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The Fiber Optic Association, Inc. (FOA) is the international professional society of fiber optics. The FOA was founded in 1995 by a group of trainers from industry, government and education who wanted to create industry standards for training and certifying fiber optic technicians. The FOA is a not-for-profit 501 (c)6 organization based in California, USA ,that has over 200 affiliated training organizations in over 40 countries. FOA approves fiber optic training organizations and certifies their instructors who train designers, installers and operators of all types of fiber optic networks. FOA programs are used by many organizations, companies and trade unions to train and certify their workers. FOA publishes its own textbooks, offers a large online library of technical information on fiber optics in the FOA Online Guide (www.foaguide.org), over 100 online videos and free online self-study programs at Fiber U (www.fiberu.org).

Training
FOA provides curriculum and instructor training and certification to affiliated schools (http://foa-approved.org/schools) who train technicians.

Certifications
FOA offers certifications for basic fiber optics and premises cabling, installation skills and specific applications. All certifications are based on KSAs - the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities - important to the topics. FOA certifications and KSAs are developed by a worldwide panel of experienced trainers and technicians. All FOA certifications are follow ANSI/ISO/IEC STANDARD 17024 — General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons. FOA certifications are recognized by the US Department of Labor.

Basic Certifications

 * CFOT(R) - Certified Fiber Optic Technician covers basic fiber optics for all applications
 * CPCT - Certified Premises Cabling Technician covers fiber, copper and wireless for premises installation

Skills Certifications

 * CFOS/S - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Splicing
 * CFOS/C - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Connectors
 * CFOS/T - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Testing
 * CFOS/O - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Outside Plant Installation
 * CFOS/D - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Network Design

Application Certifications

 * CFOS/A - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Fiber To The Antenna (Cell Towers)
 * CFOS/DAS - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Distributed Antenna Systems (Wireless)
 * CFOS/DC - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Data Centers
 * CFOS/H - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Fiber To The Home
 * CFOS/L - Certified Fiber Optic Specialist in Optical LANs

Membership
All individuals become FOA members by achieving one or more FOA certifications. Organizations may join as FOA Corporate Members.