The Fiber Optic Association (FOA) has published a new textbook, the FOA Reference Guide to Premises Cabling. The FOA has targeted the book as a reference work on premises cabling, a textbook for training premises cabling technicians, or a guide for studying for FOA CPCT certification.
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The book was developed from new material on the FOA Online Reference Guide website and is complemented by what the FOA termed “hundreds of web pages on relevant topics.” The book is available from online booksellers like the FOA eStore or Amazon.com for $19.95 and soon electronically for the Kindle and iPad.
With premises cabling no longer just "Cat 5 for LANs" but an integrated system using copper, fiber, and wireless connectivity, the FOA asserts it's important that every tech knows as much as possible about copper, fiber, and wireless technology so they can deal successfully with all three in premises cabling systems. The book therefore includes some topics not generally covered in cabling books, like coax and wireless, because of their importance in today's world, the FOA says.
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The FOA says it has leveraged its 15 years of experience in certifying almost 30,000 fiber-optic and premises cabling techs to organize the book for efficient training and learning. It also added new materials on premises cabling network design and installation as requested by students, instructors, and FOA members.
A new curriculum for the FOA CPCT certification is available to training organizations also. In fact, the FOA Reference Guide to Premises Cabling will be used as the new reference guide for training students for the FOA Certified Premises Cabling Technician (CPCT) certification in 2010.