FTTx for Installers and Technicians

This four-day class has been developed with 16 hours of classroom lecture and 16 hours of hands-on skills labs to provide practical understanding and skills required to install, test and troubleshoot PON and active Ethernet FTTx systems according to ITU, IEEE and SCTE standards. Students will perform bidirectional testing, WDM testing and splitter testing with the latest FTTx test equipment such as PON power meters and optical time-domain reflectometers.

• Click here for current dates, locations and times; course availability is subject to change. 
• Courses must be purchased at least two weeks in advance to avoid late fees.
• Discounts may be available for this course, please contact NCTI Customer Care at 866.575.7206 to learn more and/or to enroll. 

Completion Time:

The estimated completion time for this course is 32 hours (four days).

Benefits:

• Qualified to receive the Electronics Technicians Association (ETA) and Fiber Optic Technician-Outside Plant (FOT-OSP) Certifications
• Earn BICSI ITS Continuing Education Credits
• Receive a Fiber Broadband Association Certification of Completion

Outline:

Introduction to Fiber Optics

Basic fiber optic terminology, FTTx optical fiber transmission systems, typical transmission rates, fiber optic symbols, why use fiber optics, fiber optic standards and brief history of fiber optics

FTTx PON Methodology

Basic FTTx terminology, passive optical networks (PON), fiber to the home, fiber to the business/building, POLAN, fiber to the curb, IP video delivery, active Ethernet, TDM and TDMA, broadband PON (B-PON), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), Ethernet PON, gigabit PON (G-PON), 10G-PON, 10 gigabit EPON, RF video overlay, radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and WDM-PON

Topologies

Network topologies, physical topologies, point-to-point topology, star topology, reach extender, route redundancy, ring topology, mesh topology and bus topology

Optical Distribution Network (ODN) and OSP

ODN capabilities, outside plant cable management, drop terminator and cable and fiber management

Fiber Theory

Fiber theory, attenuation, fresnel reflection, refraction, numerical aperture, intrinsic and extrinsic losses, the electromagnetic spectrum, lightwave transmission, mode field diameter, and dispersion (pulse spreading)

Fiber

FTTx fiber optic specifications, single-mode optical fiber types, fiber optic color coding, and ribbon fibers

Cable

Optical cable for FTTx, FTTx distribution and drop cables, outside plant cables, high fiber count cables, aerial fiber optic cables, indoor/outdoor cables, plenum and riser cables, low smoke zero halogen, distribution cables, fiber optic cable cordage and fiber and buffer color codes

Connectors

Extrinsic splice and connection attenuation, fiber optic connector polishes, common FTTx connectors, small form factor LC connectors, multifiber connectors, field terminable FTTH connectors, hardened connectors, connector inspection and cleaning, terminators and attenuators and single-mode field connectorization issues

Splicing

Traditional splice scenarios, drop cable splicing, good splice requirements, fiber cleaving, fusion, ribbon and pigtail splicing, protecting the splice and mechanical splices

Fiber and Cable Management

Panels, closures and cabinets, fiber optic interconnect hardware, splice tray recommendations, FTTx OSP cable management products, cabinets for active Ethernet, network access points, slack storage, vaults and handholes, indoor slack storage methods, underground cable storage, aerial cable storage products and hardened connector slack storage

Passive Devices

Fiber transition to the network, planar lightwave circuits, fused biconical taper splitters, splitter challenges and scenarios, tap splitters, WDMs and PON systems, optical bands and windows, wavelength allocations, multiplexing and demultiplexing, filters and gratings, types of WDMs, PON configurations for WDM, RF video overlay, diplexers, triplexers and quadplexers and coarse, dense and wide WDM

Active Devices

Fiber optic transmitters, distributed feedback lasers, Fabry-Perot lasers, fiber optic receivers, photo diodes, Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, reflection issues, optical return loss and the ODN

Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) and Optical Network Terminals (ONTs)

OLTs, ONT, NT and ONU, UPS and battery backup systems

Loss Budgets

Designing FTTx systems, writing OSP specifications, loss budgets for FTTx networks, safety margins, “Not to exceed” charts for single-mode, active Ethernet specifications, PON loss budgets, G-PON specifications, G-PON power levels, Ethernet specifications, RFoG and tapered loss budgets

Installation

FTTx cable installation, cable handling, underground installation techniques, conduit and duct installation, cable pulling methods, tension monitoring, high air speed blown, air blown fiber, aerial installation techniques, mid-span (express) entries, cable installation products, FTTB installation techniques, MDUs and MTUs, telecommunications rooms, get cabling to each user, yermination techniques, ONTs and access points, and installation inspection reports

Testing

Testing active Ethernet and PON systems, Initial installation testing,“Not to exceed” values, OTDR testing, Dynamic range, Deadzone, OTDR signature, Key points to understanding IOR, Post-installation testing with the OTDR, Testing drop cables, reflection testing, measuring reflectance with a deadzone box, optical loss testing, insertion loss method, visual laser testing requirements, and visual inspection

Maintenance

Typical causes of failure, system related problems, eye diagrams, types of fiber optic damage, typical cable system faults, equipment used in the restoration role, emergency restoration kit requirements, aerial restoration, outside plant restorations, the need for slack cable, effective maintenance postures, and post-restoration recommendations

Safety

Fiber optic safety concerns, Visual safety, Laser safety, Personal protective equipment, Chemical safety, Work area safety, Installation practices

Hands-on Skills Learning: Cable Management

Cable preparation, mid-entry practices, closure preparation, panel dressing, splitter installation, and splice tray fiber routing.

Hands-on Skills Learning: Splicing

Strip and cleave processes, inline and pigtail splicing, FTTx splicing, fixed V-groove splicers, and core alignment splicers

Hands-on Skills Learning: OTDR Testing

OTDR use in FTTx installations, FTTx OTDR signatures, Measuring reflectance, and testing splitters

Hands-on Skills Learning: Optical Loss Testing

FTTx test equipment, testing OLT/ONT power levels, test points in FTTx installations, Upstream/downstream testing, troubleshooting, and FTTx documentation.