FTTH
Project Management
Introduction
Most information about fiber optics,
including the information in the FOA textbooks and the FOA
online Guide, is written for the technician who designs,
installs or tests the network. But many times, if not most
of the time, the success of a fiber optic project depends
on those overseeing the project. This includes the manager
of the organization for whom the network is being built,
the planners behind the project, financial managers and
particularly the people who supervise and evaluate the
installation itself. After the project is done, there must
be managers and supervisors who ensure the project runs
smoothly, delivering the communications that keep users
satisfied.
In this section on fiber optic
projects, FOA ties together topics covered in many pages
in the online FOA Guide and in chapters in some of our
current textbooks, to provide a reference for those who
manage the personnel we mention above. Here the focus is
on the project from conception to completion; managing the
people who design, install, and operate it. We provide
guidelines for all phases of the project, including enough
technical details that managers can understand what
technicians are doing and reporting about the project. We
recommend linking to the FOA Guide "Jargon" page, a page
about the “language of fiber optics,” that helps
everyone speak the same language when discussing fiber
optic projects.
Don’t expect this section to provide
all the answers; we don’t even know all the questions!
Every fiber optic project is different and unique. The
communications needs, the geography of the cable plant,
local laws, codes and regulations, and even the available
technology, which is ever changing, will all be unique to
your project. Our hope is that we provide sufficient
background that you can understand your own project well
enough to manage it successfully.
What Is Involved In A Fiber Optic Project?
A fiber optic project begins with a need for
communications and ends with an installed fiber optic
cable plant and an operating network that fills that
communications need. Between those two points are a number
of stages:
• Concept
• Selling the project to decision makers
• Getting financing
• Designing the project
• Installing the project
• Accepting the built network
• Operating and maintaining the network
Each of these stages breaks down into
many smaller projects with one thing in common - they
require a thorough understanding of the project and
careful management to ensure the end result is what is
expected. This page is aimed to provide resources for the
manager of the project and the people building the project
to allow them to have a mutual understanding of what will
be happening as the project moves from concept to
completion.
Focus On The Cable Plant But Don't Forget The Rest
The FOA's expertise in in fiber
optics and we generally focus on the fiber optic cable
plant. What is a "fiber optic cable plant"? It's a term we
use all the time in fiber optics to cover the installed
fiber optics that can transmit your communications
signals. It's permanently installed between the two points
which you require communications between. It's what you
connect your communications electronics to with patchcords
on each end.
The cable plant includes all the fiber
optic cable between those two points. That cable may be
buried underground or installed aerially on utility poles.
It may even have segments that run under water - streams,
rivers, lakes or oceans. Cables come in a maximum length
of about 5-6 km on a spool from the factory, so longer
lengths will require splicing cables together. Splicing is
also required where points along the route require
connections (drops) as well as from end to end.
At the ends, the cable plant will be
terminated in connectors to allow making connections that
can be changed as needed. Hardware is required for every
splice and termination to protect the cable plant,
splices, terminations and connected equipment, and these
may require underground storage in manholes or above
ground storage in pedestals, huts or buildings.
Designing and building a cable plant
means carefully and completely defining the entire route
of the cable plant, where every splice, drop, termination
and piece of hardware is to be placed and what components
will be used for every bit of the cable plant. It's a big
job to design, but it must be done correctly to allow
installation to be done according to the needs of the
users.
Once finished, the cable plant must be
fully documented so it can be operated, maintained, and
repaired if restoration becomes necessary.
At the same time, the FTTH equipment
must be chosen, purchased, installed in the CO/head end,
and personnel trained in operating and maintaining it.
Decisions will include more than just the choice of
vendors; like the type of equipment (e.g GPON or EPON),
bandwidth (1G or 10G), and the models of equipment
appropriate for the scale of the proposed network.
One more detail - the network
will need a connection from the OLT to the Internet. You
must find a service provider (or two for backup) and
determine the speed of the connection needed for the
projected number of subscribers. Perhaps this should be
done first because it is really important.
Fiber Optic Project Management (For Managers)
The FOA, as part of the fiber
optic industry and especially in our role as educators,
most of our focus has been training installers of fiber
optic cable plants and networks in fiber optics. But what
about the people for whom they work or build the networks?
FOA is concerned with their education too. What do network
managers, project managers, supervisors, network owners,
IT personnel, facilities managers, network designers,
estimators, inspectors, etc. need to know about fiber
optics to ensure the success of their project?
The responsibility for the
success or failure of any project ultimately lies with the
project manager. We've seen quite a few instances of fiber
optic project problems caused by improper management and
many of the help calls we get at FOA indicate the
manager's lack of knowledge of fiber optics. Some of the
problems they call us about are amazing. An IT manager for
a large metropolitan area found that the cable plant he
had installed didn't work because it had 4,000 bad
connectors. Another sent us OTDR traces submitted by his
contractor for documentation that showed the cables were
too short to test with an OTDR. In one big project,
contractors subcontracted to firms that had no fiber
experience who were digging up and breaking underground
utilities daily.
These kinds of problems can be
cured easily if the managers have some basic knowledge of
fiber optics. They do not need a typical FOA fiber optic
training course because those courses are based on KSAs –
the knowledge skills and abilities needed by installers.
What they need is just a basic understanding of fiber
optic network design, installation, testing and operation.
Who Is a "Manager"?
The manager may be the supervisor
of a crew of installers building the network, of course,
or the manager of a contracting company. There is the
communications or IT manager who works for the owner of
the network, specifies the communications requirements,
and has responsibility for the operation of the network
after construction. The buildings or facilities manager
overseeing the locations where the project is installed
may be involved in its installation, operation, and
maintenance. In some cases, it would include the inspector
overseeing the construction and approving it. In this
category, we include anyone who is involved with the
network and has responsibilities that include the fiber
optic network itself.
Here at the FOA, we get lot of
calls from those kinds of people asking questions that
show they need to know (and want to know) more - at least
enough to make intelligent decisions regarding the project
that affect its success. This article will cover what we
think the bosses need to know based on what they have
asked us.
The Basics - What Does A Manager Need To Know?
Fiber optic communications is
quite simple. Instead of sending signals as pulses of
electricity or radio waves, fiber optics uses pulses of
light transmitted down a hair-thin ultra-pure strand of
glass. Cables holding tens, hundreds or even thousands of
fibers can be run underground, aerially on poles or even
under water. Construction of a fiber optic cable plant is
similar to that of any other cable and there are thousands
of trained and FOA-certified techs available to build
fiber optic networks.
Managers need to know the basics,
the jargon, and how to communicate with suppliers,
contractors, and installers. Forget the physics and optics
- not even installers need to know the technology that
makes fiber optic communications possible. Managers do
need to learn about fiber optic components like the types
of fibers (singlemode or multimode) used in various
networks to ensure the proper ones have been chosen for
the installation. We prevented a manager recently from
ordering tens of miles of outside plant cable with the
wrong fiber - multimode not singlemode. Hopefully a
salesperson, distributor or manufacturer would have
questioned his choice but if not, he would be stuck with a
large amount of virtually worthless cable.
They should also learn about
cables and their applications. We've seen specs for direct
burial armored cables that were to be pulled through
conduit and non-armored cable designed into a project for
direct burial. We've seen indoor cable specified for
outdoor installation and outdoor cable specified for
premises installation. You must know what the proper cable
choice for the installation is.
Fiber optic connector
compatibility is another important issue. Twice recently I
have been asked by managers about the difference between
two types of connectors - PC (physical contact) and APC
(angled physical contact) connectors - and whether they
are compatible. They certainly are not and they may be
damaged by mating to the wrong type. But try to find that
advice on a manufacturer's or distributor's website - they
expect everyone to know that already.
Those can be expensive mistakes!
A few minutes learning the basics from books or online at
Fiber U or the FOA website can answer those questions and
prevent some big problems. Or just call us at the FOA –
that's what many people do.
Don't believe the classic "myths of
fiber optics." I once jokingly threatened physical harm to
the new editor of one magazine I write for if he ever
published another article that said "fiber optics is
fragile because it's made of glass, is much more expensive
than copper cables and is very hard to install."
Let's kill off those myths once
and for all. The pure glass in optical fiber is many times
stronger than steel and fiber optic cable is much more
flexible than coax or twisted pair copper cable. Even 30
years ago, fiber had the bandwidth and distance advantages
that made communications over fiber optics cost only s few
percent as much as over copper or microwave radio. Today
we can put almost one million times more communications
over fiber than back then. And finally, there are more
than 100,000 skilled installers who have installed
millions of miles of fiber and will attest to the fact
that it's just another skill to learn.
The Design
It is at the design stage that
the manager has the most important role in the success of
a fiber optic project. This is not a time to delegate
without oversight. The manager must be able to evaluate
options presented and make decisions based on the input of
many others.
If someone who works for you is
designing a fiber optic network, they need to know whether
it provides the communications capacity you need for today
and over its projected lifetime. Are there enough fibers
for spares and future expansion? Can the network support
drops to new user locations? Has the network been designed
optimally for both performance and cost? Are all the
components chosen appropriate for the network? Is the
network secure and are you prepared to restore outages?
One good test is to create a scope of work (SOW) and send
out a request for proposal (RFP) to some experienced
contractors for comments.
FOA has a complete textbook on
fiber optic network design, but the basics are summarized
in the FOA Guide online.
Construction And Installation
Fiber optic cable plants can be
installed outside (called "OSP" for outside plant) or
indoors (called "premises"). The OSP cable plant can be
installed underground, aerial or under water. All have
various techniques that can be chosen depending on the
geography of the route or local requirements, for instance
that all cables must be placed underground. Premises
cabling is often a mix of fiber optics and copper cabling.
It will be covered by codes like the NEC to ensure safety
for those inside the building.
The Contractor
How do you evaluate contractors?
The top of the list of requirements is experience in
similar jobs backed by great references. Are their
designers, managers and installers properly trained and
certified? How much personnel turnover do they have?
What's their plan for on-the-job training (OJT) for new
recruits? Are they fully equipped for the job? What other
jobs are they qualified for? Electrical construction and
fiber optics are often done by the same contractor -
although by different divisions of the same company - and
may yield more efficient construction when electrical
services are required in communications facilities.
If the contractor is chosen in a
bid process, don't blindly choose the lowest bidder.
Include in the RFQ (request for quotation) requirements
for the bidders to include lots of information about the
company that will allow evaluation of their ability to
complete the job properly, including company history,
personnel, structure, financial history, worker
credentials, experience and of course references.
We've seen jobs go to the lowest
bidder where the contractor installed thousands of splices
and connectors improperly, submitted erroneous test data,
got paid and disappeared, leaving the network owner
holding the bag. In another case of improper installation,
the contractor went bankrupt when forced to redo the job
correctly.
Finding Workers And Workforce Development
After financing, finding enough
qualified workers to build your project is probably the
next biggest problem. The fiber optic industry is growing
so fast that there is a big shortage of qualified
installers and finding good installers is very difficult.
These people can also be expensive, so some contractors
subcontract work to anybody, qualified or not. Several
projects got caught using landscapers to install fiber
after they cut several fiber optic cables already in the
ground in one city and laid cable on the top of the ground
in tall grass – not buying it at all – in another city. A
top priority should be finding qualified workers or
training them yourselves.
See “Workforce Development” below.
Evaluating The Quality Of An Installation
If the contract covers both
electronic equipment and fiber optic cable plant, the
number one concern is if the communications system works
as planned. Under any circumstances, the quality of the
fiber optic cable plant needs to be evaluated
independently. Every step of the way should be
documented and inspected to ensure that the network was
installed in a "neat and workmanlike manner." The
installation needs to be completely tested to confirm it
meets the design goals and documentation of the test
results presented along with the other project
documentation. Fiber optic testing is a complex process
that requires a trained and experienced tech to perform
properly.
Documentation
Too many networks have inadequate
documentation, insufficient to evaluate the installation,
allow moves, adds and changes (MACs) or restoration in an
emergency. Many managers and installers think the
documentation is created after the network is built, but
that's completely wrong. Network documentation starts when
the idea of the network is conceived, evolves through the
design, creation of the scope of work (SOW), RFP and RFQ
(request for quote), installation and testing.
Documentation should be one of the legal requirements of
the contract for network installation. The installer
should get the final payment only after they submit all
the documentation required, not before.
Documentation must include the
route of the cable plant and the type of installation
(aerial, underground, etc.) and location of every
component of the fiber optic cable plant including cables,
splices, terminations, pedestals, manholes/handholes, etc.
The documentation must include the path of every cable,
every fiber in the cable (with color codes) and the test
results from testing each fiber. If that sounds like a lot
of work and a lot of data, it is, but that's what's
necessary to determine what has been installed and if it
was installed according to the plans. That data will be
invaluable when changes need to be made to the cable plant
or restoration must be done in event of a cable break.
There are software aids for
documentation. Geographic information systems (GIS) are
now widely used for for both aerial and underground
utility locations and can be used to also locate the fiber
optic cable plant. Other software for documenting the
cable plant are available or one can create their own with
database or spreadsheet programs. For premises cabling,
software similar to that used for designing electrical
systems are readily available and may be useful for some
OSP applications. They offer the advantage of helping with
estimating too.
There is more information on project paperwork from the
FOA Guide. And when do you know the cable plant
installation is complete? There is a page on project
"deliverables."
Operating A Fiber Optic Network
Everyone who converts to fiber
learns fast that fiber needs virtually no maintenance.
Fiber should be installed, tested, locked up and forgotten
unless you need to modify the network or repair damage.
Most damage to the network is caused by poorly trained
techs working with cables they don't understand, so ensure
that anyone who touches your network is trained properly.
Another major problem is damage outside your control -
underground cables suffering what we in the industry call
"backhoe fade," or for aerial cables what a utility out
West referred to as "target practice".
Emergency Restoration
Like any other problem, restoring
a fiber optic network failure is easier if you plan ahead.
If you have damage, the most valuable tool you have for
restoration is all the documentation on the network. With
that you know exactly where the cable plant is installed
and troubleshooting test results can be compared to the
fibers when installed. Leftover components like spools of
cable, splice closures or other hardware should be kept,
stored with the documentation for use in restoration. And,
of course, you need trained crews on 24/7 call, who have
the skills to track down problem and fix them. If you
don't have your own personnel who can do this, have a
contract with someone who can and will respond quickly.
Getting Up To Speed
How does a manager learn all
this? You can learn by experience, of course, although
that's often a painful way to learn. If your personnel are
being trained, take a course with them. If you want to
learn on your own, there is plenty of information on the
FOA website and free self-study programs at Fiber U that
can help you understand fiber optic project management.
If You Are Considering DIY FTTH Project, Here Are
Things To Remember
Legality: If you are in one of 18
US States, your state legislators have passed laws written
by lobbyists for incumbent service providers that prevent
municipalities, other governments, or coops from becoming
ISPs. By the time you read this, all this may have been
negated by local or Federal laws.
Expect A Fight: Most independent
FTTH projects, especially those proposed by municipalities
or coops, will be opposed by the incumbent service
providers. Experience has shown that they have no problems
spending lots of money opposing the project and fighting
dirty. Stay calm, tell your story, people are learning
about what to believe.
Uniqueness: Like most fiber
optic networks, every FTTH installation is unique. It must
be designed for the location it is to serve and choices on
components and installation methods should be optimized
for the system. Construction and installation methods may
include every type of OSP installation. Suppliers familiar
with FTTx can advise customers on what others have
done to make installations simpler, easier and less
expensive. Most systems prefer to use as many factory-made
components as possible as they are generally less
expensive than doing the same work in the field. New
installation methods should be considered as well to
reduce costs.
Consultants: Be wary
of consultants. Consultants can be extremely valuable in
designing a FTTH system, as long as they have relevant
experience, are up to date on new components and
techniques and are highly recommended by previous clients.
Unfortunately, we have seen problems with consultants,
including over-designed networks with costs much higher
than necessary, installation practices recommended that
were unnecessary or ignore newer technology, systems
designed around components that were higher performance
(and price) than necessary, and in one case a consultant
took the clients payment, went away for a year and came
back with an admission that they could not design the
network (but they kept the consulting fees.)
Contractors: As with
any fiber optic project, the quality of the installation
depends on the quality of the installer. Look for
contractors with knowledge, experience and references. And
preferably relevant certifications like the FOA CFOT. Be
especially wary of subcontractors. Any subcontractors
should have equal qualifications and be approved by the
network owner. We have seen landscape contractors with no
fiber training used as subcontractors for cable plant
installation - one cut several cables to buildings that
had been installed by a member of the FOA advisory board!
Call Before You Dig!
Every day some major fiber optic cable is cut by a
contractor. The jurisdiction issuing permits should help
you with locating other buried utilities. There is a
service that helps you locate underground utilities that
may be in your construction path. See the FOA web page on
Digging Safely.
What Fiber Do You Already
Have? Before you design or install
a new fiber optic cable plant, inventory the fiber you
have already and/or negotiate to lease fiber where others
have cables with dark (unused) fibers. Also talk to other
organizations who may need communications to see if they
want to share costs or lease dark fibers or communications
links from you. Cities, counties and states need fiber.
Utilities need fiber. Fire and life safety organizations
need fiber. Traffic departments need fiber. Cellular
companies really need a lot of fiber.
What Other Services Can Share The
Fiber? Consider what other services than FTTH
you can carry on your fiber optic cable plant - cellular
backhaul, traffic systems, security/surveillance systems,
leased fiber, etc. to generate additional revenue. A few
years ago a large American city sent out a RFP (request
for proposal) for an urban FTTH network. The document
dealt strictly with FTTH to connect the city's citizens
with fiber and ignored all the other services the city had
that already used or needed fiber - city communications,
security/video surveillance, intelligent traffic
management, public transportation communications, wireless
networks(small cells and 5G), utility communications,
etc., etc., etc.
Dig Smart - Dig
Once: This same document also covered
the difficulty of urban installation - digging up streets
already filled with underground utilities, limited space
for pedestals, few options for aerial cable and
other issues that are typical problems for urban fiber
installation. No mention of "Dig Once" to make future
installations easier. Share fibers. Use spare fibers. Use
additional wavelengths in current fiber. Consider all the
alternatives. Plan ahead - future proof is a myth, but one
can make certain decisions that will make the future
easier. If you are considering
using FTTH design software, ask to talk to customers who
have used it. Determine what you need to know first in
order to use it, e.g. GIS data on every utility pole,
manhole or handhole, subscriber location, etc. and how
much training it takes to become proficient. Will you use
your personnel or hire outsiders, and how do you evaluate
them.
Cost Savings: Fiber optic
cable and components are not expensive, but labor is.
Saving money on components may look good in first
analysis, but more savings will come from optimized
designs and efficient installation practices. More
experienced contractors are more efficient and may save
costs by their speed and efficiency. And design for
the future - if you dig a trench for anything, not just
fiber but any underground utility, bury a number of fiber
ducts for future use, install cables with more fibers than
you need - lots more - fiber is cheap, installation is
expensive. The program is called "Dig Once."
Take Rates Are Important:
"Take rates" for new FTTH networks – the percentage of
homes passed that become subscribers - vary from low
to high, depending on the satisfaction with the current
ISP (Internet service provider.) When Google Fiber started
in Kansas City, the take rate was high because the current
service was bad, but in later cities when the local ISPs
knew they were coming and improved their service and/or
lowered their prices, the take rate was lower. Competition
tends to drive take rates and take rates determine the
economics of the system, Know your competition. Offering
gigabit services are often the top selling point of FTTH.
Every GPON network is a gigabit network, but subscribers
can opt for slower speeds at lower costs.
Workers And Workforce Development
Fiber optics, like any fast-growing technology,
needs well-trained workers and an FTTH project is no
exception. The FOA has partnered with a number of
organizations to develop guidelines for hiring and
retaining competent workers. Here’s what we have
learned:
First, here are some important questions to ask when
hiring installers and other personnel:
Who hires your installers? This seems like an
obvious question but when you move down from the
Contractor who hires the subcontractor, it is the
subcontractor (or the sub-sub subcontractor if you are
planning a large project) who hires the installers and
other workers. To complicate things even further,
sometimes it is a placement agency that may provide
temporary workers for your job.
How do you ensure that these
workers are properly trained? We have seen the
results of poorly trained installers all too often.
Examples are given in other sections of this book. The
only way to combat this is to identify and communicate
directly with the actual hiring manager - contractor?
subcontractor? placement agency? You might be surprised if
you do some research how this is delegated to someone down
the “chain of command”.
Here are some questions to ask:
What qualifications are required?
Is there a job description? Does the job description
accurately reflect the technical requirements of the job.
Read the contract carefully – is experience
and/orcertification required for the techs?
Along with technical skills
required for the job, are they checking for “life skills”
such as basic math skills and a 10th grade reading level
as a minimum and basic computer knowledge? Remember how
extensive the use of computers are in the field now.
Is the candidate evaluation done
completely online or is there a face-to-face meeting
before the hire?
How are the candidates’ attitude
and behavior assessed? Are they checking references
to determine items such as adaptability, reliability,
integrity, having good judgment? Judgement is important
especially when safety is critical.
Are you reaching out to local
technical schools? Contact local community colleges and
tech schools about your worker needs and the job
opportunities available to their graduates. If your local
schools do not have fiber optic or telecom programs, what
technical subjects do they teach that may produce good
candidates? The FOA has Approved Schools all over the
country and many have advisory boards seeking advice from
local businesses on the need for specialized jobs and
training.
If local colleges or technical
schools are interested in teaching a fiber program for
telecom or IT, FOA has everything they need to start a
program quickly. Many of these schools have Workforce
Development departments which have access to US Dept of
Labor and state job training dollars that can fund a
program.
You can develop your own
workforce – train and promote from within using structured
OJT – online learning combined with learning on the job.
As the shortage of skilled workers become more acute,
contractors are going to have to train their own
people. The reality of the workplace is that
most training is “on the job” (OJT).
OJT should be more than giving
someone a set of tools and have them follow someone around
the worksite to learn. The FOA has a program we call OJT
to Cert where you can use Fiber U free online training
with a designated supervisor who sets a timetable for
achieving specific learning goals and conducts ongoing
evaluations for an “OJT” candidate. FOA
certification could be achieved in one year.
Hiring new people is not the only
issue facing contractors. Employee retention is a
growing problem - contractors should not overlook the
needs of existing employees to stay current with new
technologies and develop necessary skills at all stages of
their working career. Most of the workforce is now
familiar with online learning like the FOA offers on Fiber
U that can lead to certification. For instance, the
FOA has a Direct Work to Cert certification program for
experienced techs.
What Makes A Successful Fiber Optic Project?
People call FOA for advice all the
time. Most of the calls deal with technical questions
about products, installation and testing. But in one call;
a manager who was starting to plan a fiber optic project
wanted advice on how to proceed. It was a long call! His
basic question was “What does it take to have a successful
fiber optic project?” We responded with 4 words:
financing, commitment, expertise and patience. (This
section is repeated from the introductory section on FTTH
because it's important for the designer and managers of a
FTTH project.)
Financing: The story goes that someone
asked Neil Armstrong what he was thinking about while
sitting on top of the rocket ready to launch Apollo 11 to
the moon. “Every part was made by the lowest bidder,” was
supposedly his reply. (The same quote has been attributed
to most early astronauts!)
Fiber optics are not necessarily
expensive; in fact, fiber has been used so widely because
it is the least expensive communications medium in
virtually all projects. But fiber optic projects may
require a lot of construction which makes the project
expensive. Like all other projects, it never pays to cut
corners. Planning and running the project properly is what
saves money, trying to cheapen the project. Not all jobs
should go to the lowest bidder, unless they meet all the
criteria for a qualified bidder. Likewise, one needs to
ensure that when a project starts, there are funds
available to complete the job properly, including some
extra for unplanned changes or modifications.
Commitment: Just like having
sufficient finances to compete the project, one needs a
commitment to finish the job once it is started. Changes
of management or changes in governments often lead to
confusion or even modifying a project in midstream. There
is nothing wrong with making changes based on what learns
as the project progresses; it may even involve greater
efficiency or cost savings, but arbitrary changes may
jeopardize the project's timetable, completion or even its
usefulness.
If the project is under the auspices of
a government entity, changes in administration or
management that causes changes in a project will
invariably make it more expensive and may jeopardize the
success of the entire project. Ideally, the personnel who
propose, design and plan the network should see it to
completion.
Expertise: Fiber requires
expertise and experience. It's obvious the installers need
to know what they are doing, but in reality, so must the
managers who work for the organization that is contracting
for the work. There are many instances of projects where
the managers signed off on the project when it was
incomplete or improperly installed. The only way to
properly manage a project is to understand every aspect of
it well enough to know if it is being done properly and
when it is actually complete.
Planners, designers, contractors and
installers should all be trained and certified as well as
being experienced with good references. That holds doubly
so for consultants. In many places, to be a consultant or
cabling contractor means little other than registering as
a business and advertising your services. Some of the
problems we've seen with outside services, include
consultants who took contracts, spent time on a project,
then told the customer they could not help them with the
project, but kept the money.
We have seen contractors doing shoddy
installations, ruining expensive fiber optic cable during
pulling and leaving jobs half done but getting paid
because the customer knew no better. One of the biggest
problems is subcontractors. A contractor with good
credentials gets the job but subcontracts some of the work
to a contractor who will do the work at a lower price, but
does not have the training or experience (or motivation)
to do it right. In your contract with an installer, we
recommend a clause giving the project manager
responsibility for evaluating and approving all
subcontractors.
The manager must know better to prevent
problems. FOA also has pages on what the manager needs to
know. See the FOA Guide.
Patience: From concept to acceptance, a
typical OSP fiber project can take 2-5 years and a
premises project 1-2 years. It depends on the size of the
project, the time to properly design it, create project
paperwork, get permits, buy components, hire contractors
and properly install it. Proper workmanship takes
time and is not easily rushed. Saving time generally means
cutting corners and that is often the cause of the
problems encountered. Take your time, plan, design,
select, install, test and document your network properly.
And by the way, "future proofing" is a
myth! Who would have known in 1990 how ubiquitous the
Internet would be today? How reliant we could be on
smartphones other mobile devices? How many workers would
be working remotely or using videoconferencing for
meetings? Technology moves too fast and is too disruptive
for anyone to make reliable predictions. The IBMer who
developed MRP - the original company organizational
software - used to tell everyone, "A forecast is wrong
from the moment it is made." Plan for the future, but
assume you will upgrade, change directions, etc. driven by
new tech and changes in the world around us.
The
Fiber Optic Association Fiber To The Home Handbook: For
Planners, Managers, Designers, Installers And Operators Of
FTTH - Fiber To The Home - Networks
The
Fiber Optic Association Fiber To The Home Handbook
Available in paperback or as an eBook on the Amazon
Kindle Available
direct from Amazon.com,
local booksellers and other distributors.
- Technical
Information on FTTX From The FOA
Online Guide:
- FTTH
Introduction
- FTTH
Architectures,
- FTTH
in MDUs (Multiple Dwelling Units)
- FTTH
PON Standards, Specifications and Protocols
- FTTH
Design
(NEW)
- FTTH
Installation
- FTTH
Customer Premises Installation
FTTH
Network Testing
FTTH
Case Studies: Do-It-Yourself FTTH
FTTH Project
Management (NEW)
Migration from GPON to 10GPON
- Training
& Certification
Fiber
U Online FTTx Self Study Program (free)
- FOA
Certification Overview
FOA
FTTx Certification Requirements
FOA-Approved
Training Programs
Table of Contents: The
FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics
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