage approaches 80% and is replacing other broadband technologies. Price competition is beginning to be a factor now too. Does the market in the UK foretell the future of broadband elsewhere? Will fiber broadband become ubiquitous and FTTH become like the mobile phone business where churn is the norm? Read the article in Mobile Europe.

$20 Billion Vanishes: States $20 Billion Under Budget for BEAD So Far
The 49 states that have reported their tentative Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program awards are collectively $20 billion under budget, according to data posted by state broadband offices. That’s nearly half of the program’s $42.45 billion in funding. Read more in Broadband Breakfast

Shows the risk in betting on government funding in the US!

The Good News: It's Still Mostly Fiber Optics (Broadband Communities)

Fiber Optic Cable Vandalism To Blame For Verizon Service Outages

Verizon customers reported service outages across Los Angeles County after vandalism of fiber optic cables, a spokesperson for the company said. Starting Friday morning October 10, Verizon customers reported cellular and internet interruptions in areas across the county, the spokesperson said. By the afternoon, the company concluded that “multiple fiber cuts due to acts of vandalism” were the main cause of the outages.

The company did not say how many customers were impacted or when the services would be restored.

Other companies and utilities have complained of similar acts by thieves, who seek out copper or scrap metal in exposed wiring. On Monday, Assemblyman Mark González, who represents District 54 and drafted a bill that would require a state license to resell copper wire and other recycling, said in a news conference on Monday that the city has gone “dark” since the rise of copper wire theft.

Read more in the Los Angeles Times

Google’s Quantum Computer Makes a Big Technical Leap
Leveraging the counterintuitive powers of quantum mechanics, Google’s quantum computer ran an algorithm 13,000 times as fast as a top supercomputer executing similar code in the realm of classical physics, according to a paper written by the Google researchers in the scientific journal Nature.

Quantum computing is still an experimental technology. But Google’s new algorithm, Quantum Echoes, shows that scientists are rapidly improving techniques that could allow quantum computers to crack scientific problems no traditional computing device ever could.

The NYTimes article is actually written so you can understand it.

Coming to Orlando, Florida

November 17-19, 2025

Click here for more information.

Quote Of The ~~Month~~/Year (maybe Century!) (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®

"Call Before You Dig" Video

NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today announced the release of a new video, “811- Call Before You Dig,” as part of its efforts to promote safety awareness around underground utilities and the critical importance of making 811 calls prior to digging.

Watch the video on YouTube,

AFL's Precision Strip Heats And Strips
AFL's Precision Strip is a fast, simple solution for stripping fiber without damage. This battery-powered, handheld stripper features an integral heating element that enables it to soften and strip optical fiber coating quickly and easily with little to no effort by the user. The Precision Strip requires less than a pound of peak force for stripping coated fiber. The result is no fiber damage and higher quality splices and connections.

Designed for field work, this automated stripper performs coated fiber stripping tasks quickly and precisely, ensuring optimal performance and reliability for your fiber optic projects.

Product Information on AFL website.

New VIAVI Fiber Testing Pocket Guide – Built for Techs in the Field

Designed with field techs in mind, this compact guide from VIAVI is packed with essential fiber testing tips, quick-reference checklists, and step-by-step insights that cover every stage of the network lifecycle. It’s built to fit right in your pocket or tool bag, so the info you need is always within reach.

Request your free VIAVI Fiber Testing guide now.

Tech Notes And Articles From FOA's Worldwide Network Of Advisors
FOA has a worldwide network of technical advisors who help us develop our knowledge base. This month we have contributions fro several regular contributors, Eric Pearson, a founder of FOA, and Vladimir Grozdanovic in Serbia. We provide an abstract here and a link to read the entire article which will be added to the FOA Online Guide.

Ensuring Reliability By Proper Fiber Optic Installation

The goals of a fiber optic installation should not be solely based on achieving the lowest initial cost. Should lowest cost result in reduced reliability, lowest initial cost may result in significantly increased lifecycle cost.

Eric Pearson does it all, educator, writer, consultant, with a resume' going back to the beginning of fiber optics. Here's advice from Eric on the way to ensure the long term reliability of a fiber optic cable plant by proper installation.

Ensuring Reliability By Proper Fiber Optic Installation

Testing that Demonstrates, or Not, High Reliability

Interpreting Test Results   (New November 2025)

3D Inspection and Precision Cleaning
Field Service and Production Line Considerations When Precision Cleaning and Inspecting Fiber Optic Surfaces by Ed Forrest. Ed has decades of experience in developing cleaning solutions for fiber optic connectors.

What FOA's Instructors And Technical Advisors Are Telling Us

In the October 2024 FOA Newsletter we ran a long illustrated feature article offering guidelines for aerial cable plant installation, illustrated by some "excellent" bad examples. That article elicited quite a few comments, especially from the instructors at some of our FOA schools around the world, and led to some discussions with others in our field, including manufacturers. Several topics seem to warrant further discussion, so we thought it would be interesting to share some of our notes and encourage more inputs before we cover the topics in detail in future issues of the newsletter.

Here are some of the topics of the comments published in the November 2024 Newsletter. Some, we promise, are controversial! Feel free to comment.

Aerial Cable Plant Workmanship

Read the recently updated FOA Guide sections Aerial Cable Installation and Aerial Cable Plant Workmanship. and see FOA Guidelines for Aerial Cable Installation.

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

Jump to Worth Reading

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.

FTTH Technical Papers
FOA contributor Vladimir Grozdanovic has created these technical papers based on his field experiences.
Splicing Optical Power Ground Wire OPGW
Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)
Construction Methods For Microtrenching
Fiber Optic Ducts And Microducts
Fiber Optic Tools
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.

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



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.

Index Of Articles Fiber Broadband Networks From The Fiber Optic Association - dozens of articles on fiber broadband over the last 4 years.

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)

Fiber optic cables could act as early warning system for geohazards, study finds Penn State University SCIENCES Researchers demonstrate existing internet infrastructure can be affordable, reliable approach for locating geohazards (HUMOR: the illustrator of the article chose a copper connector on a field of fiber for the article!)

Telegeography Senior research manager Paul Brodsky delivers new insights on regional bandwidth growth and how the global internet will be shaped by AI, private internet backbones, international requirements of new applications and IP transit price erosion.

Cory Doctorow And The Word He Coined That Describes His view Of The Vibe Of The Internet NYTimes
Ever hear of the author Cory Doctorow? Over the course of a nearly four-decade career, Cory Doctorow has written 15 novels, four graphic novels, dozens of short stories, six nonfiction books, approximately 60,000 blog posts and thousands of essays.And yet for all the millions of words he’s published, these days the award-winning science fiction author and veteran internet activist is best known for just a single one: Enshittification.

The inventor of the web says we can recapture its magic. Is he right? Washington Post. Tim Berners-Lee writes about the early days of the internet and how we might restore its more democratic roots.

Useful Articles And Links

Pre-Excavation Safety Checklist (PDF) - Excavation Safety Alliance - essential steps before breaking ground for underground construction.
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.

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

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

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:

Worth Reading - History & Technical

FOA was founded in 1995 - FOA's History
As part of celebrating 3 decades serving the fiber optic industry 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 on the FOA website where you can read it or link to it.

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

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.

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)

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)

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

Hybrid cable For Aerial Installation
Q: Is there a hybrid cable (fiber + conductors (2 or 4)) that can be aerial lashed?
A: Practically any outside plant cable can be installed aerial if it is within the weight limits of the messenger being used. Cables with fiber and copper conductors are used for connections to remote electronics or cameras.

Gloves for Splicing?
Q: What’s the FOA’s (or your personal) stance on wearing gloves whilst splicing?
A: Wearing gloves may recommended for preparing metallic armored cables becasue of the danger of cuts. FOr regular cables, gloves may be recommended for those who use knives to open cables, a practice still used. Howevre for splicing fibers where some recommend them to prevent sticking yourself with fibers, it hamprs fiber handling and slows the work down. We do not recommend gloves except for prepping certain types of cables.

Are Splices Too Close Together A Problem?
Q: When installing fiber in an plant. Is there a minimum distance that two splices should be apart? ;
A: The recommendation in the past was to bot have splices close together since slight reflectances at the splices could cause an interference problem with laser systems. The recommendation was to keep splices 30-100m apart. IT was especially noted if you had to splice in a section of cable to repair a cable break. However we have not heard this in recent history, perhaps because fusion splices are so good. We asked a number of FOA's technical advisors for their opinions. Their feedback is the problem of reflectance causing problems at closely spaced splices seems to have disappeared. It’s a matter of better splicing machines and more consistent fibers, and also a matter of lasers being engineered to work better in links.

Copper Tech Wants To Learn Fiber Optics
Q: I am originally from copper installations and faults finding. I would like to get involved in Optic fibre faults and finding, how do I go if there is a possible training it will be highly appreciated,
A: Just learn about fiber, especially fiber testing and troubleshooting. Fiber U has courses you can take for free.

OSP Installation Standards
Q: I'm looking for standards for fiber optic OSP installation.
A: The whole issue of OSP standards has been one FOA been trying to get standards bodies interested in for years with little success, probably because it is an enormous project. Right now there are two documents that address OSP cable plant:

ITU-T    Technical Report, TR-OFCS Optical fibres, cables and systems, (3 July 2015)
As you can see, the ITU document is almost 10 years old and a lot has changed in that time.

The Other is the Telcordia Blue Book - Expensive but thorough
Telcordia Blue Book - Manual of Construction Procedures
Document Number SR-1421, Issue Number 07, Issue Date Jan 2023

Is The FOA CFOT® A License?
Q: Can you use a CFOT certification to install fiber and charge for it? Or do you need other licenses as well? ;
A: FOA Certification is considered evidence of competence and accepted worldwide by many companies, groups, etc. Licenses are a legal credential required by local authorities to conduct business for anything from a barber to a truck triver to contractors doing fiber or other work. Most locales require a license as a contractor which may require a fiber specialty. You need to investigate this with your local authorities.

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. Updates are incremental and we do not require current certification holders to retake courses or exams.

Past 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

What Is An FOA Credential?
As FOA celebrates 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 between them. FOA has created a page to explain the differences in certifications, certificates and badges.

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.

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. This web page on the fiber optic workforce describes how FOA defines these stages of a project and the skills of the techs needed. This is not unique to FOA; it's what has been traditional at telecom companies forever.

FOA Schools
FOA's roster of approved schools continues to grow 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 over 100,000 certified fiber techs (with ~140,000 certifications). As a non-profit organization founded by the industry specifically to develop a competent workforce, FOA provides the consultation, curriculum and contacts to get schools started as a free service to new schools.

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

Complete listing of FOA Approved Training Organizations

Fiber U offers dozens of free online self-study programs.

Fiber U "Basic Fiber Optics" Online Self-Study Course Now In Spanish
Curso Básico de Fibra Óptica de Fibra U en español.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Best Seller: Fiber Broadband (Paperback and Kindle)

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!

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.

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.

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 .

FOA Books

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

About The FOA

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>
Use the Contact Form

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)1999-2025, 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.

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.

November 2025

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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

Click on any of the books to learn more.

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>

Time To Renew Your FOA Certifications?

Is Hollow Core Fiber Becoming Mainstream?

The New FOA Installation Standard

Project Management Added To New Edition Of FOA Design Book And Fiber U Course

Seen On The Street - This Month's Photos

What Is An FOA Credential?

And now, introducing a new 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

New/Updated Web Pages

FOA Newsletter Sections

News

Changes in TIA Nomenclature - A Return To Things We Know

Cheers to TIA!

TIA Project For >100 Meter Copper Cabling

Is "Churn" The Next Step As Broadband Reaches Saturation?

$20 Billion Vanishes: States $20 Billion Under Budget for BEAD So Far

Fiber Optic Cable Vandalism To Blame For Verizon Service Outages

Google’s Quantum Computer Makes a Big Technical Leap

Quote Of The Month/Year (maybe Century!) (this is worth repeating)

Technical

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

"Call Before You Dig" Video

AFL's Precision Strip Heats And Strips

New VIAVI Fiber Testing Pocket Guide – Built for Techs in the Field

Tech Notes And Articles From FOA's Worldwide Network Of Advisors

Ensuring Reliability By Proper Fiber Optic Installation

3D Inspection and Precision Cleaning

What FOA's Instructors And Technical Advisors Are Telling Us

Aerial Cable Plant Workmanship

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

Recycling Fiber Optic Cables? Contact LD4 Recycle

Learning Important Information From A Found Cable Scrap

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

Warning For Techs Doing OSP Restoration

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)

Worth Reading - History & Technical

FOA was founded in 1995 - FOA's History

VIAVI Books On Fiber Optic Testing (2 volumes)

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

What Is An FOA Credential?

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

FOA Schools

What Fiber Techs Don't Know -

What We Learn From FOA Certification Tests

FOA Guide To Fiber Optic Workforce Development