NEW: The FOA Standard For Installing Fiber Optic Cable Plants.
Since the TIA and ISO/IEC standards were written by
manufacturers for manufacturers, of fiber optic components they often are
not
relevant for cable plant designers, contractors,
installers or users, the people who are the
majority of the FOA
constituency. The FOA charter is "To promote
professionalism in fiber optics through education, certification and
standards," and has been involved in these standards
committees for decades.
FOA decided to
write an FOA interpretation of these standards for our
audience - those cable plant designers,
contractors, installers and users. FOA standards
are
written to be easily understood and applied, as
well as
relevant to the applications, and follow other
industry
standards for the components and communications
systems
which run over these cable plants. And we
challenged ourselves to summarize these standards into one simple page!
The FOA is involved in several groups that write standards for fiber
optic components, network design, installation and testing and some FOA
personnel have been involved in writing standards for over 35 years, so
we understand standards. Many FOA members are contractors, designers and
installers who work in the field everyday and need to work to industry
standards, but don't always know which standards are appropriate for
their jobs, have copies of the applicable standards or can afford to
purchase some of them which are often so expensive. The FOA has a
solution: 1 Page Standards.
FOA's Standards are concise standards created by FOA with
the participation of experts in the field for the most common issues
affecting fiber optic network owners, contractors, designers and
installers. Each standard summarizes what the reader needs to know in
just 1 page. Each of the FOA's Standards will reference other industry
standards that are similar in scope and which are used as the basis of
the FOA standard, allowing FOA standards to be substituted for them.
These FOA standards can be used for reference in project paperwork when
the user and contractor need to be certain they agree what is being
specified for the project.
You may wonder what is a standard anyway? Here is one definition by the world's biggest standards organization that precisely defines what the FOA is doing:
ISO/IEC Guide 2:1996, definition 3.2 defines a standard as:
'A document established by consensus and approved by a
recognized body that provides for common and repeated use, rules,
guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at
the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context'.
FOA standards are developed by FOA members whose expertise
is in the technical areas covered by the standards and whose experience
in the industry ensures FOA standards being accurate, relevant and
current. Many of these people have been contributing to industry
standards themselves for decades.
Guidelines for FOA standards are explained here
for FOA members working on the standards and users who are interested
in how standards are developed. Just to be complete, where appropriate,
FOA 1 Page Standards will be backed up by information that explains
issues like appropriateness of the test, measurement uncertainty, and
provide references to other similar industry standards.
And best of all, FOA Standards are free!
Notes:
When referring to FOA Standards in project paperwork,
such as when including in a Statement of Work, RFQ, RFP or contract, it
should read something like this: "Testing the installed fiber optic
cable plant shall be done according to FOA Standard FOA-1: Testing Loss of Installed Fiber Optic Cable Plant."
While
FOA standards are copyrighted, feel free to download the files to
include in your own project documents or print copies for your
associates, customers, students, etc. Do not post these documents on
your own website, but you are free to link to this page.
Like
all standards, FOA's Standards are only guidelines for design,
installation and testing of fiber optic networks. The owner, contractor,
designer or installer are always responsible for the work involved. FOA
assumes no responsibility or liability for the use of these standards
nor for any projects using them.
FOA 1 Page Standards Downloads
All are 1 page PDFs. References in (...) are other similar
industry standards. Click on the "QR code" at the end of each standard for
additional information and links.
Fiber Optic Testing
FOA Standard FOA-1:
Testing Loss of Installed Fiber Optic Cable Plant, (Insertion Loss, TIA
OFSTP-14, OFSTP-7, ISO/IEC 61280, ISO/IEC 14763, etc.) More
FOA Standard FOA-2: Testing Loss of Fiber Optic Cables, Single Ended, (Insertion Loss, TIA FOTP-171, OFSTP-7, , ISO/IEC 14763) More
FOA Standard FOA-3: Measuring Optical Power (Transmitter and Receiver Power, FOTP-95, Numerous ISO/IEC standards) More
FOA Standard FOA-4: OTDR Testing of Fiber Optic Cable Plant (TIA FOTP-8/59/60/61/78, ISO/IEC 14763, etc.) More
FOA Standard FOA-7: Mode Conditioning For Testing Multimode Fiber Optic Cables (Mandrel wrap, encircled flux)
FOA Standard FOA-8: Inspection and Cleaning of Fiber Optic Connectors
Fiber Optic Subsystems And Systems
FOA Standard FOA-5 Fiber Optic Datalinks
FOA Standard FOA-6 Fiber Optic Cable Plant
Installation
The FOA Standard For Installing Fiber Optic Cable Plants.
To create a standard for the installation of fiber optic
cable plants, FOA called upon the expertise of our worldwide network of
technical
advisors, many of whom are also FOA instructors, whose knowledge and
experience is unmatched. Many of them have contributed to the FOA
knowledge base - textbooks, web pages, videos and Newsletter articles.
The FOA knowledge base provided a basis for development of the standard
and our advisors contributed much more. Drafts were circulated until we
felt we had covered most of the applications.
This is not your usual standard.
- It recognizes that every fiber optic project is different. OSP or premises. Underground or Aerial. Backbone or FTTX.
- It provides guidelines for various installations, relying on the
user to interpret these guidelines for their actual installation.
- It covers most installation types except submarine cables.
- It includes an Annex of references to FOA technical material.
- It's open source. Users are free to choose the sections that apply
to their project, modify those sections to fit their project and
incorporate that into their SOW (Scope of Work) or other project
paperwork.
- It will be updated to reflect fiber optic technology and applications in real time.
- And it's free! FOA does not charge for its technical materials and
standards, it is our charter to provide assistance to the industry!
- Here is more information and a Table of Contents.
Using the FOA Installation Standard
Download a copy of the FOA Installation Standard and compare its
content to the your project. Determine the relevant sections and add
them to your documentation to define how to install your fiber optic
cable plant in "a neat and workmanlike manner." Provide copies to your
planners, designers, contractors, installers and suppliers. In the end,
reference "The FOA Standard For Installing Fiber Optic Cable Plants" as the source of that material.
Download your copy of The FOA Standard For Installing Fiber Optic Cable Plants. (61 pages, PDF 1.6MB)
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