Free
Self-Study Programs
Who
is Lennie Lightwave? Lennie
Lightwave was the cartoon mascot created for the original
Fiber U conference in 1993.
Fiber U is
the FOA's free online learning website. Here you will find free
online self-study programs, tutorials, textbooks, videos and
links to other FOA pages that will help you learn about fiber
optics and premises cabling.
When
you finish a free Fiber U online self-study program, you can get a
"Fiber U Certificate of
Completion" for the course for a nominal charge.
Fiber U
courses may be used as preparation for the FOA
certification programs.
All Fiber U material and programs are copyright FOA. For
information on fair use of this material, go
here.
Getting
Started - A Short Self-Study Program
Fiber
Optics In Communications
and How It Works
Just
getting started in fiber optics and wonder where it's used and
how it works? Are you managing a fiber project and want to
understand what is involved? Does your organization use fiber
optics and you'd like to know more about how it works? This
short introductory lesson from Fiber U is intended for you. Not
too technical, just an overview, but a good starting place for
everyone interested in fiber optics.
Fiber
U "The Basics" Self-Study Programs
Basic
Fiber Optics
May
be used as preparation for the CFOT®
Exam
This is a
10-part series of self-study lessons covering the basics of fiber
optics. You can use the FOA Online Reference Guide to Fiber Optics
or a copy of The FOA Reference Guide to Fiber Optics, available in
printed or eBook form. Study the reference materials and test your
comprehension with the online quizzes. Designed as a preparation
for those taking the CFOT Certification directly or planning to
attend an FOA-approved course and want to prepare ahead of time.
Complete the course and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion exam.
Premises
Cabling (Copper, Fiber And Wireless)
May
be used as preparation for the CPCT Exam
This 8-part self-study program covers premises
cabling, including copper (UTP and coax), fiber and wireless (or
more precisely, cabling for wireless.) This program uses the FOA
Online Reference Guide to Fiber Optics, Premises Cabling Section
or a copy of the FOA
Reference Guide to Premises Cabling, available
in printed or eBook form. Study the reference materials and test
your comprehension
with the online quizzes.
Additional reading is included for advanced study. Complete
the course and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion
exam.
Fiber
U "Specialist" Skills-Based Courses and
Certifications
Basic
Fiber Optic Skills Lab
While
you cannot learn hands-on installation skills necessary for fiber
optic techs by taking an online course, if you already have the
equipment, the Fiber
U Basic Skills Lab can help you learn on your own. In this
course we use FOA YouTube Videos and "Virtual Hands-On" tutorials
to give you step by step instructions and lots of hints on how to
prepare cables, splice, terminate and test them.This course is
designed for those who have already completed the Basic
Fiber Optics course, have access to equipment and a variety
of components and want to learn the processes of fiber optic
installation on their own.
Outside
Plant (OSP) Construction
FOA
has extensive training programs and certifications on all
aspects of fiber optic cable plant design, installation, testing
and operation, but most of the outside plant (OSP) programs like
the one below begin at the point of preparing the cable for
splicing, termination or testing. This program takes a step back
and looks at the process of construction of the cable plant up
to the point of installing the cable for underground, direct
buried and aerial installations. The Fiber U Outside
Plant Fiber Optics
self-study
program below takes over for the next steps in installation. Complete
the course and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion
exam.
Outside
Plant Fiber Optics
May
be used as preparation for the CFOS/O Exam
This 10-part self-study program on outside plant fiber
optics covers the outdoor networks used by telcos, wireless
operators, CATV companies, utilities, etc. This program uses the
FOA
Online Reference Guide to Fiber Optics, OSP Section
or a copy of The
FOA Reference Guide to Outside Plant Fiber Optics,
available in printed or eBook form. Study the reference
materials and test your comprehension
with the online quizzes.
Additional reading is included for advanced study.
Note:
this is an expanded version of the Basic program above to
include specific issues of OSP installations. Complete
the course and case study and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion exam.
Fiber
Optic Testing
May
be used as preparation for the CFOS/T Exam
The Fiber U Fiber Optic Testing self-study program
is aimed at everyone working in fiber optics. This 6 part series
of lessons covers the full scope of fiber optic testing, one of
the most complex topics in fiber optics. We've divided the course
into lessons that cover an overview of fiber optic testing, test
tools and instruments, visual testing, insertion loss, OTDRs and a
catch-all final lesson covering a number of other topics. We use
the FOA YouTube Videos for most of the lessons plus pages from our
online guide to provide the basic materials for study but we also
provide links to many additional topics that may apply to your
particular applications. For those just interested in OTDRs, there
is a separate program on that subject below. Complete
the course and case study and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion
exam.
Understanding
OTDRs And OTDR Testing
May
be used as preparation for the CFOS/T Exam
This is a 4-part series on understanding
one of the more important testing tools in fiber optics. OTDRs are
valuable test tools but require more depth of understanding to use
properly. This self-study program will review fiber optic testing,
look at how OTDRs work and how their test data is analyzed. It
also explains testing artifacts like "gainers" and "ghosts" that
can be very confusing. This program uses the FOA
Online Reference Guide to Fiber Optics, OSP Section
or, for Lesson 1 only, a copy of The
FOA Reference Guide to Outside Plant Fiber Optics,
available in printed or eBook form. Part of this course is a free
OTDR simulator you can download and run on your PC. Complete
the course and case study and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion
exam.
Fiber
Optic Network Design And Management
Fiber
Optic Network Design And Management
May be used as preparation for the CFOS/D Exam
This 8-part series of self-study lessons is aimed at designers and
managers needing to know how to design, install and operate a
fiber optic network. It's not how to create drawings - that's
another part of design but specific to the software or method used
to create drawings! It's about how to evaluate customer needs for
communications links, choose equipment, design the cable plant,
choose components, create a plan, choose contractors, pick
compoents, manage the install and finish the paperwork. The final
lesson is 9 case studies of various networks where you have to
make the right choices.
This course assumes you have a basic knowledge of fiber optics at
the CFOT/CPCT level. If not, take the Basic
Fiber Optics or Outside
Plant Fiber Optics course above.
Complete
the course and case study and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion
exam. If you are
interested in taking this course for FOA CFOS/D certification,
contact FOA at info@foa.org.
Fiber
U Applications-Based Courses
Fiber
For Wireless
May be used as preparation for the CFOS/W Exam
Wireless communications is growing at an incomprehensible pace.
Cellular wireless is looking at upgrades to 5G technology, small
cells and video streaming. WiFi is reaching gigabit speeds for
enterprise LANs, being deployed in many metro areas and even being
used for line-of-sight links in rural areas. All these
applications depend on fiber optics for backbones. This new Fiber
U self-study program combines the current programs on FTTA (fiber
to the antenna) and DAS (distributed antenna systems) and adds
lessons on Small Cells, the hottest topic in cellular wireless and
WiFi applications. This course is aimed at communications managers
and fiber optic contractors who want an overview of how wireless
technologies depend on fiber optics and how to implement these
systems. Complete the course and case study and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion exam.
Distributed
Antenna Systems (DAS)
May be
used as preparation for the CFOS/DAS Exam
Cellular data traffic growth has been phenomenal - over 500 times
in the first seven years of smartphones. While most antennas are
outdoors, most call originate from indoors. While everyone expects
cellular connections everywhere, signals have trouble getting
inside large buildings, mass transit tunnesl, etc. and regular
cellular systems are overloaded in facilities where large groups
gather, such as sports facilities or convention centers. The
solution to both problems is to install distributed antenna
systems that provide adequate coverage no matter how big the crowd
or where they are. This Fiber U course covers how a DAS works, its
cabling requirements and how they are installed. Complete the
course and case study and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion exam.
Fiber
To The Antenna
May be used as preparation for the CFOS/A Exam
Similar to DAS (above), cell towers have been changing to adapt to
the large growth in volume of data traffic over cellular networks.
Towers that one had 3 antennas now have a dozen or more.
Connecting to those antennas from the base of the tower with
traditional coax cables required too much weight and wind
resistance for the tower, not to mention cost, so digital systems
using fiber optic cables have been replacing the coax. This Fiber
U course covers the equipment mounted on cell towers,how cabling
connects them and how those cables are installed and tested.
Complete the course and case study and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion exam.
Data
Center Cabling
May
be used as preparation for the CFOS/DC Exam
Data
centers are one of the fastest growing areas in information
technology and communications, leading to many large
applications for cabling. There are many different
viewpoints on how data center cabling should be designed and
installed, depending on the point of view. Fiber U takes a
unbiased viewpoint to try to understand how users are
actually building data centers and creates a short
self-study program that can provide a better basis for
understanding this important cabling application. Complete
the course and case study and you can take the Fiber U
Certificate of Completion exam.
FTTx
Fiber To The Home, Premises, Business, Curb, etc.
May
be used as preparation for the CFOS/H Exam
This 6-part series will
introduce you to the varieties of ways that fiber optics is moving
closer or all the way to the subscriber. While some refer to it as
FTTH (fiber to the home), we also have FTTC (curb), FTTP
(premises) and even a new acronym, FTTW (wireless), and this
self-study program will cover all the varieties. While all
varieties of FTTx are covered, most of the course focuses on FTTH
PON networks. Take this course and you will learn about all the
options for FTTx, what network architectures look like, what
standards exist, and get an overview of how they are installed and
tested. A final session will cover design of FTTx and give you a
design exercise to complete. This course is designed for everyone
interested in FTTx. Those new to fiber optics or in management
roles can use this course to familiarize themselves with FTTx
technologies, while those with fiber backgrounds will learn how to
implement FTTx from this course.
Complete the course and
case study and you can take the Fiber U Certificate of
Completion exam.
Optical
LANs (OLANs)
May
be used as preparation for the CFOS/L Exam
Optical LANs or OLANs, are a new
way to build LANs using an all optical fiber cable plant and
electronics derived from fiber to the home (FTTH). Sometimes also
referred to as fiber to the desk or FTTD, POLs, POLANs, passive
optical LANs or FTTO, fiber to the office, these are LANs (local
area networks) that are based on optical fiber cabling, not
copper, and are of great interest to many contractors, installers
and end users. OLANs have been covered extensively in the trade
press and are being promoted by many vendors, so there is plenty
of interest in learning more about them. This course will provide
an overview of the three types of optical LANs, their advantages
over traditional LANs and how to design, install and test them. Complete
the course and case study and you can take the Fiber
U Certificate of Completion exam.
Get a
"Certificate of Completion" for taking Fiber U online self-study
programs.
Finish a
Fiber U online self-study program and get a "Certificate of
Completion" for the course. After completion of these courses, you
can take an online exam at nominal cost ($20US) and get a "Fiber U
Certificate of Completion" for the online course.
Please
note: receiving this Fiber U Certificate of
Completion does not include FOA certification but it does
become documentation of your knowledge of fiber optics and
should be part of your portfolio of documented knowledge,
other training and work experience that can qualify you to
apply for FOA direct FOA certification through the FOA "Work
to Cert" program.
For
more information on the Fiber U Certificate of
Completion program, go
here.
For more information on
the FOA and its certification programs, go to the FOA
page on certification.
For information on the FOA "Work to Cert" direct
certification program for those with industry experience, go
here.
FOA
Certification Programs
FOA
Certification
Unless you already have field experience, you can't get FOA CFOT®
or CPCT certified just by taking online courses at Fiber U because
you can't develop hands-on skills needed for fiber optics on a
computer! But using these self-study courses, you can prepare
yourself for training at one of our hundreds of FOA-Approved
schools around the world, refresh your knowledge from your own
CFOT training or study for FOA exams if you are experienced in
fiber optics and want to apply for direct certification.
If you do
have field experience, you may qualify for the FOA "Work to Cert"
direct certification program.
For
more information on the FOA and its certification programs,
go to the FOA
page on certification.
For information on the FOA "Work to Cert" direct
certification program for those with industry experience, go
here.
FOA Resources
Join
Us On LinkedIn
FOA has
started a LinkedIn group on "Fiber Optic Training" where you will
find discussions on fiber optic training, listings of training
courses and even some free "instructor-led" courses. Join
the FOA LinkedIn
group on "Fiber Optic Training."
Need need to know how
to test a fiber optic cable plant, patchcords or system
electronics? Here are "QuickStart Guides" to fiber optic testing
that can help you learn it in minutes!
Fiber
Optic Cable Plant And Patchcord Testing
Power
Measurements in Fiber Optic Communications Systems
Testing
The Cable Plant With An OTDR
FOA iPad App -
Self-Study in Fiber Optics
The FOA has an App for the iPad, a self-study version of the FOA
Reference Guide to Fiber Optics. The
FOA APP builds on the FOA basic fiber optic textbook to create an
interactive learning environment. It builds on the iBook
electronic version of the book to add a guide to use for
self-study and real-time self-testing that provides feedback on
what you have learned and correct answers to questions answered
incorrectly.
The FOA APP
is priced at only $9.99, same as the iBook, so the self-study
program is free.
Download it from the Apple APP Store with your iPad or iTunes.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/foa-guide/id434354283?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Reference Books
from The FOA
FOA has
created these textbooks to be used in training for FOA
certifications and as reference books for contractors,
installers and end users of fiber optics. Many are cited in the
Fiber U self-study courses. All FOA books are available in
printed form at Amazon.com, and some also as eBooks on the
Amazon Kindle or as Apple iBooks for the iPad/iPhone/iPod.
Go
here for more information.
The
FOA is using YouTube to host a large number of instructional
videos including lecture series on fiber optics and premises
cabling plus dozens of hands-on videos.
See the FOA Lecture Series and dozens of hands-on instructional
videos and lectures about fiber optics and premises cabling on the
FOA YouTube Channel - "thefoainc"
Here
is a listing of all the current FOA YouTube Videos
- Getting Started Guides
Take the
short course "Fiber
Optics In Communications - And How It Works" - an
introduction to fiber optics in communications and fiber optic
technology.
Or read these two introductory guides:
These two guides
are simple introductions to the subjects. They will explain the
applications, jargon, components and installation in a quick
overview.
- Lennie
Lightwave's Guide to Fiber Optics (online) and available
as a free
iBook on iTunes
- Uncle
Ted's Guide to Communications Cabling (online)
and available as a free
iBook on iTunes
Lennie
and Uncle Ted are now available as free
iBooks on iTunes
Learn
more about fiber optics at the FOA Online Reference Guide to
Fiber Optics: www.foaguide.org
Fiber U
History
Fiber U
began as a training conference run by Fotec, the fiber optic test
equipment company started by Jim Hayes, now FOA President. Fiber U
combined lectures by many highly knowledgeable instructors and had
participating manufacturers to provide hands-on training on their
equipment. During the 1990s, dozens of Fiber U conferences were
held as a standalone conference and as part of major trade shows
and meetings. Conferences had up to 250 students and 40
vendors, taking over complete hotels and filling conference areas
- even parking lots - with training sessions.
After
the 1994 conference, the Fiber U instructors decided that the
fiber optic industry was ready to have its own professional
society and the FOA was born.
Fiber U also pioneered online training, starting in 1997 using
techniques just like we use today which we learned from a teacher
who was a summer intern at Fotec.
Photos
from the original Fiber U conferences.
Lennie Lightwave was the cartoon mascot created for the original
Fiber U conference in 1993. Lennie has been called the most famous
guy in fiber optics. Lennie Lightwave's Guide to Fiber
Optics was published 20 years ago as a simple, easy to understand
introduction to fiber optics. The web version of Lennie
Lightwave's Guide to Fiber Optics
was one of the first commercial web pages ever and introduced many
people to fiber optic technology. Now Lennie's Guide and Uncle
Ted's Guide to Communications Cabling,
the premises cabling equivalent, are still two of the most popular
sites for getting started in the fiber optics and premises cabling
business.
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Use of Fiber U Material
This
information is provided by The Fiber Optic Association, Inc. as
a benefit to those interested in teaching, designing,
manufacturing, selling, installing or using fiber optic
communications systems or networks. It is intended to be used as
a overview and/or basic guidelines and in no way should be
considered to be complete or comprehensive. These guidelines are
strictly the opinion of the FOA and the reader is expected to
use them as a basis for learning, as a reference and for
creating their own documentation, project specifications, etc.
Those working with fiber optics in the classroom, laboratory or
field should follow all safety rules carefully. The FOA assumes
no liability for the use of any of this material.
All
FOA materials are copyrighted and subject to legal restrictions
on its use. The FOA is glad to have the Fiber U material used
for reference, education, etc. as long as the FOA
Guidelines are followed and the source of the material
(FOA) is identified with attribution.
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