We are starting a laboratory course on fiber-optic technology. In your opinion, which elements of fiber-optic technology should university students be taught?

Hi, really excited to begin learning splicing and installing fiber optics here in Chicago. Long story short have been looking for work. I recently have been introduced and training with a contractor offering piece work. Its
$35 for a modem drop off
$40 for a coax trouble call
$50 for a fiber trouble call or coax new install
$90 for a new fiber install
Work comes from dispatcher
The contractor is a supervisor for a cable company but like you may have figured everything is subcontracted
He claims techs make 1800-2500 a week after getting in the rhythm
He said in 3 months he might train me to master fiber optic work to go to schaumberg for $130 per new install.
After 6pm its double rate. I applied to the electricians union recently but i applied for the construction, not communications, and now im Not sure if i can switch or what you recommend? I have other opportunities they all piled up on me this week.
$33 an hour maintenance mechanic but schedule is awful
$35 an hour industrial electrician but its a temp job n idk if theyll hire me permanently
Either way, i find the fiber optics appealing both in the work and the pay. Any advice for a 23 year old trying to have a great career?

I'm currently in the fiber field but mostly doing FTTH and have done OTEs. I want to learn OTL and splitters. From what I have seen there are not too many classes or companies training, they want you to already know it. I have some coworkers that do it but they seem to want to keep that money to themselves. I need an upper hand here to figure it out on my own. Can I teach myself if I get the equipment?

🌐 https://splicecue.com

SpliceCue is a website designed to make fiber optic work easier and faster.

It includes interactive fiber color codes, cable configurations, OPGW fiber identification, and splitter calculation tools.

The goal is to bring useful fiber optic tools together in one simple, easy -to-use platform for everyday fieldwork.

📱 iOS and Android apps are also in development and will be available in the future!

The website is still being improved, and new features are on the way.

Feel free to check it out!

Feedback and suggestions are always welcome. 🛠️

Hey everyone, I’m a contractor specializing in pole loading, annotations, and MRE. We have an experienced engineering team and are currently taking on both contractor projects and long-term work. If you need help clearing backlog or adding production capacity, feel free to DM me.

While I was at work today, my wife told me that there was an ATT crew running this line across the pole that services my home. We're pretty rural, and we've only ever been able to get DSL here (currently using starlink, which is... Fine). But does this mean we'll have access to fiber soon?

I was a residential cable tech for a number of years back in the day, but I never did any fiber, so I have no clue what I'm looking at. The text on the line reads:

>Corning Optical Cable - 08/2026 - 48209509 - 📞 - SR-5492RR-024 - RPX Gel-Free - 24F SM 250 - 29532 Feet

They're clearly not finished installing it, as it's only a couple feet off the ground in a few places, and the end is just hanging a few poles down from us. Just wondering if I can get excited or not. Thanks!

Field techs write splice notes on a whiteboard — sheath ID, buffer and fiber colors, enclosure numbers, coordinates — then someone has to retype all of it into a cut sheet. That's where the errors creep in. I built a web tool called Fiberboard Pro. You snap a photo of the whiteboard, it OCRs the text and matches it against a template, and it auto-fills a cut sheet you can export. It also tags each splice location with GPS and generates a KML file so all your splice points drop onto a map. Still a prototype, but it already handles the common layouts. Has anyone else tackled this, or are you all still doing it by hand?

https://snap-show-magic-58.lovable.app

Concluded that the power meter lens in my Max-945 module is cracked. Second picture - right side - grey filling. Orientation on that looks straightforward - little dot and three legs in a row. My replacement however came from an old FOT-922 manufactured in 2001. It does have the hole, but the legs are not in a row. No other markings on either piece. How would you choose the order of the legs to solder in?

Small OSP sub here, few crews, work comes through a prime that holds the MSO contract. I’m trying to tighten up our back-office side because we eat too many kickbacks and the money lands a cycle late every time a package gets bounced.

Curious how it works for everybody else:

1. How do you submit production to your prime — spreadsheet by email, their portal, an app they make you use, something else?
2. What’s in the package: daily production sheet, redlines, photos per unit, OTDR/test results, anything weird they insist on?
3. How often do you submit (weekly, per work order, per segment) and how many days from submission to money in the bank?
4. What gets kicked back most? For us it’s always photos — wrong angle, can’t read the closure label, no GPS stamp, “after” shot doesn’t show enough.
5. Anybody actually using something that helps with this, or is it all Excel and a guy in the office with a stack of phone photos?

Not looking to name primes if you’d rather not. Just trying to figure out if our process is normal or if we’re doing it the hard way.

Collins Communications in Demopolis, Alabama is seeking to hire two fiber technicans for a project in February.

Job listing: https://www.indeed.com/job/fiber-splicer-3065fcbe5f165f03

Due to personal reasons I have left Kelly Group, I have been told that u will have to repay the training fees. Does anyone know how much that will cost?

Thanks

Hi, I’m asking on behalf of a colleague with over 12 years of experience in fibre optic installation, splicing and network repairs. Which companies would be worth contacting?

I've been trying for days to get IPv6 up on Vsol fibre units and starting to believe that it is not in fact correctly implemented.

I note other posts here suggesting to avoid VSOL. granted.. probably good advice, but look, not my decision, OK. and it is what it is.

IPv4 config works fine, both "routed" and "bridged" are possible.

I have tried to configure a WAN IPV6 profile manually on the ONU or remotely on the OLT, either directly or via a Service Profile. Nothing works. There is a RouterOS box behind the OLT and this is providing upstream IPv6 perfectly fine to the non fibre network segment.

Anyway, even adding a static IPv6 address to the OLT, the ONU can't communicate with it.

Network traces from the OLT uplink are well, showing weird stuff going on. I guess this is not the place to post such things though, The VSOL website is BS and any specific documentation is all but non existent.

so this is just a shout out.. Anybody else actually get this junk to work?

Tethered fiber-optic drone

Fiber optic spool

Fiber optic module

First asmr video btw. Idk about my facts, prolly not accurate, but 🤷🏽‍♂️

OT6000 Online Fiber Monitoring OTDR is designed to help network operators monitor fiber-optic links, identify abnormal events and improve the efficiency of network maintenance.

For telecom operators, data centers, backbone networks and critical fiber infrastructure, continuous monitoring can help teams respond to potential fiber faults before they cause extended service interruptions.

In this video, we demonstrate how OT6000 can be used for:

Online monitoring of fiber-optic links

Fiber fault detection and event localization

Abnormal loss and reflection analysis

Remote network maintenance

Backbone and access network protection

Data center and critical infrastructure monitoring

Faster troubleshooting and maintenance response

With centralized monitoring and automated alarm management, OT6000 helps maintenance teams gain better visibility into the condition of fiber networks.

For detailed system configuration, monitoring distance, alarm functions and application requirements, please contact our technical team.

Planning on installing an underground fiber run of about 600 ft between 2 houses. Will be using some smurf conduit buried maybe 1 foot down. And then within some armored fiber, which as you know, contains a steel sheath covering.

Question I have a whether I need to be concerned about grounding. There does not seem to be a clear consensus online.

To help mitigate the risk could a solution be to run the armored conduit underground and then couple each end with an unarmored fiber cable into each house?

Any thoughts or experience with this?

I’m talking bout the cheap ones from Amazon, like anything under $150

I ask because I always see wildly different readings from those compared to my routers. Like the meter will read something like -3 and when I connect it to my router is like +2

I don’t know what contractors did this, but it’s truly funny how sad of a job some of them do , yet probably act like they have a hard job😂if whoever did this happens to see this i do appreciate you making it as easy as using my finger stick it into the ground and pull your pencil fiber from under the sod and made for a very easy crossing for our HH! Swear these companies are just waiting for someone to hit it to charge them a arm and a leg

I neee your opinion.