BROADBAND PROPERTIES SUMMIT ACTIVITIES

Taking the Certified Fiber To The Home Professional Test? Theres a Course for That
The Light Brigades two-day course is perfect for those who have responsibility for initiating, managing or promoting FTTH projects. Its also a quick pathway to preparation for the FTTH Councils new certication test.
By Steven S. Ross Broadband Properties

atching a master teacher at work is always thrilling, and Larry Johnson of The Light Brigade is a master teacher a teacher other teachers look up to. As founder of The Light Brigade, he has overseen the development and teaching of hundreds of courses for the ber-to-the-home in-

The Light Brigades new CFHP preparation course will be offered in Dallas, April 28 and 29, during and after the Summit.
making the jump from legacy technologies to FTTH. A broader view of the industry is also necessary for those who aspire to higher management in even the most technical companies. COURSES TaILORED tO StUDENtS NEEDS The two-day course is meant for both groups of students, says Johnson. The manual covers an enormous amount of technical ground and also explains the history of ber optics in communications, starting with Charles Kaos seminal 1965 paper. That does not mean that every detail in the 2-inch-thick course manual is covered every time the course is given. I concentrate on what is most important for the particular students taking that course

The Light Brigade CFHP course isnt only for test preparation many participants want to develop a broader view of the fiber-to-the-home industry.
dustry. He taught the rst FTTH course in 1987 in Orlando and was involved in all early ber eld trials, going back to GTEs rst deployments of commercial ber links in 1977. The Light Brigade, now owned by AFL Telecommunications, has taught more than 40,000 students worldwide in its two decades of operation. In December 2010, I took Johnsons Certied Fiber to the Home Professional course in Phoenix along with about 20 others. My fellow students included contractors, MDU managers and even a few engineers and vendor sales sta. Most said they were preparing for the FTTH Councils CFHP test, but many also wanted to develop a broader view of the industry a view beyond their narrow specialties. Passing the CFHP test, which was rst oered by the FTTH Council in 2010, is one way to raise a managers status in any organization involved with ber-borne broadband. The councils goal is to enhance job skills for those

About the Author

Steve Ross is the corporate editor of Broadband Properties. You can reach him at steve@broadbandproperties.com.

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BROADBAND PROPERTIES SUMMIT ACTIVITIES

Larry Johnson of The Light Brigade prepares students for certication as ber-to-the-home professionals.

session, Johnson says. Although most Light Brigade courses include hands-on technician training at the workbench, the CFHP course is strictly by-the-book. Those who have taken Light Brigade courses know that instructors use PowerPoint slides that are keyed directly to specic pages in the manual. Students see a page number in the upperright-hand corner of each slide and typically add their own notes on the manuals pages. In the course I attended, every 50 or 60 minutes of rapid-re lecturing was followed by a 10-minute, coeedrenched break. The two days ew by for me, and other students said they felt the same way. In 16 classroom hours, the CFHP course provides MDU owners, operators and managers, as well as service-provider managers, the technical knowledge required to oversee design, implementation and maintenance of all ber-to-the-home network architectures and technologies. Cost management is emphasized as well, with the ocial syllabus enriched by Johnsons own anecdotes.

Johnson tailors his classes to the specic needs and interests of each group of students.

TYPICAL CFHP COURSE-TAKERS

Management and supervisory sta Technical support managers and administrators Telephony and network engineers and administrators CATV/IPTV engineers and administrators Advanced network engineers, administrators and design specialists Contractors for inside-plant and outside-plant construction and service

ALL FTTH TEchNOLOGIES COVERED Although we are about ber [in national and metro networks, not just to the premises], we dont push specic technologies, says Johnson. Dierent technologies, such as RFoG, active Ethernet or GPON, may be best in specic situations, and the course will guide students to nd what is best for their network needs.

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BROADBAND PROPERTIES SUMMIT ACTIVITIES

Thus the course is perfect for beginners as well as for experienced ber designers and planners who need to broaden their knowledge. Ive been covering the industry full-time since 2004 and have taken 80-hour, handson courses for both inside- and outsideplant design and hands-on construction. I still learned a lot. In class, Johnson also tells students how many FTTH certication questions will come from each chapter a psychological aid for those who fear test taking. The syllabus was reviewed by the

THE CFHP COURSE AT THE SUMMIT

The two-day CFHP course will be given Thursday and Friday of Broadband Properties Summit week, April 28 and 29. Tuition is normally $850, but you can attend both the class and the Summit for just $995. To register, go to http://www.bbpmag.com/2011s/11ftthcertication.php. The online Certied Fiber to the Home Professional (CFHP) certication exam is administered by the FTTH Council for a $150 examination and certication fee payable online directly to the FTTH Council. (This fee is not included in the course tuition.) The open-book test consists of 75 questions randomly selected from a large pool of possible questions. Students have two hours to complete it and can take one free retest. Certication is valid for three years. Updated copies of the course manual are available from The Light Brigade for $100 to students who have taken the course. Getting the CFHP certication is a great way to tell top management that you have the skills to get the job done! Details are at http://www.ftth council.org/en/content/ftthcouncil-certication-programs. See The Light Brigade founder Larry Johnson in the classroom (taped in December 2010 as he taught this course in Phoenix) and hear what he has to say about who should attend. http://www.bbpmag. com/2011s/11brigade/brigade 11.php For a complete listing of The Light Brigade classroom and DVD-based courses, see www.lightbrigade.com or call 800-451-7128.

Many students were interested in knowing more about the history of ber optics.

A benet of the CFHP course is the thorough and authoritative instruction manual.

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The CFHP course is aimed especially at managers in smaller organizations, such as independent telcos and cable companies, property managers and municipal broadband systems.
FTTH Council and nalized only last summer. After successfully completing the course, students should have the knowledge needed to successfully build and maintain any rst-mile, ber-based network, including GPON, EPON and RFoG. The course (and FTTH Council certication) is aimed especially at managers in smaller organizations, such as Tier-3 ILECs, CLECs and MSOs. Ocers of property management companies and municipal broadband systems, and even regulatory personnel, will also nd the course invaluable. BBP

Topics CoVereD iN the CFHP Course:

Applications Drivers for ber deployment Basic ber terminology Todays applications Bandwidth Issues Analog and digital video IP video delivery Future trends Economics (Capex and Opex) Design impacts Migration path considerations Maintenance and operations issues FTTH Evolution FTTH origins and eld trials The impact of FSAN Theory of Fiber Optics Attenuation, dispersion and reectance Optical ber characteristics Single-mode optical ber types Fiber Cable Installation System standards Feeder, distribution and drops Physical plant standards FTTH Architectures GPON BPON 10G-PON WDM-PON Active Ethernet EPON 10GEPON RF Overlay and RFOG FTTx Network Topologies Physical topologies FTTP FTTC FTTH FTTB FTTB/MDU Premises Network Components Lasers and detectors Splitters, lters and WDM OLT ONT Ethernet switches Cables Cable designs and structures Cable handling and installation Cable Management Panels hubs pedestals closures FDH FAT MST FTTB/MDU premises installations Cable and ber termination options: Common FTTx termination options, including fusion, ribbon, pigtail, mechanical splicing and preterminated options Splitter Placement P2MP Centralized, distribution, home run P2P Growth and migration options Network Design and Loss Budgets Loss budgets for FTTP networks Components and specications Not to exceed charts Test Disciplines and Equipment Network tests and equipment Testing challenges System-related problems Review Summary FTTH planning FTTH design engineering Construction planning

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