The impairments that cause the most trouble are often the hardest to see without the right training. This course focuses on some of the most common ones – standing waves, amplitude ripple, resonant peaking, common path distortion, and common mode disturbance – and teaches you to spot, localize, and fix them using the tools and data you already work with in the field.
Through guided practice with channel frequency response, full band capture, and spectrum data, you'll learn what each impairment looks like in real network data, what typically causes it, and how to track down the source efficiently. Every lesson connects what you see in the data to a clear next step in the field, keeping customers online and your network performing at its best.
This is Course 2 in the SCTE Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) series. The series follows a five-step workflow – analyze, localize, prioritize, repair, and validate – designed to help technical teams find and fix issues before they become outages.
Included in Course
- Video instruction with field-realistic examples showing what each impairment type looks like in actual network data
- Guided data interpretation exercises using channel frequency response (IFCR), full band capture, and spectrum analysis — focused on building pattern recognition, not just passive viewing
- Interactive troubleshooting scenarios that put you in the role of diagnosing and resolving real impairment situations
- Applied corrective-action walkthroughs that connect what you see in the data to what you do in the field
- End-of-course assessment that validates your ability to follow the full PNM workflow from analysis through validation
Target Audience
This course is designed for maintenance technicians, OSP technicians, and field supervisors who are responsible for troubleshooting and maintaining outside plant networks. It is also relevant for NOC analysts and network operations engineers who interpret network data and support field teams during escalations.
For managers: This course is appropriate for technicians who have completed Course 1 or have equivalent working knowledge of PNM concepts and tools. It is not recommended as a standalone course for technicians new to outside plant maintenance or plant-level troubleshooting.
Recommended Prerequisites
Course 1: PNM Fundamentals and Workflow OR demonstrated equivalent knowledge of PNM tools and concepts. Technicians who are new to outside plant maintenance should complete Course 1 before enrolling in this course.