:: LBI Around the World

The Light Brigade has conducted training in numerious sites around the world and recently, in co-operation with Glenn International, we conducted a Fiber Optics 1-2-3 Open Training class in Panama City, Panama. The focus of this class was on learning how to design, install and maintain multimode and singlemode fiber optic systems.

This class was held in the busy commercial heart of Panama City and consisted of two days of classroom instruction in English and Spanish, enhanced by The Light Brigade's Spanish Language Videos , and an additional two days of hands-on training. The hands-on aspect of the training included mechanical and fusion splicing, field termination of multimode fiber, optical loss testing practices, use of an OTDR to locate and measure splices and breaks in singlemode fiber, and cable preparation for installation in panels and closures. These hands-on activities were designed to re-affirm the classroom instruction.

Numerous local companies and organizations attended this class; among them was the Panama Canal Authority. (Autoridad del Canal de Panama) (APC).

The first complete Panama Canal passage by a self-propelled, oceangoing vessel took place on January 7, 1914. Over the years, the canal itself has been modified, upgraded and modernized. The canal is not only a pathway for naval and marine traffic, it also is a conduit for worldwide undersea telecommunications.

The canal is currently in transition from late 1940's technology in some locations, to state-of-the art singlemode telecommunications. The ACP has a modern telecommunications staff with the equipment and training to support their multiple sites across the Canal region. Interconnecting these sites and systems is a wide variety of both multimode and singlemode fiber optic systems with conventional microwave technology used for backup.

These remote sites are interconnected to each other via long distance singlemode fiber circuits and can be controlled and monitored via local multimode fiber systems, which are then connected to modern PLC controllers.

Plans are underway to continue to upgrade and add to these fiber optic infrastructure systems. The training that the ACP staff received from The Light Brigade instructors and technicians will help them to maintain the Panama Canal as a major worldwide center for commerce and transportation.