Emergency Fiber Restoration: Planning and Execution for Utility Telecom Professionals

When disaster strikes, how quickly can your fiber network recover? This course equips utility telecom professionals with the expertise to plan for and execute emergency fiber restoration with confidence.
Write your awesome label here.
  • Instructor
    Matt Schnell
  • Instructor
    Jason Smith
  • Level
    Beginner
  • Study time
    ~ 1 hour
  • Lessons
    5

Certification included

Earn a certificate upon successful course completion to showcase your skills.

presented by

About This Course

Target Audience

Prerequisites

Related Courses

About This Course
This course provides a comprehensive look at how utilities prepare for and execute fiber optic restoration during emergency situations. Based on real-world practices and regional insights, it covers everything from pre-storm planning and safety protocols to outage management, prioritization, and field execution.

You will explore how different regions address unique environmental challenges such as hurricanes, wildfires, extreme cold, and seismic activity, and how utilities adapt their restoration strategies accordingly.

The course combines strategic planning with operational best practices, giving you a practical understanding of how to restore fiber networks safely and efficiently under pressure.

The content is delivered as a structured, click-through e-learning experience, allowing you to progress at your own pace through clearly organized topics, visuals, and explanations. This format is designed for efficient knowledge transfer, making it easy to absorb key concepts without requiring long video sessions.
Target Audience
  • Telecom and fiber engineers
  • Network operations and NOC personnel
  • Field technicians and splicing teams
  • Utility project managers
  • Infrastructure and operations leaders
Prerequisites
  • Basic understanding of utility operations or communication networks is helpful
  • No prior fiber optics expertise required
Course Suggestions
This course is the first module in a growing series on Fiber. Stay tuned as we continue to expand the curriculum with hands-on, practical guidance tailored to utility professionals.

What you´ll learn

  • Understand how utilities prepare for fiber outages across different geographic regions

  • Identify key components of an effective fiber restoration plan

  • Apply safety protocols and risk mitigation strategies during restoration

  • Prioritize restoration activities based on critical services and network impact

  • Explain how fiber failures are detected, assessed, and located

  • Describe how teams, contractors, and materials are coordinated during emergencies

   Self-pace-learning

    Resume anytime

  Access on mobile

  Closed captions

Course Content

Your Instructors

Matt Schnell

Jason Smith

About the instructors

Maynard “Matt” Schnell, ITT Telecom Manager at Nebraska Public Power District. He has worked in the Telecom industry for 39 years in management, engineering, and field operations/maintenance. Matt is the past Chairman of UTC and was a chair of the UTC Technical Division and past chair of UTC Region 6. Matt is also past chair of the Nebraska School Board Association. He is married (wife Deb) and they have one daughter (Amanda). Matt also served in the U.S. Navy aboard nuclear submarines for 6 years and holds a bachelor’s degree in business and master’s degree in administration from Doane College. Matt received the Connie Durcsak Visionary Award and the Meehan Award from UTC in 2016.
Empty space, drag to resize

presented by

Empty space, drag to resize

Earn a career certificate and PDH hours

  • How does it work?

    UTC provides Certificates of Completion for Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for all education we provide. You must check the regulations in your state’s licensing agency to ensure you meet the requirements.

  • PDHs & Certificate - Just a Click Away

    After completing the course - and passing a short quiz, if required - participants will earn Professional Development Hours (PDHs) and receive a certificate of completion or a career certificate, which can be downloaded directly from the course player or shared on platforms like LinkedIn.