January 2021

Sections

In This Issue

Note we have changed the format to place articles in sections on one topic and all articles are dated so you know if we repeat one - whcih we often do when we think it's very important!

Features

Newsletter Sections

FOA Certifications: 

See FOA Jobs Web Page and FOA on 

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

 

  

Fiber Optic Safety Poster to download and print

FOA Videos on

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.

Time To Renew Your FOA Certifications?

You can now renew with PayPal or a credit card

 

   

 

FOA Newsletter - Features

Best Wishes For A Happy And Prosperous 2021!

Last year we started out our January Newsletter saying:

"But Watch Out For This Year... We're only a few days into the New Year and all we can say is the outlook is uncertain."

A Perfect Test Score And Some Feedback

The Last Gasp For Multimode Fiber?

Cost now favors singlemode, even in equipment/transceivers

The decision between multimode and singlemode fiber has been argued for years. This year, we have evidence the matter should be decided and discussion closed.

Multimode fiber has maintained some market share for years because of one simple fact - multimode transceivers and equipment were cheaper than singlemode. Everybody knows MM bandwidth is limited, even as higher bandwidth versions (OM3/4) have made it possible to get above 10Gb/s for short links in buildings. But to reach 100Gb/s, the current standard for data centers and the goal of some LANs, you need to use parallel optics with 8 or 20 fibers (12 or 24 in reality because MPO array connectors are set up for 12 fiber rows.) Sure there is a fiber for short wavlength WDM (OM5) but it has not been welcomed by most users.

Projects like the Open Compute Project for data centers had driven down the cost of singlemode transceivers so singlemode dominates there because speeds are already at 100G and above. But this year, FTTH technology and, most importantly, astronomically high volume, has flowed down to everyday transceivers and media converters.

We first became aware of this from two FOA instructors. One sent us some of the "spam" emails he was getting from suppliers in China. FTTH ONTs were being offered for less than $10 each. This is a terminal for FTTH that transmits bidirectionally over one fiber and converts GPON to Ethernet, phone and video for the home. We started reading our junk mail and found the same thing. The second instructor told us he was buying Ethernet to fiber media media converters off Amazon so cheap he was bundling them with tools (also off Amazon) and sending out to people interested in a do-it-yourself fiber optic course.

We started searching Amazon, eBay and other websites like Alibaba to see what we could find. We bought several Gigabit Ethernet media converters for less than $30 each - $60 per pair to make a link - and singlemode versions were several dollars cheaper than multimode.



We set up a demo data link with these media converters from our cable modem to a laptop to test it. We also checked the power level, about -7dBm. The link worked perfectly.

Of course so did the multimode versions of the same product we bought, but remember they cost several dollars more and the cable was also higher priced.

That was in the Spring of 2020. For a long time these were the least expensive media converters we could find. Recently, however, we bought a pair of singlemode single-fiber bidirectional 10/100M media converters (not gigabit, but fast enough for most applications) for $22. However we had to spend an additional $15 for two power supplies that were not included with the converters. But that's still amazingly low cost - $37 for the electronics to build a singlemode link.

Media converters are useful to convert Ethernet or other electronic signals to fiber, but most network electronics use some form of pluggable module like the "SFP." Searching for SFP modules, we found them for gigabit Ethernet at $124 for a pack of 10 for MM, $114 for SM, or about $11-12 each and $1 each cheaper for SM.  At 10G, MM was just slightly cheaper, ~$20-30 compared to ~$25-50 for SM.

Narinder Kapany, "The Father Of Fiber Optics" 1926-2020

Photo courtesy UCSC

Narinder Singh Kapany who coined the term "fiber optics" in an article in Scientific American magazine in 1960, died in December. Kapany, as a graduate student at Imperial College in London working under Harold Hopkins, was the first person to demonstrate how to use fiber optics in bundles to transmit light. In the decade following his first successful results in 1954 he was an author or co-author of 56 scientific papers on the subject and wrote the first book published on the topic.

Dr. Kapany was more than a scientist, he was an entrepreneur, educator and evangelist for this new technology. He started two companies, Optics Technology in 1960,  Kaptron in 1973 (acquired by AMP in the late 1990s) and K2 Optronics (with his sone Raj) in 1999.

During the 1980s, it seemed that Dr. Kapany was at every conference on fiber optics, at least the ones I (JH) was attending. He was an person you could hardly fail to notice, elegant dress topped by his turban, enthusiastically promoting the technology, encouraging investment and R&D to help bring this new technology to commercialization.

He retained his academic roots, teaching at the University of California at Santa Cruz and endowing chairs at several other UC schools in optics, entrepreneurship and Sikh studies.

His research and inventions have encompassed other technologies beyond fiber-optics communications: lasers, biomedical instrumentation, solar energy, and pollution monitoring. He earned over 120 patents,

Some have said that Dr. Kapany deserved the Nobel Prize given to Dr. Charles Kao. But one could also argue that a Nobel Prize for fiber optics should be shared with others from Bell Labs, Corning and several other organizations that pioneered the technology.

Read more from UC Santa Cruz  and Santa Cruz Tech Beat.

FOA Newsletter Sections

News

April Fools Day Coming Early This Year?

Or just somebody trying to top the wild claims about 5G?

TIA-568 Revision: MPO Polarity Standards Expand To 38 Pages

Other changes include changing TIA fiber component standards to comply with ISO/IEC designations; not a problem since the TIA designations (e.g. ANSI/TIA-492AAAA, -492AAAB, -492AAAC, -492AAAD, and -492AAAE) were confusing at best. Also added were bend-insensitive fibers and OM5 wideband fiber. Another change makes sense, we suppose, as all illustrations and references to single fiber/duplex connectors are changed from "SC" to "LC." The MPO is used as the example for "array" or multi-fiber connectors.



The standard contains no less than 38 pages devoted to the MPO array connector, up from about 23 pages in earlier editions. There are also at least 34 drawings and even more tables. MPO is important, of course, but incredibly complex. The MPO is the de facto standard for array connectors used in prefabricated cabling systems and parallel optics for multimode links over 10G. The problem is that there are 3 variations of connector/fiber polarity which leads to multiple options for connecting various types of cables and breakouts to single fiber or duplex LC or SC connectors. (See the FOA page here for an explanation of MPOs.)

Statistics on US Labor In Telecom

Technical

On fiber optic technology, standards, equipment, installation, etc.

Fiber Optic Sources For Transmitters

Midspan Access - Simplifying Installation Of Drops

Technical questions we get here at FOA often remind us of things many of us take for granted that are not known by many installers and particularly network owners and users. Recently we received an email like this from a network owner working with a contractor on a 15mile (25km) cable plant with roughly 17 locations where cable drops were needed:

"Can the quantity of fiber optic fusion splices and splice enclosures please be confirmed? For 192F cable, there should be 194 splices per splice case at each site where a 4F drop cable is installed."

Neither the user nor his contractor knew about midspan access. We figured that probably meant that lots of other people don't know about it either, so we decided to cover it in this newsletter, add a page to the FOA Guide and maybe even make a Fiber U MiniCourse about it.

Here is an example:

Many installations involve dropping a small fiber count cable from a large backbone cable. Backbone cables of 144-288 fibers are common and larger ones are becoming more common too. Drop cables are often only 2-14 fibers, meaning most fibers are continuing straight through the drop point. Midspan access involves opening the cable by removing the jacket and strength members, opening the buffer tube and splicing only the fibers being dropped at that point. The untouched buffer tubes from the opened cable are carefully rolled up and stored in the same splice closure as the fibers that will be separated and spliced to a drop cable.



If there is a method of splicing only the 4 drop fibers instead of the 144 fibers, we will only have 4 splices instead of 144 or 146 depending on the architecture of our system. The difference is according to how the drop is configured.


If you are building a star network where every drop links back to the origin of the network, you will splice 4 fibers in the cable to the drop cable, leaving 4 splices on 4 fibers (instead of 144 splices if the backbone cable is cut and respliced.


If you are building a ring network, you may only be splicing two fibers going to the drop and two others that are continuing along the ring network.

All this may seem obvious but in actual practice requires some knowledge, skills and careful workmanship. To do a proper job. Fortunately, manufacturers of cables and tools have good information available online on how to do it, and FOA Master Instructor Joe Botha has provided FOA with a application note on how midspan access is done in his classes also.

The basic process is simple. We will look at a loose tube cable but processes exist for ribbon cables also. You remove the jacket of the cable for a specified length according to the cable type and splice closures used. After removing the cable jacket, you remove unnecessary strength members, leaving enough of the stiff central member on both ends to attach to the splice closure. Identify the tube with the fibers to be spliced to the drop cable and set aside while carefully coiling the other tubes for storage in the closure.

To open the buffer tube, you need a midspan access tube that shaves off a section of the tube to allow removal of the fibers without damaging them. Here two types of Miller tools that shave the tube:

 

Try The FOA's New Online Loss Budget Calculator

Splice-On Connector Manufacturers and Tradenames   7/2020

Worth Reading

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

Worth Reading: 01/2021

Telcos’ tipping point: 10G Fiber and Software-Defined Access, Dell'Oro Group/Adtran.  The need to provision and deliver new services in a matter of hours, as opposed to weeks or months, holds just as much priority as the ability to deliver up to 10Gbps of PON capacity.

12/2020

Dilbert's Company Rolls Out 5G - DON"T MISS THIS!

Passive Optical LAN shines in Cost Comparison - Lightwave

US FCCs Rural Digital Opportunity Fund made awards of >$9BUS to ISPs to deliver Internet. There was jubilation and consternation. Reading these show what we mean:

• FCC announces billions of dollars in awards to provide rural areas with broadband access - Washington Post Includes Space X satellites for rural broadband
• Listing of RDOF's $9B Recipients - Liight Reading
• RDOF Auction Ends but Confusion and Corruption May Just Be Beginning - ILSR
  

Case Studies - Next Century Cities - state of broadband in some US cities.

Fiber Resource Shortages - Doug Dawson, President of CCG Consulting sees shortages of labor and components in 2021

Terminating an eposy/polish ST connector - Linden Photonics shows how to make a reliable termination (excellent visuals show how it's done)

AFL Splice Closure For High Density Cables - up to 3456 fibers (video)

Can one of the architects of AT&T’s woes turn it around?  

Uncool can beat flashy tech - NY Times. Balloon Internet project by Google's parent Alphabet hits snags, remote areas wonder why it's needed - they have Internet on old-tech mobile phones

Power Delivery over Single-Pair Ethernet - TIA Webinar recorded earlier.

Biden, top Democrats lay groundwork for multibillion-dollar push to boost U.S. broadband  

Residents Form Broadband Coop - “Electric cooperatives worked, why can’t we do the same thing for broadband?”

Worth Reading: 11/20

The pandemic makes clear it’s time to treat the internet as a utility - David Lazarus, Business, LA Times

10 Tips For Installing Fiber Optic Cable - Multilink

Why the 5G pushiness? Because $$$. Shira Ovide, NYTimes

1995-2020 - FOA's 25th Anniversary!

Worth Reading - News Summary - Past Links Worth Repeating

If you are interested in restoration - aren't we all? - you should also read this article in dpPro magazine by FOA President Jim Hayes: Damage Protection Requies Looking Overheas 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.

How much fiber optic cable is manufactured each year? CRU Reports - unsurprisingly China is by far the largest market today

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

The Open Technology Institute at New America just published “The Cost of Connectivity 2020,”

US Ignite and Altman Solon issued “Broadband Models for Unserved and Underserved Communities”

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

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

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

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

Pentagon official: FCC decision on 5G threatens GPS, national security

Internet Statistics and Facts, 2020: Interesting, easy to get lost here!

Want a White-Collar Career Without College Debt? Become an Apprentice (NYTimes)
Apprenticeships probably began with the first jobs, where young people work under experienced craftspeople to learn a trade. In the last century, they became more organized under labor unions like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, one of the FOA's oldest and biggest approved school systems. Today, apprenticeships are expanding as young people look at viable alternatives to loading themselves with debt while attending college.

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

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

Another Source Of Articles On Fiber

Q&A

Tech Questions/Comments From FOA Newsletter Readers Worth Repeating

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!

The FOA Fiber FAQs Page (FAQ s = frequently asked questions) gathers up questions readers have asked us and adds tech topics of general interest.

Installation of a 6912 fiber cable

Q: For this post, "Tight Fit: 6912 Fiber Cable Pulled in 1.25 inch Conduit”, he asks if they can see one end completely terminated?
A: It takes about 2 full racks of patch panels or one rack of splice trays. Sumitomo shows the splicing rack here https://global-sei.com/data-center-solutions/splicing-rack.html. Most systems using these cables will buy fully populated patch panel racks with a splice rack for the cable to splice to 6912 fibers terminated in the rack.

Q: And a second question:: How long does it take to terminate? And over how many panels?
A: A very experienced tech can splice one of these cables in ~75-100 hours using ribbon splicing.

Q: I assume that's smaller fiber like 80 micron cladding
A: All the fibers in the high fiber count cables are made with regular singlemode fiber - 9/125micron. TO make the cables smaller, the buffer coating diameter is reduced to ~200microns to make the fibers smaller.

Q: How was it prepared with the splice tray and ODF? It might require a dedicated panel and splice tray.
A: It takes about 2 full racks of patch panels or one rack of splice trays. Most systems using these cables will buy fully populated patch panel racks with a splice rack for the cable to splice to 6912 fibers terminated in the rack.

Q: Is this an actual photo or was the cable installed in a different type conduit.
A: We were told that is the actual size of the cable and conduit although not of the actual installation discussed.

Q: What is the minimum bend radius of that cable? What procedures did they use to maintain that bend radius through those 90 degree curves?
A: The minimum bend radius is 15X the cable diameter for that cable (diameter 1.14” or 29mm), about  17” or 435mm. The conduit bends had to be controlled to be larger than that radius.

Jobs In The Movie Industry
Q: Does anyone know if there are job positions in the film industry that involve fiber optics? I started out working in film with audio work with some camera as well. I eventually transitioned into fiber optics installation and testing. I've been trying to find out if there's a way to find work that combines the two.
A: There are certainly jobs for fiber techs at the film studios. We worked with a group 20 years ago to find dark fiber in LA to connect studios to sound stages and other facilities. Every studio now has fiber connections everywhere, like this one at Paramount (below). I don’t know where to look for jobs, but I’d guess it would be through the unions - who represents the techs for the cameras, monitors, etc.?



Preparing Cable For Splicing
Q: Is there any standard on the preparation length of strip jacket upto the splice tray. Ideally its better to have a loop of buffer before getting into the tray if ever the closure has enough space for slack.. its also nice to put some hose to the buffer to add on protection. So far, i don't see any standard and can't support the remarks on what to follow. The practice was to take note on macrobend and have enough length of fiber to reach the machine.
A: There is a lot of variation in the size, shape and design of splice closures, so the length varies according to the closure and trays. For loose tube cable, the length of buffer tube from the entrance to the splice tray and the length of fiber needed in the tray are given in the directions for that splice tray. Similarly for ribbon cable, but the variations in ribbon cable designs often requires special handling and sleeving for the ribbons. Most manufacturers have specs available online.

Fusion Splice-On Connectors (SOCs) (From an FOA Instructor)
Q: A question came up from one of our students regarding splice on connectors.  Is there a TIA or other standards body that addresses this issue? We are used to the 0.75 dB loss for a mated pair, however, when this mated pair has two fusion splices that terminate the connector, is there a recommendation? 
One could make the argument that it does not make any difference as the other alternative is splicing a pigtail for termination of a cable.  This pigtail splice is normally included in the link loss budget calculation.   So similarly, with a splice on connector it is the same as splicing on a pigtail.
A: There are no specific TIA or IEC specs that address these splice-on connectors or pigtails. If you used TIA numbers and included the splice and connector it would be 1.05dB - 0.75dB for the connection and 0.3dB for the splice, that’s mated to a factory adhesive/polish connector.   Or if it were two similar connectors, 1.35dB. 
Everybody, including the people in TIA standards groups, know those numbers are too high for most single ferrule connectors. They keep them at 0.75dB for prepolished/splice connectors (w/ mechanical splices) and array connectors (MPOs) which have somewhat unpredictable performance. Internationally, IEC has created grades of connectors from ~0.3 to over 1dB. The newer mechanical splice connector kits now use the Chinese copied cleavers which are super - at least the few we have tested - and the connectors are now much lower loss and consistent.
SOCs (fusion splice-on connectors) are spec’ed as the total termination and are generally just as good as the typical adhesive polish connector - 0.5dB is plenty of margin for a those mated to a factory adhesive/polish connector.
Spliced on pigtails are generally considered a termination and the splice is not broken out - like a long SOC. But I cannot guarantee everybody thinks that way. But a fusion splice is typically <0.1dB anyway.
 

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



Download your free copy of

Two More New Free Fiber U MiniCourses

Midspan Access
As promised last month in our tech article on midspan access, we took the new material created about Midspan Access in fiber optic cable installation and made that into a minicourse. This technique is fairly widely used because it saves much time and cost in adding drops to a fiber optic cable, but we've been surprised how many techs are not familiar with it. The MiniCourse takes only a little time, about right for a coffee break.




That makes 10 Fiber U MiniCourses, 5 Basics courses, 4 Skills courses, 1 Design course and 6 Applications courses - 26 free online self-study courses for everyone. And we have lots more planned for the near future.

More New Fiber U MiniCourses

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

New FOA Schools

Welcome Woodstock Job Corps, Woodstock, MD, School # 385

Welcome To A New International School

University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, FOA Approved School #772

What Fiber Techs Don't Know -

What We Learn From FOA Certification Tests

FOA "Work-To-Cert" Program

Experience Plus Online Study At Fiber U = FOA Certification

Options For Training Classes  -  Outdoors (11/2020)

New Approach To Fiber Optic Labs - Sharing Test Equipment (10/2020)

, a FOA approved school, has taken a new approach in how we provide lab training. Fifteen years ago, we developed a hybrid training model had the participants complete online (remote) lessons with face to face labs. Over the past 12 years trade organizations, colleges, vocational, vendor training, and trade apprenticeships have adopted this model. At the beginning of the pandemic we spent a lot of time, energy, and money developing remote labs. We have incorporated lessons learned from that process to restart safe face to face labs.

First, we provide disposable materials and PPE’s for all learning. Every student has their own work space with 8-9 feet of separation and their own set of hand tools only used by the student. All of the classroom information is accessed online or with USB drives. Our biggest challenge was how to safely share testing equipment so every student could have the practical hands on experience.

We believe we have found that solution with the help of “ezremote”.  The ezremote allows a multitude of students to have practical exposure and experience with using a video microscope, OLTS and OTDR testers. Every student can access the remote via their own iPad or their smart phone, see below picture and movie.


The VeEX OTDR set up for remote access in class

Recently, we contacted PCS, Inc. which is a premiere manufacturer’s representative firm serving the Southeastern US since 1974.  Headquartered in Roswell, GA, Marc Wright  a sales representative spent a lot of time and energy helping Techtricians to purchase the VeEX  FX150+ device.  It is a full featured Mini OTDR with high resolution sampling and intelligent link mapping for Metro, Access and FTTx networks remote application. The compact, lightweight platform incorporates built in WiFi, power meter, light source, fiber inspection probe and VFL test options which add exceptional versatility to the unit.

 
The remote OTDR displayed on an iPad (L) and on 4 smartphones and 2 laptops

In September we completed our first trial in a face to face lab session in Lake Mary, Florida. The OTDR unit uses a WIFI connection. The students went to the VeEX website with their iPad or their smart phone and connected the to the base unit. The lab module used one OTDR setup for the entire class for testing the cable plant.


The instructor's laptop is connected to the OTDR and projecting the display for everyone to see

The students when logged-in had control over the OTDR. Each student saw the same screen which made the various events much easier to explain. The module is very safe as the OTDR is not touched by any student. The feedback we received from the students was very positive. They provided suggestions for future training modules. Even after the pandemic is over, we will continue to use this new training method. Our best teachers are our students and our hats are off to all of our students.

For more information, contact Tom or Donna Collins at Techtricians.

FOA School BDI Datalynk is offering classroom training with Covid precautions and  remote classes over most of the US.

FOA Master Instructor Eric Pearson of Pearson Technologiesis now offering classroom training with Covid precautions - 9/2020

Contact Eric for details on his classes.

Classroom Training Is Adapting To The Pandemic 8/2020

Training Is Back - Made Safer (6/2020)

FOA schools are starting to offer classes at their facilities again to provide the personal interaction with an instructor and hands-on labs, but some things have changed to provide social distancing. Serge Rodrigue at Fibre Zone in Quebec, Canada sent photos of his new lab setup that includes individual lab stations with plexiglass barriers.



Students are following safe working protocols - masks and gloves - to make classes safe and meet local government requirements for social distancing.



Contact

 for more information on their classes.

FiberNext in New Hampshire has also rearranged classrooms for safer classes and has begun training in their facilities in Concord, NH.



Contact FiberNext in Concord, NH, USA

If you do not have tools or equipment and want to purchase them, there is a new Fiber U DIY Basic Skills Lab lesson with directions on how to purchase inexpensive tools online and use them to learn basic fiber optic skills. Those tools and components are what we describe here.

For example, you need a fiber cleaver for splices and prepolished/splice connectors. A good cleave is essential for a good splice or termination with a splice-type connection. Good cleavers are now available online at prices in the US starting at $20US. 

 

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

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

Time To Learn - Online - (Update 4/5/6/8 2020)

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


FOA Zoom Exam Proctoring

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

New FOA Approved School: Central Electrical Training Center, FOA School #656.

FOA School Offers Toolkit With Online Training

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

More New FOA Video Lectures On YouTube

FOA Loss Budget Calculator On A Web Page 5/2020

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

 

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

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

Recent updates:

 

  

Fiber Optic Safety Poster to download and print

On Safety

There is a toll-free "call before you dig" number in the USA: Dial 811

See www.call811.com for more information

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

Safety Leader Magazine

Safety Leader, a new quarterly magazine, informs and educates electrical contractors on safety from various angles—electrical, workplace, PPE, regulations, leadership, line work, NFPA 70E, and more. Safety Leader is bundled with ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR in February, May, August and November. To receive Safety Leader subscribe to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine here or subscribe to the ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR newsletter here.

2021 Global Excavation Safety Conference VIRTUAL, taking place April 6-8, 2021
More information in an article in the dp-PRO announcing the Global Locate Masters:
Website:   www.GlobalLocateMasters.com


 


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

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

FOA is 25 years old this July - read about FOA's history in this newsletter above.

Learn More About FOA's History.

Contact Us
The Fiber Optic Association Inc.
http://www.foa.org or email <info@foa.org>

Phone: 1-760-451-3655

       

 FOA Logo Merchandise

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

Your Name, CFOT® - It pays to advertise!

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

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

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