US fiber install & activation
Connect homes and businesses to OPS America Fiber: the drop, the NID, the ONT, the gateway and activation.
Overview
A customer’s service runs from the OLT in the central office, over feeder fiber to a fiber distribution hub (FDH) where a passive splitter shares one PON port between many homes, over distribution fiber to a fiber distribution terminal (FDT) on a pole or in a pedestal, and finally down the drop to the house. The drop lands in a NID / drop box on the outside wall, comes inside to the ONT, and the ONT hands Ethernet to the customer’s gateway. The ONT has to be recognised by the OLT and given a service profile before anything works. Activation in the US follows the same order every time: fiber in, ONT in, optical power checked, serial verified, ONT registered, PON authenticated, service provisioned, gateway connected, IP assigned, internet tested, speed tested — then the job is complete.
Jobs this covers
us_install, us_gateway, us_ont_swap, us_aerial_drop, us_buried_drop, us_business — certificate: US FTTH installer (required)
The equipment — what everything does
ONT (optical network terminal)
Terminates the fiber and turns light into Ethernet (1, 2.5 or 10 GbE). Lights: POWER, PON, LOS, LAN, INTERNET.
In game: /towers → OPS America Fiber → Customer premises → ONT.
Residential / Wi-Fi gateway
The router: IPv4/IPv6, DHCP, NAT, firewall, Wi-Fi and the LAN. Plugs into the ONT’s Ethernet port.
In game: Placed like any Wi-Fi router (/towers → OPS Mobile → Wi-Fi) and cabled to the ONT with CAT6.
NID / fiber drop box
The demarcation box on the outside wall where the drop fiber lands and is spliced to the inside fiber.
In game: /towers → OPS America Fiber → Customer premises → NID / drop box.
Drop fiber
The last section from the FDT to the house — aerial from the pole, or buried through conduit.
In game: Pull from a drop drum and fix it pole to house, or run it through a handhole and conduit.
FDT (fiber distribution terminal)
The terminal on the pole or in a pedestal that serves a handful of homes from the distribution fiber.
In game: Fitted by Outside Plant; you drop from its ports.
Tools & PPE
Fibre fusion splicer
Melts two cleaned and cleaved fibres together into one low-loss joint.
Optical light meter / OTDR
Measures how much light arrives down a fibre, and where along it a break or bad splice is.
Ladder
Reaches walls, ceilings and pole steps. Place it at a 1-in-4 angle on firm ground.
Cordless drill & fixings
Drills walls for cable entry and fixes brackets, cameras and boxes with the right plugs and screws.
RJ45 crimper & cable tester
Fits RJ45 plugs onto CAT6 and proves all eight cores are connected in the right order.
Engineer laptop & console cable
Configures routers, NVRs and servers, runs speed tests and opens OPS Hub.
Hi-vis vest & hard hat PPE
Makes you visible to traffic and protects your head from falling objects and low beams.
Fall-arrest harness PPE
Clipped to a pole or anchor point, it stops a fall when you work above 2 m.
Safety glasses PPE
Protect your eyes from fibre shards, drilling dust and laser light.
Standalone servers: tools are in your van (OPS Work → My van & tools). Items servers: collect them — and the job’s parts — at an OPS depot.
Step by step
Find the FDT serving the address and decide aerial or buried. Call before you dig (811) for buried drops.
Aerial: ladder to the FDT, run the drop to a drop clamp on the house. Buried: handhole at the property line and conduit to the house.
Mount the drop box on the outside wall and bring the fiber through the wall feed-through.
Strip, clean, cleave and fusion-splice the drop to the inside fiber; protect it with a sleeve in the tray.
Fit the ONT inside near power and connect the fiber pigtail.
Read the light at the ONT with the power meter — it must be in range (dBm) before activation.
Verify the ONT serial and register it on OPS Hub so the OLT authenticates it and applies the service profile.
Cable the gateway to the ONT’s Ethernet port, power it and check it gets an IP address.
Internet test and a speed test against the plan, then show the customer the Wi-Fi.
Health & safety
Working at height
Risk: A fall from a ladder or pole when reaching the FDT or the house.
Control: Ladder at 1-in-4 on firm ground, three points of contact; harness on the pole above 2 m.
Buried utilities
Risk: Digging into gas, power or water lines can kill or cause an explosion.
Control: Locate utilities first (811 call before you dig) and hand-dig near marks.
Laser light & fiber shards
Risk: Invisible light can damage eyes; glass slivers pierce skin.
Control: Never look into a fiber; wear glasses; put shards in a sharps container.
Power lines on the pole
Risk: Electrocution if you enter the power space above the communications space.
Control: Stay in the communications space and keep clearances from power.
In game you confirm these in a risk assessment before starting. Skipping them on risky work can cause a fall or a shock — and it’s logged as a safety incident.
When it’s not done correctly
Activating without checking optical power
The ONT ranges then drops — intermittent service and a repeat visit.
Dirty connector at the ONT
High loss and reflection: slow or flapping service.
Drop not clamped or too tight
The drop sags or snaps in wind — the customer goes down.
Wrong ONT serial registered
The OLT never authenticates the ONT — no service.
Gateway on the wrong port
No IP address — the customer has Wi-Fi but no internet.