Last month, I described the long-time use of fiber optics by electrical utilities for communications and grid management. Now, let’s look at current events and see how this long history with fiber might solve the rural...
The House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill to spend $1.2 trillion on upgrading the nation’s infrastructure, including rebuilding roads and bridges, expanding internet access and other projects, on Nov. 5, 2021. It...
Optical power is to fiber optics like voltage is to the electrical field—it is the primary measurement unit and is fundamental to almost all other measurements. Optical power meters are used to measure transmitter output and...
Electrical utilities were among the first in the industry to adopt fiber optics, closely following the telephone companies, who were involved in developing the technology. Telcos saw fiber optics as the most cost-effective...
Several of the Fiber Optic Association’s (FOA) directors are experienced fiber techs and trainers interested in methods of delivering and assessing the effectiveness of online training. Needless to say, our discussions have...
When a fiber optic tech splices cables, makes terminations behind patch panels or selects patch cords to interconnect cables or connect electronic equipment, they use color codes to make the proper connections. These color...
While watching David Attenborough’s new series “Life in Color”—which I highly recommend—it’s easy to see how important color is in nature. Plants and animals use color for camouflage, warning, mating and plenty more. It’s...
In October 2020, I discussed data centers in smart buildings and how it could affect the building design, especially when considering the needs of power-user tenants. I briefly mentioned communications services entrance...
Editor’s Note: This article is intended to be used as a quick reference on multimode fibers and popular networks, so you may want to bookmark it for future reference. Ethernet is the name of the computer network used in...
Networks running on fiber optics are generally state-of-the-art, but even advanced networks can be improved. That means faster speeds and more traffic density. Many network enhancements can be done without upgrading the fiber...
When someone mentions safety, of course the first thing you think about is protecting your workers and yourself from harm on the job. While obviously important, I want to address another safety issue: installed fiber optic...
In my April Fiber Optics column, “A Comprehensive Scope of Work,” I described how a fiber optic cable plant design and installation could benefit from “midspan access.” I tried to describe the technique, but doing that with...
A city manager called the Fiber Optics Association for advice regarding a fiber optic network his organization was planning. They were developing the scope of work and a request for proposal on a fiber optic network that...
Wiring to ensure quality and constant connectivity in commercial developments has become a larger part of the job for electrical contractors. A road map for success would be helpful. WiredScore may be one solution. Begun in...
Sometimes the simple things get ignored, or lost, or forgotten. With all the technical questions we get at the Fiber Optics Association, we are often reminded that these details are sometimes very important and are worthy of...
My February column covers the reasons for power and loss budgets and how to interpret them. In this article, I’ll show you how to calculate loss budgets properly. Remember the differences: a power budget gives you the range...
When you design and build a fiber optic network, the goal is to have it work properly with the communications networks you need. Communications networks generally specify only two parameters for the cable plant: the type of...
In my January 2020 fiber optic update, I wrote, “But later in the year [2019], it seemed that disruption was being disrupted.” Well, 2020 did not wait until later in the year; disruption began in full force by early March...
Around the world, hundreds of millions of homes and businesses are connected to the internet on optical fiber, and almost every one with a network architecture called passive optical network (PON). There are two main...
When I first started working in fiber optics 40-plus years ago, the world was quite different. Computers were big rooms full of cabinets used by businesses and monitors had cathode-ray tubes, just like the televisions back...
