The Certified Fibre Characterisation Engineer (CFCE) training programme developed by Optical Technology Training (OTT) has been enhanced to provide comprehensive coverage of fibre characterisation systems available from the major test equipment manufacturers.
On the CFCE course, delegates learn about the test methods and equipment available from EXFO and Viavi Solutions, and gain hands-on experience using their systems to fully characterise fibre infrastructure representative of long-haul fibre systems.
“We are very pleased that EXFO are now also fully supporting this certification programme, and we have had good support from Viavi/JDSU since the beginning. It is great that course delegates can now get practical hands-on experience of test systems from both of the world leaders of fibre characterisation systems,” Richard Ednay, technical director of OTT, told Fibre Systems.
OTT’s advanced CFCE programme has been widely recognised as setting the benchmark for competence in fibre characterisation since it was introduced in 2005. The programme was designed and developed by Ednay, who wrote the definition of ‘fibre characterisation’ in ITU G.650.3.
ITU G.650.3 defines ‘fibre characterisation’ as “A comprehensive suite of measurements that is carried out on an optical fibre cable link to determine the key performance attributes of that link which may affect current or future applications that operate over that link. Fibre characterization also allows the quality of the optical fibre cable link to be assessed, including the identification of the type and grade of fibre installed. Full fibre characterization includes connector end face inspection, insertion loss measurements, return loss measurements, OTDR testing, chromatic dispersion testing, polarization mode dispersion measurement, and spectral attenuation.”
The OTT CFCE programme is licensed to two of OTT’s training delivery partners, Cross Connect Training in the UK and Fiber Insight in the US. OTT maintains control over the quality of training delivery, and acts as external verifier of the award. In the US, the course is also being marketed and hosted by The Light Brigade.