US Broadband Stimulus Plan Opportunities Updated AFOT, CFOS Certifications FOA Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide Keeps Expanding- and adds Premises Cabling, FTTH and "Google Custom Search" Tech Topics: New Listings of International Standards. See Tech Topics Below. Q&A: Power delivery over fiber? OTDR Tricks. What's the accuracy of OTDR length measurements? Product News: New PPS connector. Sales and used equipment buy/sell. See "Product News" Below Worth Reading: Market reports. JDSU Webinar series on fiber testing. Fiber optic sensors on the web. See "Worth Reading" below
|
Looking For a FOA-Certified Fiber Optic Installer? Use the FOA Installer Database Free! Almost 1000 CFOT's listed. CFOT's register online to create your listing. Contact the FOA |
| You can now renew your FOA certification online - and get an extra month free. Details here. |
| It's now CFOT® The FOA CFOT® (Certified Fiber Optic Technician) is now a registered trademark. With over 25,000 fiber optic techs holding CFOTs and the CFOT being recognized worldwide as the foremost certification in fiber optics, the FOA realized the value of the CFOT required trademark protection. Now it's official! US Stimulus Package: Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) Promises To Be Good For Fiber Optics The U.S. Congress has appropriated $7.2 billion to establish a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program for awards to eligible entities to develop and expand broadband services to rural and underserved areas and improve access to broadband by public safety agencies. The program is managed by NTIA ($4.7B) and RUS ($2.5B). We suspect that many of our newsletter readers may be directly interesting in participating in the program, so we want to ensure you know the details. Information on the program is on the NTIA website: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/ The docket number is GN-0929. Comments are due by March 25th. Here is an interesting Q&A from the first public meeting: So namely will there be or do you see direction or preference given to fiber-based deployments versus copper-based deployments versus wireless deployments? MR. VILLANO: There's no priority in the statute for that, and that's what we'll be seeking public comments on at the field hearings and here in D.C. MODERATOR: I would say if you look a the statute, it also says the fastest speeds possible, most forward-looking. There's a lot of that in there and also in the conference report. What we're looking for is bottom line the best bang for the buck, but I think if we're planning about the future, we need to think about the future, and we need to have forward-looking future-looking programs, expandable. To me, and having not seen what the public comment is and we invite your public comment on this very question, but if we're going to spend public dollars, it should be on something that can be an investment for the future. We would interpret this to say fiber is going to be a big part of BTOP! The FOA has made public comments on the BTOP, as reproduced below: The Fiber Optic Association, Inc. (FOA,) the non-profit professional society of fiber optics, (http://www.thefoa.org) is interested in making its organization available to assist the Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program (BTOP.) Fiber optic technology is the ultimate enabler of broadband; the backbone of telephone systems, CATV networks, even connecting wireless towers. Fiber enables the highest possible speeds in data centers with the lowest power consumption. In rural networks, fiber’s long distance capacity generally negates the need for expensive, power-consuming repeaters to reach the most remote sites. And fiber’s cost is now so low that it’s economically viable to reach all the way to the home, providing a future-proof upgradeable link directly to the home. What is the FOA? The FOA was founded in 1995 by a coalition of educators, manufacturers, and others involved in fiber optic technology to promote the usage of fiber optics through education, technician certification, standards and other types of appropriate programs. Since then, we have certified over 25,000 fiber optic technicians through 200+ FOA-Approved training organizations. Those 25,000+ techs are critical in the expansion of broadband coverage in the US and around the world. They are involved in manufacturing fiber optic components and installing fiber optic infrastructure of an extremely diverse nature, for telephone and CATV networks, private networks for educational, commercial, financial and manufacturing facilities and government/military systems around the world. The FOA works with organizations wanting to educate their workforce and certify their knowledge and skills in fiber optics. In addition, we have created and extensive free Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide on fiber optics available to anyone wanting to learn about fiber optics. (see http://www.thefoa.org/tech/ref/index.html) How does the FOA think they can asisst BTOP? Educating Techs and The Public About Fiber Optics The FOA technical website with it’s Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide (http://www.thefoa.org/tech/ref/index.html) can help everyone understand fiber optic technology and how it is used to support broadband through fiber to the home (FTTH) and fiber to the curb (FTTC), as well as supporting wireless backhaul. Training and Recruiting Certified Fiber Optic Technicians (CFOTs ® ) The aggressive timescale of the NTIA/RUS broadband initiative will require many trained fiber optic technicians which the FOA and its network of approved schools can assist in providing. Those in need of trained techs can contact the FOA who can broadcast job opportunities via our email and online newsletters to a large audience of our CFOTs ®. Those having personnel needing training can use the FOA-Approved Schools (http://www.thefoa.org/foa_aprv.htm) knowing that their techs will receive top-quality, up-to-date training and a worldwide-accepted certification. Keeping The Industry Informed The FOA will continuously monitor the BTOP program and cover its activities in our online and email newsletters to inform our readers. If the NTIA and RUS have lists of press contacts, adding us to your list at info@thefoa.org would be appreciated. As we say in our comments, we will try to keep you informed. Coming to OFC in San Diego Next Week? Visit the FOA in Booth 2134 Jim + Karen Hayes and Bill Graham will be at the Show, so if you are coming, please drop by. We’re in a larger booth with IGI. OFC is the worldwide technical show for fiber optics, generally a good place to see what’s new in fiber optic components and applications but technically aimed at researchers and manufacturers. The exhibits are open Tuesday-Thursday, March 24-26 at the San Diego Convention Center. More information is at http://www.ofcnfoec.org/. Updated AFOT Certifications The FOA has updated the AFOT certification. Until now AFOT has only been available through schools to make it available to CFOTs with at least one year of continuous work in the fiber optic field. CFOTs can now apply for the AFOT if they have the required experience and can take the test online with a proctor. A big advantage for those studying for AFOT will be the use of the AFOT Study Guide for the exam FOA Online Reference Guide. Interested in the AFOT certification, start studying now! Sign of The Times Lightwave Magazine, the first magazine started to cover the fiber optic communications market exclusively, has ceased printing a paper edition and will only be available online. Founded in 1984 by Howard Rausch, a veteran newsman, Lightwave became THE source of industry information for those of us pioneering the new technology of fiber optics. Lightwave is worth reading for the industry news http://lw.pennnet.com/home.cfm FOA Online Fiber Optic Reference Is Continually Expanding And Adds "AFOT Study Guide" The FOA has updated the AFOT certification. Until now AFOT has only been available through schools to make it available to CFOTs with at least one year of continuous work in the fiber optic field. CFOTs can now apply for the AFOT if they have the required experience and can take the test online with a proctor. A big advantage for those studying for AFOT will be the use of the AFOT Study Guide for the exam FOA Online Reference Guide. Interested in the AFOT certification, start studying now! The FOA Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide is now available for use. It's not complete - we expect it to never be "complete" but always expanding! We want you to contribute and give us feedback on how we can make it better! Wanted: Links To Technical Materials Next, we're soliciting links from fiber optic manufacturers and other organizations that have created technical materials that would be of interest to our readers. If you have technical websites you want to share, go here for our guidelines for submission. FOA Adds "Google Custom Search to Tech Topics and Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide  There's so much information on the FOA Tech Topics and Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide
that even a well-organized Table of Contents isn't enough and when the
material is always changing, an index is impossible to maintain. So the
FOA is using the latest technology in search, Google Custom Search,
which will allow you to search just the FOA Tech Topics and Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide for any topic you want to find more about. Try it! Go to The FOA Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide. Good Question! Tech Questions Worth Repeating Question: Can you direct me towards an expert in using fiber optics to trasmit power? A: Fiber optics for power transmission has been used for several decades. There are several applications for it: 1)Transmitting optical power for use as a heating source, e.g. laser surgery, laser machining, optical fuzes for explosive devices, etc. Those methods are widely used and generally require large fibers and special high temperature connectors. Contact any large core glass fiber manufacturer. 2) Transmitting optical power and converting it to electrical power at the receiving end using PV detectors. This has been around for a long time too, but is not very efficient, limited to low power. It's often been used on sensors or remote data links. Here is a link with links to several authors on this subject: http://spiedl.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=PSISDG00587100000158710C000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes An article on the subject: http://powerelectronics.com/power_systems/news/power-fiber-voltage-isolation-0725/ And a company mentioned: http://www.fiberopticlink.com/ Nortel in Canada was recently granted a US patent on this: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7359647.html http://www.patentstorm.us/assignee-patents/_Nortel_Networks_Ltd_/595829/1.html Another OTDR Trick Terry O’Malley, ex-AT&T trainer and OTDR expert passes along another OTDR trick, related to the question below which ran last month. Finding faults can be difficult since the fiber length is different from the cable length, due to the excess fiber in the cable (helix factor), the exact wavelength of the OTDR and on an unknown cable, the index of refraction of the fiber, all essential to measuring the length, may be unknown. “Without knowing the index of refraction, my absolute distance would be bogus. I knew I could take reading from the other end. I recorded my distance readings to the fault from one end and went to the other end. Recorded the distance reading to the fault. The line gang techs verified the cable length with sheath (that’s OSP for jacket) marking footage; it came up pretty close. I used the simple proportion method to determine the “true distance to fault”: OTDR distance from one end to fault__ = True distance to fault Sum of OTDR distances from both ends Total cable distance from jacket markings Example: Suppose the OTDR measures the distance to a fault as 4,000 m in one direction and 6,000m from the other end. The total OTDR distance is 10,000m If the sheath distance is 9,900 m, the fault should be found at : 4000 = True distance to fault 10,000 9,900 So the true distance to the fault is 3,960 m from one end of the cable or 5,940 m from the other end corresponding to the cable jacket markings. Do this from both ends and it negates the errors from index of refraction, wavelength, and helix factor (the ratio of excess fiber in the cable.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Q: If I test a FO link from both sides, am I suppose to get the EXACT distance reading? A Contractor is busy installing some FO systems. The OTDR result from one side show 14,5189 km and on the same fibre from the other side his machine gives a result of 14,5577 km... to me this is about 39 meters difference. I try and understand this. A: Let's look at the numbers: The difference in readings is 14518.9 to 14557.7 or 38.8 meters. That's a difference of 0.27 percent. The resolution of the instrument is 0.1 m or 0.006 percent of the reading. How does the OTDR measure distance of a length of fiber? It sends out a pulse and looks for the returned reflected pulse from the far end. It measures this round-trip time and divides it in half for the one-way time. It then multiplies that time by the speed of light in the fiber, defined by the effective index of refraction, something around 1.4675 (Corning SMF28, a typical fiber.) The OTDR measurement depends on an accurate time measurement by the OTDR, knowing the speed of light in the fiber precisely and the techniques used to get and process that information. What's the "accuracy" or "measurement uncertainty" of the instrument? Referring to the JDSU book on testing, typical OTDR accuracy is expressed as: +/-time base error x distance +/- 1m +/-sampling resolution +/-index uncertainties. The time base error can be 0.01 to 0.001% The uncertainty of the index of refraction is about 0.1% to 0.01% For this example +/- 0.001% x 14518 m = 14.5 m or 0.01% = 145 m +/- 1m +/-sampling resolution =? probably a few meters? +/-index uncertainties. = 145 or 1450 m Adding these up, we have a measurement uncertainty of at least 14.5+145+1=~160 m or as much as 145+1450+1=~1600 m And that's applicable for repeatedly measuring the same fiber. From two directions, there may be differences on how the measurement markers are placed if done manually. So the uncertainty of a 14,518.9 length measurement (+/-160 to 1600 m) is much larger than the 39 meter difference the instrument gave for bidirectional measurements. The answer to your question, therefore, is the difference in the OTDR length measurements is due to the error inherent in making the measurement with an OTDR. We're surprised the results were so close! Everyone testing fiber optics should understand that every measurement has some uncertainty - whether you are measuring loss, length, wavelength, power, etc. Knowing that uncertainty is very important to interpreting the measurement. It's worthwhile to read and understand the issue of measurement accuracy covered in this page of the FOA Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide. Worth Reading: From Fibresystems.org” : Decent Quarter In A Bad Year For Broadband Hardware Market “The combination of the current economic climate, a shift in subscribers' preferences for mobile broadband connections, slower subscriber growth in the mature markets of North America and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), and the wholesale substitution of DSL technologies by PON beginning in 2010 will continue to put downward pressure on a market that has seen solid growth for nearly a decade. Deep fiber deployments (FTTN, FTTC) will help drive VDSL port growth, but it won't be enough to stop the overall downward trend," said Jeff Heynen, Directing Analyst, Broadband and Video, Infonetics Research. http://fibresystems.org/cws/article/newsfeed/38185 Fiber-based systems grew 71% in 2008 Despite the economic slowdown, distribution of fiber-to-the-home network architecture increased 71% in 2008 compared with the previous year as growth surged in China, according to Dittberner Associates, a U.S. market-research firm. Dittberner said Japan remained the global leader in building FTTH networks as its market grew by more than 700,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter to reach almost 14.5 million home and business connections. http://businessvoip.tmcnet.com/topics/trends/articles/51101-analysts-fttb-lead-all-fixed-broadband-technologies-2018.htm Good Technical Website American Polywater (http://www.polywater.com/) has one of the best technical website for cable installers. Here is a rundown on some new material on their site. Cable Installation using "Push" or "Push/Pull" Polywater's new Pull-Planner™ 3000 Software allows a "pushing force" variable in pulling tension calculations. Read a White Paper that quantifies the push contribution and compares calculation results to field experience. -- http://www.polywater.com/pushing.pdf Pulling Cable Through Water? Read a Product Spotlight on Polywater® + Silicone™, Polywater's new generation underground lubricant. Continued reduction of friction when pulling through water is only one of the unique features of this lubricant. -- http://www.polywater.com/NNNBSL.pdf Check out their website, especially “Videos,” “Engineer’s Corner” and “Calculators.” http://www.polywater.com/NNNBSL.pdf  JDSU has announced the See the Light webinar series, a four-part program designed for anyone involved in the installation, maintenance, and repair of fiber optic systems. It begins with fiber inspection and cleaning and then covers the basics of fiber testing. The webinar series then continues with the more advanced optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) and fiber local area network (LAN) testing challenges. More information on the series. Interested In Fiber Optic Sensors? Besides it's uses in communications, medicine and lighting, fiber is used for sensors. It began long ago with fiber optic gyros and chemical or acoustic sensors but has expanded to many more physical measurements. Now there's a website opticalfibersensors.org devoted to the topic. If you are involved with sensors or just want to know more about what they can do, check out this website. IGI, a major market research and technology reporting company (the "Active Optical Cables" below) is offering a a free one year subscription to one of our fiber optics newsletters to FOA members. All they have to do is to send IGI an e-mail stating which newsletter they would like to get. See http://www.igigroup.com/nl.html for a listing of IGI Newsletters. The new FOA reference website is now online. Check out the current Table of Contents. Coming soon to a network near you - 40 and 100 gigabit/sec Ethernet! The IEEE is already working on specs for 40 and 100 gigabit/sec Ethernet and have approved a number of new PMDs (that's standards-speak for Physical Medium Dependent - i.e. cabling). A summary of the proposals is on the updated list of network specs at http://www.thefoa.org/tech/Linkspec.htm.
New Trick on Prepolished/Splice Connectors  Want lowest loss and back reflection? Use PPS connectors but fusion splice them onto the fiber. The hardware is a bit more expensive, but the results are probably worth it. It doesn’t require a special splicer, as the AFL holders fit most splicers. http://www.afltele.com/products/optical_connectivity/connectors/FuseConnect.asp L-Com Sale on fiber optic test equipment Used Test Equipment – Buy or Sell http://www.testequipmentconnection.com/ Have you read the FOA Tech Topics on Cleaning? More links on cleaning: Cleantex Alco Pads
|
What Is The FOA? Hear FOA President Jim Hayes tell the FOA Story in a 2-part interview by Sound & Video Contractor Contributing Editor Bennett Liles. It tells about the FOA history, goals and achievements. Part 1: http://svconline.com/podcasts/audio/fiber_optic_association_part1/index.html. Part 2 http://svconline.com/podcasts/audio/inside-fiber-optic-association2-0924/index.html. |
|
Digging Safely 
The old story (not a joke!) about the most likely fiber optic communications system failure being caused by "backhoe fade" reminds us that digging safely is vitally important. The risk is not just interrupting communications, but the life-threatening risk of digging up high voltage or gas lines. There is a website called "Common Ground Alliance" that focuses directly on this issue. Here is how they describe themselves:
Of special interest is their "Best Practices" Manual, available for downloading. If you do OSP installs, please get yourself a copy and read it. http://www.commongroundalliance.com/ There is a new toll-free "call before you dig" number: 811 See www.call811.com for more information National Fiber Optic Protection Summit: By the "811" group. March, 2008 in Vegas.
|
FREE Corning Video Register for a free "At the Speed of Light" video. Go to: http://www.corningcable-systems.com/privnet/fiberiq.asp?id=foan
|
|
Instructors Needed (3/09) ATC needs 3 part- or full-time instructors at its downtown Los Angeles facility. Contact Alfred Hernandez at 323-810-3261 or alfred.hernandez@atcla.edu. Installers/Teachers - Carribean (2/09) A telecom operator in the Caribbean is urgently in need of 2-3 technicians for some contract work in the Caribbean. Looking for certified, experienced, and hardworking installers to workon several outside splicing work, cable pulling, and premise installations. Qualified persons should also be able to do hands on training for aspiring junior installers on job site. Bilingual (French and English) is a major plus. Folabi Trillion ftrillion@gmail.com (US phone 610 295 0243) Do listings in the FOA Newsletter Work? Here's David Swales feedback: We did great! We have over 15 interviews next week. Thanks, David Swales, Jr.
|
|
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 on this site 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! |
|
Remember To Renew Your Certification ! Remember
to renew your FOA certification. All current CFOTs have a ID Card with
their certification data and we keep a database of current CFOTs to
answer inquiries regarding your qualifications if needed. You must be a
current FOA member and CFOT to participate in our online
database of installers, contractors, technicians and consultants.
If you forgot to renew, use the online application
form to renew NOW! You can now renew your FOA certification online - and get an extra month free. Details here. |
|
|
|
JDSU offers a free download of
their Testing Guide from the Lightwave website. This is one great book
which explains some basic fiber technology, but the real value is the
last half which deals with OTDR testing. Not only does it give the
usual info, but it covers important topics like measurement
uncertainties and anomolies like ghosts and gainers. 
FOA Logo Merchandise
