The Fiber Optic Association, Inc. (FOA)

2025 Will Bring.... We don't have a crystal ball so we don't do a lot of speculation, but we are willing to share what we are watching for. We expect both land and sea systems to continue to be strong. Data centers, we're not so sure about. While investors continue to fund AI startups with $billions needed for data centers dedicated to AI, we know investors are poor predictors of market success because they follow the hype. The cracks in the the AI hype are already starting to appear. Some claim it has already been trained on all the data on the Internet, possible since that is how search engines work, so now it's training on the misinformation it created itself or users are finding it is unable to reason simple tasks like word problems in math. And the power consumption problem is not easily solved. Like 5G, the hype overshadowed the reality at first, but reality eventually won out. FTTH continues strong everywhere because it is a sensible solution, new products ease installation and the cost has become reasonable. In the US, FTTH is going to face a new problem and it is not cost, it's politics. The change in US administrations may signal a decline in funding for fiber broadband and a move to use low earth orbit satellites instead. It is interesting (scary?) to consider how technology markets are so vulnerable to hype. Fiber optics has weathered economic fluctuations in the past, but has proven highly vulnerable to hype. The hype over the Internet in the late 1990s created a frenzy in the fiber optics marketplace, but the bursting of the Internet bubble in 2001 devastated the industry. The hype over 5G had a smaller but similar effect. More recently we've seen the hype over US government funding of broadband, especially BEAD, which has already caused chaos in the supplier market, first in oversupply and then the actual BEAD funded projects which have yet to materialize - and may never happen. May you live in interesting times!

2024 In The Fiber Optic Industry Fiber optics is a number of diverse applications, so taking a year-end snapshot of the industry requires taking some very different points of view. One of the more important applications is one of the smallest, the submarine cables connecting the world. It also seems to be one of the most stable, with demand for bandwidth rising, the demand for cables seems unending. According to Telegeography https://lnkd.in/gqv5iQWJ there are currently 559 cable systems with 1,636 landing points in use or under construction, up from 529/1444 a year earlier. The world depends on these cables so the cable failures in the past year were troublesome, especially those suspected of sabotage (we posted about this not long ago) Telegeography map of submarine cables, 2024 https://lnkd.in/fiFa2G2 Once you move to land-based systems, the numbers are undoubtedly large but hard to actually enumerate. Africa and South America are continuing to catch up, bringing submarine landings inland. FTTH has become commonplace, data centers are being built wherever power is available and cellular networks continue expanding and upgrading. The most interesting news about land-based systems was that ITU (International Telecommunications Union) was heading a consortium trying to map the world's fiber optic networks. In terms of applications, the most attention was focused on data centers and FTTH. The drive behind the data center frenzy was AI - artificial intelligence. The problem was power for the new high speed processors needed for AI and some of the solutions were puzzling, fusion power, small nuclear reactors onsite, restart Three Mile Island or coal power plants - just about everything but developing the area around Chernobyl! In the US, the government programs to connect everybody to broadband got most of the attention and fed the hype machine almost daily. The programs were however complex to start up and administer so by the end of the year only saw the allocations completed but it seems no projects funded at the state level.

2024 In Fiber Optic Components In 2024 the important developments in fiber optics were focused on improving fiber density in installations. One change, modifying singlemode fiber to bend resistant designs similar to G.657.A1 has allowed the size of cables to be reduced and increased their ruggedness. Reducing the size and weight of fiber optic cables is important today, as the demand for bandwidth leads to the need for more fibers in long distance and middle mile networks. Smaller cables with more fibers allow installing more cables in existing underground ducts or using microtrenching for less costly and disruptive construction. It also permits lashing more cables to current aerial cable bundles without overloading the messenger. The other change in new cables is the move to flexible ribbon designs, with a dozen fibers loosely bound together to allow packing more fibers in smaller cables. Ribbon splicing can also be done in a fraction of the time required for single fiber splicing. That means contractors need to add a modern ribbon fusion splicer to their tool kit, and those tools have been improved as well. Several new fiber optic connectors have been standardized that increase density at patch panels, a necessity with the new high fiber count cables. These connectors use LC ferrules but align them vertically instead of horizontally, allowing higher density of connectors in patch panels. Other major component changes have been made with fiber optic transceivers for networking equipment. As speeds continue to get faster to allow more bandwidth, coherent transmission is being adopted for speeds of 100 Gb/s or higher. What was once a complete printed circuit board in a system is now available in a plug-in module. Likewise, the passive optical network (PON) head end system called an optical line terminal (OLT) has also been reduced to a plug-in module, allowing a service provider to eliminate a rack-mounted OLT with an Internet router and a plug-in module. Both these reduce system size and costs, making network expansion easier. Photo: 144 & 288 fiber microcables

2024 At FOA FOA certifications headed for 100K Last year FOA reached an amazing milestone - 100,000 certified fiber optic technicians who hold over 130,000 FOA certifications https://lnkd.in/gQEtpXrf. The CFOT® Certified Fiber Optic Technician was the vast majority of certifications, with the CPCT Certified Premises Cabling Technician, Splicing, Testing, OSP, Design and FTTH certifications also popular. With all the discussion about the need to expand the fiber optic workforce, it is notable that the FOA has been working behind the scenes for decades to create a network of training organizations capable of training the fiber optic workforce the industry needs. Reaching this milestone shows the capability of the FOA worldwide network of training organizations. Read what the industry says about FOA's milestone in the December 2024 FOA Newsletter. https://lnkd.in/gJb5BM-d The FOA network of approved training organizations https://lnkd.in/gJD93aku grew substantially in 2024. In the US, several states adopted the FOA program for both college curriculum and continuing education. We finally see some adoption at the secondary school level, a critical time for recruiting for the trades. FOA's partnership with the IBEW/NECA electrical training Alliance training centers continued to expand in both locations and curriculum. The FOA network of schools outside the US remains the choice for service providers, telecom ministries and contractors worldwide. 2024 saw a major update of the FOA basic fiber optics textbook, The FOA Reference Guide to Fiber Optics https://lnkd.in/gJnMqmbX, with updates to the FOA guide and recommended curriculum along with the book. Next year will see a similar update for the Design textbook https://lnkd.in/grhb94Mr. The popular FOA online credentials got a few minor updates also. Those holding current FOA credentials can now print a wallet-size card as well as a certificate for their certification.

Good Questions that the FOA has received: Pulling Fiber Optic Cables In Metal Conduit Q: Often when constructing fibre, it is encased in steel pipes (e.g. when being attached to buildings or bridges. I am seeking guidance on a case where the encasement has to make a right angle (or less) turn. How is the installation done? Considering possible challenges in duct laying and fibre pushing / blowing A: The bend radius of the conduit should be kept large to not cause excess friction on the cable that would require high pulling tension. Low friction plastic duct can be pulled into the conduit first or cable lubricant used before the cable is pulled into the duct or conduit. Radiation Effects In Fiber Optic Cables Q: We were asked about fiber optic cables in presents of nuclear radiation in reactors. Will radiation affect the glass fiber? Is jacket material affected by radiation? A: This has been a topic of discussion and study since the first optical fiber use, first relative to use in nuclear power plants and nuclear-powered subs and ships. Today fiber is used in satellites and the ISS. Fiber can be sensitive to radiation and is therefore used as a sensor for radiation in some experiments. Normal fibers work in most environments - wherever it is safe for humans - and special fibers and cables are used in high-radiation areas. PC and APC Connectors Q: Can you confirm whether there is a 1 mm gap in APC and UPC optical connectors? A: PC, UPC and APC connectors are all physical contact connectors - that’s what “PC” means. If you had a gap between the connectors when making a connection, you would have higher loss and reflectance except on the APC. Broken Fibers Q: What could be the main reasons for this? A buried fibre cable has broken cores, such that different cores break at different distances (e.g. core 1 and 2 break at 6 km, core 5 and 9 break at 28km, etc) Why would a core break at a point where other cores are not even showing a loss? A: A likely cause is exceeding the pulling tension or bend radius of the cable during installation. How it affects fibers could be due to the alignment of fibers at different points or how the cable was stressed during installation. Often fiber is pulled using pulleys too small or over a small radius exiting a duct.

The January FOA newsletter is online now! Welcome to 2025 We always like to start off the New Year with a review of the past year and some thoughts on the coming year. For the last few years, we used the word "uncertainty" often in our New Year review, and this year is no exception. Features: • Welcome to 2025 • Review Of 2024 And Looking To 2025 • OFC Turns 50 • FOA News • What's New And Popular On FOA Website News: • FOCUS On Submariiinge Cables And Operations • Submarine Cables In The News • Baltic Sea Cable Sabotage? • FCC Review Of Submarine Cable Rules • FTTH Training Video In French Technical: • Fiber Optic Ducts And Microducts • What Technical Advisors Are Telling US • Aerial Cable Plant Workmanship • Is SM Fiber Loss Directional • Important Change in Singlemode Fiber • Updated OTDR Trainer Worth Reading Lots of interesting articles to read, watch or listen to. Fiber optic technology, standards, equipment, installation, etc.

Need A Fiber Optic Course Onsite? Invite an FOA School To Come To You FOA often gets inquiries from an organization that has personnel that needs training in fiber optics. Recent inquiries have included contractors, a manufacturer of high-reliability products using fiber optics and a cable manufacturer. In many cases, where there are several people needing training, FOA can recommend a FOA Approved School and Certified Instructor who will come to their location to teach a class. The advantage is of course the savings in travel costs if the class comes to you, but it also offers the opportunity to customize the course to fit your needs, even use your equipment or work on your components, so the training is more relevant to those taking the class. Contact FOA to discuss the idea of a custom, on-site class to see if it will better meet your needs. Please note that all FOA approved training programs are individually run. You must contact a school directly for the current prices and course schedule. https://lnkd.in/g2FnXn2q

AFL Introduces 16-Fiber OLTS The FlowScout MPO OLTS, which is capable of testing duplex LCs, 8-fiber MPOs, and 12-fiber MPOs in addition to 16-fiber MPOs and 16-fiber MMCs, performs the 16-fiber test in 6 seconds. https://lnkd.in/g6KM_Xzs

FOA School Creates FTTH Training Video In French Serge Rodrigue, CFHP, CFCE, CFOS/I, MTCNA of Fibre Zone Inc., the FOA School in Quebec, Canada, has created a short video on fiber optics and FTTH in French. Serge teaches fiber in Canada and Africa in French. L'école FOA crée une vidéo de formation FTTH en français Serge Rodrigue de Fibre Zone, l'école FOA du Québec, Canada, a créé une courte vidéo sur la fibre optique et le FTTH en français. Serge enseigne la fibre au Canada et en Afrique en français. Découvrez notre nouvelle capsule Formation Express et plongez dans l’univers du FTTH, la technologie fibre optique qui transforme les réseaux de demain.

“Over the last couple of years, there have been lots of discussions about the fiber optic workforce … Many of the people discussing this were not really familiar with it and produced some highly inaccurate estimates of the personnel needed.” Jim Hayes, President, The Fiber Optic Association, Inc. (FOA). Read on. #Telecom #Broadband #Network #B2B #Internet #Automation #FTTH #5G #Connectivity https://bit.ly/3GY1Psz https://bit.ly/3rmQ9Lj