IEC Technical Committee (TC) 86—which prepares standards for fiber-optic systems, modules, devices and components—includes three main subcommittees: SC 86A (Fibers and Cables), SC 86B (Interconnecting Devices and Passive Components) and SC 86C (Systems and Active Devices). The first ITU-T Handbook related to optical fibres, Optical Fibres for Telecommunications, was published in 1984, and several others have been produced over the years. It is an honour to present you with the latest version, which is another example of how ITU-T is bridging the standardization gap. stacles regarding interoperability and compatibility between manufacturers. This work materialized through the development of good practices, procedures and specifications documents, reflecting a certain state of the art at a given time, and the result of a consensus of all stakeholders (op lable. The Fiber Optic Association, Inc. (FOA) was founded in 1995 to help develop the workforce to build the fiber optic networks to support a rapid expansion in communications and the Internet. The charter of the FOA was to promote professionalism in fiber optics through education, certification, and. ITU-T handbooks provide information on topics in telecommunications such as operational aspects, network planning, quality of service, implementation guidelines, outside plant protection against electromagnetic effects, measurement methods, security and mobile systems. Standards have existed as long as.