Engineers new to fiber
You can follow the procedure, but nobody explained why the numbers are what they are. This starts at the vocabulary and the signal path.
Optical Network Training
FTTx training written by someone who built the hardware.
Nearly twenty years in optical infrastructure and equipment development, and field training delivered in nine countries. These lessons cover what actually decides whether a link comes up: network structure, split loss, power budget, and fault localisation.
20 yrs
Fiber infrastructure and hardware development
9
Countries where training was delivered on site
20+
Hardware products developed and commercialised
17
Core patents
Who it is for
Written for the person who has to decide on site
Teams inheriting a network
You maintain plant somebody else designed. The lessons focus on reading drawings, budgeting loss, and locating faults.
Operators training in-house
Written to be handed to a new hire directly. Each lesson ends with the decisions that matter on site, not a vendor feature list.
Curriculum
Optical Network Training
From FTTx network architecture to field measurement and fault finding. A practical track built so that engineers new to the equipment can understand the principles and make their own judgement calls on site.
- 12 min
Lesson 1
Reading an FTTx Network in One Picture
From the central office to the subscriber premises — the full path an optical signal travels, and what each point on it actually does.
- 14 min
Lesson 2
PON and Optical Splitters — How 32 Homes Share One Fiber
Why we do not run a dedicated fiber to every subscriber, how a passive optical network keeps traffic from colliding, and what the split ratio means in the field.
- 15 min
Lesson 3
Optical Power Budget — Where a Link Lives or Dies
The difference between dB and dBm, how to add up real link loss, and which margins you have to reserve so a design survives contact with the field.
- 16 min
Lesson 4
Finding Faults with an OTDR — How to Read the Trace
Telling splices, connectors and breaks apart on an OTDR trace, and the measurement settings that quietly change what you see.
- 10 min
Lesson 5
Single-mode or Multimode — Choosing the Right Fiber
Why access networks are almost always single-mode, what actually differs between the two, and the mistakes that happen when the wrong fiber ends up on a reel.
- 12 min
Lesson 6
Fusion Splicing — What Actually Makes a Good Splice
The five steps of a splice, what the splicer's loss estimate does and does not tell you, and why most bad splices fail before the arc ever fires.
- 11 min
Lesson 7
Connectors and End-face Contamination — The Number One Field Fault
Connector types you will meet, why polish grade matters for PON, and the inspect-clean-inspect habit that prevents most of the faults you will be called out for.
- 11 min
Lesson 8
Bend Radius, Slack and Enclosure Discipline
Why light leaks out of a bend, how much slack to leave and where, and the enclosure habits that decide whether the next engineer can work on your plant.
- 12 min
Lesson 9
Aerial, Duct and Direct-buried — Route Types and How Each One Fails
The three ways cable gets from A to B, what damages each of them, and how route choice quietly determines your maintenance workload for the next decade.
- 12 min
Lesson 10
Insertion Loss Testing — The Measurement That Actually Decides Acceptance
Power meter and light source, reference methods, and why the number you get depends entirely on how you set the reference.
- 13 min
Lesson 11
Reading an OTDR Event Table Without Trusting It Blindly
The automated event table is a starting point, not an answer. How to verify each event with markers, and the artefacts that fool the software.
- 12 min
Lesson 12
Acceptance Testing — What to Record and Why It Matters Later
Handover is the one moment when measuring everything is cheap. What belongs in the acceptance pack, and the omissions that cost years later.
- 9 min
Lesson 13
The Visual Fault Locator — When Red Light Beats an OTDR
A cheap red laser solves a class of problems the OTDR cannot touch. What it finds, what it cannot, and how to use it without hurting anyone.
- 10 min
Lesson 14
Test Documentation That Is Still Useful in Year Three
Most fiber records fail not because data was missing but because nobody could find or interpret it. What makes a record survive staff turnover.
- 11 min
Lesson 15
A Triage Order for Fiber Faults
Most outages are resolved by the first two steps. A fixed sequence that stops engineers from opening enclosures on a hunch.
- 12 min
Lesson 16
Intermittent Faults — Temperature, Water and Movement
The faults that pass every test you run. How to catch a problem that only appears at 4 a.m. in February.
- 11 min
Lesson 17
The ONU Will Not Register — Working Through the Layers
A new install that will not come up is usually not a fiber problem. Separating optical faults from provisioning faults, in order.
- 12 min
Lesson 18
Rogue ONU — When One Unit Breaks the Whole PON
A single misbehaving ONU can take down every subscriber on the port. Why the shared upstream makes this possible, and how to find the culprit.
- 12 min
Lesson 19
Emergency Restoration — Getting Service Back, Then Doing It Properly
A cut cable at night is a different job from a planned splice. What to do first, what to defer, and how to make sure the temporary repair does not become permanent by accident.
- 12 min
Lesson 20
GPON, XGS-PON and the Wavelength Plan
How multiple PON generations share one fiber, which wavelengths belong to which service, and why the plan constrains everything you can do later.
- 12 min
Lesson 21
Coexistence — Running a New PON Over Existing Plant
Upgrading without a forklift replacement. How coexistence elements work, what they cost you in budget, and the migration sequence that avoids outages.
- 11 min
Lesson 22
Capacity Planning — Split Ratio as a Business Decision
How many subscribers should share a port. Balancing loss budget, bandwidth per subscriber and construction cost, and why the answer changes over time.
- 11 min
Lesson 23
In-building Distribution — Where Most Installation Time Goes
Getting fiber from the building entry to the apartment. Riser design, bend-insensitive cable, and why the last thirty metres cost more than the last three kilometres.
- 11 min
Lesson 24
What Changes as PON Rates Keep Rising
50G PON and beyond. Which field practices matter more at higher rates, which plant decisions become irreversible, and what to do now.
- 10 min
Lesson 25
Reading Cleave Angle and Keeping the Cleaver in Shape
A ten-minute lesson on how to read the end-face angle before fusion splicing, and in what order to check cleaning, blade position and blade height when a large cleave angle warning appears, based on a standard and manufacturer documents.
- 10 min
Lesson 26
Anchoring Cables and Terminating Strength Members in Closures
A ten-minute lesson on how cable jacket retention, strength member termination and sealing parts each do a different job in a splice closure, how to read strength member lengths, and what to check and record afterward, based on manufacturer installation instructions.
- 10 min
Lesson 27
Closure Cable Preparation and Tray Securing
Cable preparation length for a splice closure comes from the manufacturer's manual. How to read sheath removal, tube securing, tray-cover pinching and re-entry checks as one sequence.
- 10 min
Lesson 28
Reading Fiber Connector Cleaner Specifications: Target, Push Count and Dry or Wet Use
A ten-minute lesson on how to read the labels and instructions of fiber connector cleaning tools: the target connector and ferrule size, how many pushes a clean takes, what a cleaning-count figure counts, and when wet-to-dry follows dry cleaning, based on six manufacturer documents and an FOA page.
- 10 min
Lesson 29
Fiber Inspection Evidence Handover
A practical handover method linking mating-face images, inspection limits, identifiers and optical test records, with FI-3000 examples from its 2019 manual.
- 10 min
Lesson 30
Dome Closure Seal Check and Leak Response
How to pressurize a dome splice closure right after assembly and check its seals. Using Panduit installation instructions FS152 as the example: cap tightening, gasket seating, soapy-water check and leak-location actions.
- 10 min
Lesson 31
Reading Live Fiber Identifier Results
A ten-minute lesson on reading a live fiber identifier's activity, direction and tone indications, its stated insertion loss and its sensitivity limits from manufacturer documents, so that no-signal is never treated as proof of a dark fiber.
- 10 min
Lesson 32
Reading MPO Polarity Methods
A ten-minute lesson on separating MPO polarity Methods A, B, C, U1 and U2 from trunk, adapter and cord Types, and on finding mismatched parts in an order or test record.
- 10 min
Lesson 33
Routing and Labeling Patch Cords in an ODF
A ten-minute lesson on the order to set route, length, slack, bend radius and labels when dressing patch cords in an ODF, and what to recheck before closing, based on manufacturer and association documents.
- 10 min
Lesson 34
Reading an OLTS Light Source Datasheet: Output, Stability and Launch Condition
A ten-minute lesson on how to read an optical loss test set (OLTS) light source datasheet: wavelength tolerance and spectral width, how output power is stated, the time and warm-up behind a stability figure, which cord the multimode launch condition (encircled flux) was stated at, and the temperature the specification is valid for, based on five manufacturer documents and three FOA documents.
- 10 min
Lesson 35
Reading Optical Power Meter Specifications: Uncertainty, Calibrated Wavelengths and Range
A ten-minute lesson on how to read an optical power meter datasheet: what conditions an uncertainty figure was stated under, how calibrated and selected wavelengths differ, display range versus damage limit, errors at the ends of the range, and reference setting versus resolution, based on six manufacturer documents and two FOA documents.
- 10 min
Lesson 36
OTDR Dead Zones and Pulse Width
A ten-minute lesson on separating event detection from individual loss measurement and checking the conditions behind dead-zone specifications.
- 10 min
Lesson 37
OTDR Dual-Wavelength Bend Screening
Pair event losses at 1310 and 1550 nm, then separate bend-detection settings from acceptance requirements in a ten-minute lesson.
- 10 min
Lesson 38
Reading OTDR Datasheets: Dynamic Range, Measurable Distance and the Conditions Behind Them
A ten-minute lesson on the pulse width, averaging time and noise criterion behind an OTDR dynamic range figure, how far the same instrument can really find the fiber end or measure a 0.1 dB event, and how dead zones and the dead zone after a PON splitter are stated, based on five manufacturer documents and two FOA documents, with the points to carry into instrument selection and test records.
- 10 min
Lesson 39
OTDR Far-End Connector Loss Assessment
A ten-minute lesson on receive fibers, pulse width, recovered backscatter and reporting boundaries for defensible OTDR far-end connector results.
- 10 min
Lesson 40
Reading OTDR Ghost Events
A ten-minute lesson on distinguishing repeated reflections from physical connections and retaining analysis settings and remeasurement evidence.
- 10 min
Lesson 41
Reading PLC Splitter Datasheets: Insertion Loss, Uniformity and Test Conditions
A ten-minute lesson on how PLC splitter datasheets state insertion loss, whether connectors are included, how maximum and typical values differ, and what uniformity and directivity mean, with what to check before a number goes into a link budget.
- 10 min
Lesson 42
Reading Reflectance and ORL Test Reports
Separate sign conventions from measurement scope, and check the event, region, reference plane and measurement mode before comparing reflection results.
- 10 min
Lesson 43
Splice Protector and Tray Compatibility Checks
A ten-minute lesson on matching tray kits, splice modules and protector part numbers, separating splice counts from fiber counts, and holding decisions when documents conflict.
- 10 min
Lesson 44
Replacing Splicer Electrodes and Running Arc Calibration
A ten-minute lesson on reading the discharge count warning and splice symptoms to decide when to replace fusion splicer electrodes, and in what order to stabilize and calibrate afterward, based on manufacturer manuals.
- 10 min
Lesson 45
Reading Splicer Estimated Loss Against OTDR Results
A ten-minute lesson on what to trust, and in what order to check, when a fusion splicer's estimated loss and a one-direction OTDR reading disagree, based on manufacturer documents.
- 10 min
Lesson 46
Splicer Heater Programs and Sleeve Shrink Readout
A ten-minute lesson on choosing the heater program that matches a splice protection sleeve, where to place the sleeve and what to avoid during heating, how to read the shrink result, and how to check the heating plate, based on manufacturer manuals.
- 10 min
Lesson 47
Cleaning Splicer V-Grooves, Clamps and Objective Lenses
A ten-minute lesson on which splicer parts to clean for which symptom, how manufacturers differ on cleaning intervals and methods, and what to check and record after cleaning V-grooves, fiber clamps, objective lenses and LEDs, based on manufacturer documents.
- 10 min
Lesson 48
Reading Visual Fault Locator Specs, Class Labels and Range
A ten-minute lesson on how visual fault locator (VFL) manuals differ in wavelength and power, laser class wording, visible range, connector size and flashing mode, and on what to check on your own unit first.
- 25 min
Lesson 49
Choosing Fiber for the Link You Need
Part 1: distinguish OS/OM from ITU fibre categories, read application-specific reach tables, and specify optics, loss, connectors and cable construction.
- 25 min
Lesson 50
How 5G and FTTH Shape Fiber Demand
Part 2: connect broadband, 5G transport and AI data-centre demand to cable specifications, read market forecasts critically, and practise procurement and acceptance decisions.
- 60-minute lecture
Lesson 51
How RF Signals Travel over Optical Fiber
An instructor-led RFoF lecture covering optical conversion, analog and digital transport, link performance, fiber-plant requirements and measurement evidence.
FAQ
On-site training questions
- What does the FTTx field training cover?
- It is built on the 51-lesson FTTx curriculum on this page: network structure, split loss, optical power budget, enclosure work and fault localisation — the decisions that decide whether a link comes up on site.
- How are duration, cost, group size and completion arranged?
- They are set after a short consultation, based on who is being trained, how many people, the plant you operate and the site conditions. Include your team size and the tasks your team keeps getting stuck on when you enquire.
- Can the training follow our own equipment?
- Yes. Sessions can be built around the plant you actually operate: your split ratios, your enclosures and your measurement records.
- Who teaches it?
- Reedo (Jongsun Park). Nearly twenty years in optical infrastructure and FTTx equipment development, with field training delivered in nine countries: Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand, France, Qatar, Lebanon, China, Indonesia and Oman.
- Which languages and formats?
- Korean or English. Based in Korea and available remotely, including Zoom or Google Meet; on-site delivery is discussed case by case.
- How do I enquire?
- Email dms@dmssolution.co.kr. Replies usually arrive within one to two business days.
On-site training
Need this delivered to your field team instead?
Sessions can be built around the plant you actually operate: your split ratios, your enclosures, your measurement records. Tell me what your team keeps getting stuck on.