FOA has a online Loss Budget Calculator web page that will calculate the loss budget for your cable plant and a free app for iOS smartphones and tablets that will calculate loss budgets for the cable plant you are designing or testing.
Read the next issue of the FOA’s newsletter online. While the photo above doesn’t show “social distancing”, FOA has all its certification tests available online, both for use by our schools and by our direct “Work to Cert” applicants. All tests require a proctor to oversee the applicant taking the exam. In this time of social distancing, getting a proctor can be difficult, so FOA now has procedures for online proctors and administering the exam. Contact the FOA for more information.
While many are sequestered at home, others are out in the field installing more fiber and maintaining networks. Our contacts tell us that some projects are on hold but others are expanding, necessary to support up to 60% increase in Internet traffic and even a return to voice phone calls as people work from home and try to stay connected while social distancing. If you are working from home, you can take advantage of FOA’s free online learning opportunities at Fiber U where we have been adding some new courses and expanding our Basic Skills Labs. .
A quick tutorial on bend radius from the Fiber Optic Association: All FO cables have specs that must not be exceeded during install to prevent irreparable damage to the cable: pulling tension, min bend radius, crush loads. Installers must understand these specs & know how to pull cables without damaging them. Why is it important? Not following bend radius guidelines can lead to cable damage. If the cable is damaged in installation, the manufacturer’s warranty is voided. That means if you are pulling a cable over a pulley, that pulley should have a min radius of 260mm/10″ or a diameter of 520mm/20″ – don’t get radius and diameter mixed up!
Training can be the difference between a successful fiber installation and a disaster. This webinar will address how to set your company apart by becoming fully FOA certified; how simple instruction can make the installation and management of fiber optics second nature to your team; and the hidden, often overlooked values of training (photo courtesy of FOA).
Professionals in the ICT industry who are exclusively working from home may have “found time,” with which they can seek opportunities for professional development or training. One resource available to these professionals—as it has been for years—is Fiber U: the Fiber Optic Association’s free online self-study program. Fiber U includes self-study programs, tutorials, textbooks, videos, and links to other Fiber Optic Association (FOA) pages that educate on fiber optics and premises cabling.
In this issue of the FOA Newsletter, we had hoped to report about the giant OFC conference in San Diego last week and remind you of the CGA Damage Prevention conference next week in Palm Springs. While you are sequestered at home, we’ve provided some interesting things to read in this newsletter and many other places around the Internet in “Worth Reading” below. We’ve also got some good, free online training at Fiber U, including the new OSP Construction course or if you are preparing for an FOA certification course, any of the other Fiber U courses linked to FOA certifications.
What’s bend radius? Why does it matter when installing fiber optic cable? It can make the difference between a successful install and a disaster. A very costly disaster at that. The February issue of the FOA newsletter looks at installing fiber optic cable properly and understanding cable bend radius.
We’re only a few days into the New Year and all we can say is the outlook is uncertain. The enthusiastic hype that has filled the news in the past with promises of 5G solving the world’s problems has turned to skepticism. “Smart” cities are being discussed as not such a smart idea anymore. The latest battles in the “pole wars” we’ve written about before now focus on placement of small cells for 4G/5G, not on installing aerial fiber optic cables.
This week, I read an article stating that 5G “gives developers the ability to scale up projects more easily because there’s no need to build extensive fiber-optic networks to keep data flowing.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, fiber is the essential backbone for all 5G networks to operate, for fronthaul, midhaul, backhaul, and the densification needed to network between small cells.
