short courses programmes

Certified Fiber Optic Technician

Description

Today’s digital world has been flooded with captivating technologies that significantly promote socio-economic development. The technologies have revolutionized traditional practices, and people can now share information instantly through communication networks. For instance, we can perform video conferencing, live events streaming (e.g., football), real-time chatting through social networks (e.g., WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook), and Internet protocol television. This wide range of applications requires high bandwidth to download or upload content-rich videos and images. Given the rapidly changing world, Fibre cables have been found to meet the current demands of the applications by providing high bandwidth, low signal attenuation, high data security, and outstanding immunity against electromagnetic interference.

In Tanzania, the initiatives to establish fibre cable communication infrastructure started in 2009. Currently, some institutions, companies, and organizations benefit from the high-speed Internet connectivity provided by the established fibre cable. But several other places of the country, especially the remote ones, have not been connected by the cable. Therefore, a need exists to train more technicians, scientists, and engineers to accelerate the government’s efforts of providing reliable and fast Internet to all Tanzanian regions. Our survey reveals that most technicians have not obtained formal training on fibre optic, and they perform their works (unprofessionally) based on experiences or Internet resources.

This training provides fundamentals of fibre optic, including knowledge and professional skills in the installation and maintenance of fibre cables. The training uses the KSAs delivery model, meaning that participants will be equipped with Knowledge and Skills and that the Abilities of participants will be evaluated prior to their admission into the program. Our strength builds on the well-equipped laboratories and qualified trainers with years of industrial experience. Therefore, we expect that you will gather the necessary tools and materials that can immediately be applied to advance your career.

Objectives

The primary objective of this training is to equip participants with practical knowledge and skills to undertake ICT projects. The training focuses on real industrial projects to ensure that participants generate outstanding results within the constrained project timeline.

Delivery Mode

The KSA (knowledge, skills, and ability) delivery methodology will be used to infiltrate learning materials to participants. In essence, the training is participatory and engages participants in hands-on laboratory activities. Based on the guidelines from the Fibre Optic Association, this training approach guarantees optimum transfer of knowledge and prepares well candidates to work in fibre optic industries.
1.	Fibre optic cable Cable installation preparations; Installation of fibre optic cable.
2.	Splicing Cable preparation for splicing; Mechanical splicing; Fusion splicing.
3.	Termination Cable preparation for termination; Installation of connectors; Inspection of connectors; Testing of connectors.
4.	Industrial tour to leading telecommunication companies with fibre optic facilities Visualization of various fibre optic components, networks, and systems; Experimentation on the operations of fibre optic systems.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the training, participants are expected to gain professional knowledge and skills to perform the following tasks:

(1) Prepare fibre cables for installation, splicing, and termination;
(2) Install fibre cables.
(3) Perform mechanical splicing of fibre cables.
(4) Perform fusion splicing
(5) Install, inspect, and test connectors
(6) Work with industrial fibre optic systems in telecommunication companies

Topics

1.	Fundamentals of fibre optic Motivations and practical applications; Terminologies; Metric system; Fibre optic instruments and tools.
2.	Fibre-optic communication systems Architectures; Mechanisms of light propagation; Outside Plant (OSP) systems: Internet, Telco, CATV, Utility, and Municipal; Transceivers: sources, detectors, and information quality assessment.
3.	Optical fibre Types of optical fibres (SI-MM, GI-MM, and SM); Optical fibre ducts; Attenuation and dispersion of light in optical fibres; Optical fibre selection.
4.	Fibre optic cables Types and applications of cables; Relevant specifications for applications; Selection of fibre optic cables.
5.	Termination and splicing Significances and industrial considerations; Performance metrics (loss, reflectance, and strength); Splicing processes; Termination processes; Connectors.
6.	Software level configurations Wavelength division multiplexing; Add-drop multiplexers; Optical amplifiers; Multi-protocol label switching; Synchronous digital hierarchy.
7.	Testing and troubleshooting Cable tracing/polarity; Connector inspection and cleaning; Cable and cable plant testing; Cable and cable plant troubleshooting; Optical power and system testing.
8.	Fibre optic network design Evaluating communication system requirements; Cable plant design; Layout; Selection of components; Loss budgets; Documentation.
9.	Fibre optic installation Evaluation of requirements based on cable plant design; Planning for the installation (preparations, safety considerations, and disposal of materials); Basic knowledge of codes, standards, and regulations; Installation procedures; Documentation of cable plants.

Target Group

The fibre optic training targets the following groups: ICT professionals and practitioners, Telco employees at different levels, suppliers of equipment and handsets, suppliers of different telecoms solutions and hardware, including Value Added Services, staff from regulators (TCRA, TCAA, TIC, and NEMC, among others), policymakers (e.g., ministry staff), IT Managers, Telecommunication Engineers, Voice, Data and Video (VDV) and FTTx Technicians.

Course Materials

Each registered participant will receive a copy of the instructors’ slides and other materials.

Certificate of Attendance

CFOT certification will be offered to candidates that pass the FOA examination. Furthermore, all participants will receive certificates of attendance from the University of Dar es Salaam.

Assessment
(1) Lab assignments, exercises, and focused-group discussions
(2) FOA examination

Fee

(1) Full training package: TZS 2,800,000 per person.

(2) Covers training cost, training materials, facilitation (venue, refreshments, breakfast, and lunch),
      and certification

Payment

All payments should be made centrally through Control Numbers provided by the University of Dar es Salaam. After registration, a Control Number and invoice will be emailed to you using information you have provided in the registration system.