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ETA · Last updated November 2026

ETA Fiber To Any Antenna (FTAA): free practice test

FTAA is ETA's stand-alone certification for installing pre-terminated fiber assemblies onto radios and antennas at wireless and cellular sites, and for inspecting, cleaning, testing and troubleshooting that fiber. The written exam has 75 questions in 2 hours with a 75% pass mark, across 10 knowledge areas from light theory and tower safety to OTDR testing. A hands-on course and exam at an ETA-approved school come first; this prep covers only the written exam.

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About the ETA FTAA exam

FTAA is ETA's stand-alone certification for installing pre-terminated fiber assemblies onto radios and antennas at wireless and cellular sites, and for inspecting, cleaning, testing and troubleshooting that fiber. The written exam has 75 questions in 2 hours with a 75% pass mark, across 10 knowledge areas from light theory and tower safety to OTDR testing. A hands-on course and exam at an ETA-approved school come first; this prep covers only the written exam.

What's on the exam

ETA FTAA
Light, Transmission and Fiber Theory
8 key facts
Fiber Characteristics and Designations
7 key facts
FTAA Safety: RF, Towers and Lasers
8 key facts
Light Sources, Receivers and Attenuators
7 key facts
Fiber and Hybrid Cabling for Cell Sites
8 key facts
Connectors, Cleaning and Inspection
7 key facts
Cable Installation, NEC and Bonding
7 key facts
Testing: OLTS, OTDR and Documentation
8 key facts

Each branch is a topic in the official outline. Members see every key fact on the full mind map. Read the free study guide →

How to pass the ETA FTAA exam

  • ETA's competency list names exact standards: TIA-568 Annex E Tier 1 and Tier 2 testing, TIA-526-7 for single-mode loss, IEC 61300-3-35 for endface inspection and ITU-T G.671 for connector loss. Learn what each one covers.
  • Safety is broader than in other fiber exams: RF exposure near antennas, climbing and fall protection, lockout/tagout and confined spaces all appear alongside laser safety.
  • Bring a non-programmable calculator and practise dB and dBm arithmetic, OTDR distance, attenuator sizing and loss budgets until each takes under a minute.
  • 75 questions in 2 hours is 96 seconds each, and you need 75%. Answer every question; ETA allows one free retake within a year if needed.

Save your results and get your Readiness Score

Create a free account after the test: your score by topic, a mistakes bank, the complete study notes for the first topic, flashcards and the RCDD Numbers & Formulas Sheet.

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What's in the premium ETA FTAA prep

Premium ETA FTAA prep is studied one topic at a time. Each step starts with that topic's key notes and flashcard deck, then its own question sets of 25, so you master one topic before you move to the next. When every topic is strong, the 6 full mock exams show you're ready.

3,000practice questions, every answer explained
6full-length mock exams, 75 questions each, timed
800flashcards with spaced repetition, sorted by topic
60comprehensive key notes across 8 topics

Your step-by-step study path

  1. 1
    Light, Transmission and Fiber Theory8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Notes free with an account
  2. 2
    Fiber Characteristics and Designations8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  3. 3
    FTAA Safety: RF, Towers and Lasers8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  4. 4
    Light Sources, Receivers and Attenuators8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  5. 5
    Fiber and Hybrid Cabling for Cell Sites7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  6. 6
    Connectors, Cleaning and Inspection7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  7. 7
    Cable Installation, NEC and Bonding7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  8. 8
    Testing: OLTS, OTDR and Documentation7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  9. Final step: 6 full mock exams75 questions each, timed like test day. Pass them, then book your exam.
    Premium
Free with an account

Read the complete ETA FTAA study notes for “Light, Transmission and Fiber Theory”

Our first full set of comprehensive notes, about 12 minutes of reading: The fiber link and dB · Light and the spectrum · Refraction, TIR and Fresnel reflection · Fiber construction and modes, a worked exam example, the traps examiners use and a one-minute recap. Create a free account to read it and see how premium notes work before you decide.

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Study tools included

3,000 practice questions

3,000 exam-style questions per exam, organized topic by topic in sets of 25. Every answer explained, with the rule it comes from.

6 full mock exams

6 full-length timed mock exams per exam, with real question counts and time limits, so test day feels like practice day.

Exam Readiness Score

One 0 to 100 number that tells you when you're ready to book. Reach 80 and you're covered by our Pass Guarantee.

800 flashcards + spaced repetition

800 flashcards per exam, in a deck for each topic, that come back right before you'd forget them. Five minutes a day keeps every number fresh.

60 comprehensive key notes

60 key notes per exam, split across its topics and each explained in full: the concepts, worked exam examples, the traps examiners use and a quick recap. Your first set is free with an account.

Mind maps

See the whole exam on one screen: every topic and the facts under it.

Sample questions with answers

These are the questions in the free test above, with answers. Try the test first. You'll learn more by getting some wrong.

1. An unterminated single-mode fiber with a flat cleave is left open to air at a tower-top bulkhead. The core index is about 1.47. Roughly what reflectance will an OTDR see at that end?
Answer: About -14 dB, near 4% of the light. Fresnel reflection at a glass-air boundary is ((n1 - n2)/(n1 + n2)) squared, about 3.6% for n = 1.47, which is roughly -14 dB. That large spike is why open ends and air gaps show strong reflective events. The -50 and -65 dB values are what good UPC and APC connector pairs achieve.
2. A G.652.D fiber has a core diameter of about 8.2 µm, but the data sheet lists a mode field diameter of about 9.2 µm at 1310 nm. Why is the MFD larger than the core?
Answer: Some of the guided light travels in the inner cladding. In single-mode fiber the light's field spreads beyond the core into the inner cladding, so the effective light-carrying width (MFD) is wider than the physical core, and it grows with wavelength. Coating and full cladding (125 µm) are far larger than 9 µm. MFD mismatch between two fibers is an intrinsic splice and connector loss.
3. A tower-top jumper tests at 0.3 dB loss at 1310 nm but 1.6 dB at 1550 nm. Connectors were cleaned and inspected. What is the most likely cause?
Answer: A tight macrobend in the jumper or its routing. Macrobend loss rises sharply with wavelength, so a much higher loss at 1550 nm than at 1310 nm points to a bend. Dirt and a poor splice cause losses that are similar at both wavelengths. Check routing at clamps, cable ties and the radio's connector boot, and consider bend-insensitive G.657 fiber.
4. A technician must reroute fiber on a mount directly in front of an active sector panel antenna. What should happen before the work starts?
Answer: Coordinate with the carrier to power down or reduce the transmitters and lock out the radios. The main beam in front of a panel antenna can exceed RF exposure limits, so the site's RF safety plan normally requires coordinating with the carrier to power down or lock out the transmitters, or staying outside the marked boundary. Pulling a fiber is not a reliable lockout, and laser glasses do nothing for RF. FCC exposure limits are averaged over minutes, not a whole shift.
5. A technician needs to inspect the endface of an LC connector on a fiber that may still be connected to a live radio at the other end. What is the safe approach?
Answer: Check the fiber is dark with a power meter and use a video inspection probe. Invisible 1310 or 1550 nm laser light can be focused onto the retina by a microscope, so confirm the fiber is dark and use a video probe that shows the image on a screen. Infrared being invisible is the reason for the danger, not an excuse. A VFL injects red light; it does not detect traffic.
6. A short fronthaul link uses an SFP that launches +3 dBm. Link loss is 1.5 dB. The receiver's operating range is -15 dBm (sensitivity) to -1 dBm (overload). Which fixed attenuator is the best choice?
Answer: 10 dB. Received power is +3 - 1.5 = +1.5 dBm, above the -1 dBm overload. A 10 dB attenuator gives -8.5 dBm, near the middle of the range with margin on both sides. A 1 dB pad leaves +0.5 dBm (still overloaded), 3 dB leaves only 0.5 dB below overload, and 18 dB drops the signal to -16.5 dBm, below sensitivity.
7. A 24-fiber loose tube cable has 12 fibers per tube and uses the TIA-598 color code. Fiber 20 is in which tube, and what color is the fiber?
Answer: Orange tube, black fiber. Fibers 13 to 24 are in tube 2, which is orange. Fiber 20 is the 8th fiber in that tube, and the 8th TIA-598 color is black (blue, orange, green, brown, slate, white, red, black, yellow, violet, rose, aqua). Yellow is 9 and violet is 10.
8. Sequential jacket marks read 01250 ft at the base of the tower and 00412 ft at the tower-top end of the cable. What is the cable length?
Answer: 838 ft. Cable length is the difference between the two sequential marks: 1250 - 412 = 838 ft, whichever way the numbers run. Adding the marks or taking one reading alone is a common slip. The fiber inside a stranded loose tube cable is slightly longer than the jacket because of helical lay, which an OTDR will show.
9. A remote radio unit has an SC/APC (green) port, but the only spare jumper on the truck is SC/UPC (blue). What is the correct decision?
Answer: Don't use it; mating APC to UPC leaves a gap with high loss and reflectance. An 8° APC endface does not make physical contact with a flat-domed UPC endface, so there is an air gap that causes high insertion loss, poor reflectance and possible endface damage. Always match APC to APC (green) and UPC to UPC (blue). The problem exists at every wavelength.
10. After two wet-dry cleanings, a video probe shows one small pit inside the core zone of a single-mode UPC connector. Under IEC 61300-3-35, what is the result?
Answer: Fail: the core zone allows no defects, so replace or re-terminate it. For single-mode PC and UPC endfaces, IEC 61300-3-35 allows no scratches or defects in the core zone; a pit is permanent damage that cleaning cannot remove. Replace the jumper or re-terminate. The rule is always inspect, clean if needed and re-inspect before connecting.
11. An unlisted outside plant fiber cable enters an equipment shelter at a cell site, and the splice to listed indoor cable is planned 80 ft inside the shelter. What does NEC Article 770 require?
Answer: Terminate the unlisted cable in an enclosure within 50 ft of the point of entrance. NEC Article 770 allows unlisted outside plant optical fiber cable to run inside a building only up to 50 ft (15 m) from the point of entrance, ending in an enclosure, and not in risers, plenums or other air-handling spaces. Beyond that, a listed cable type is required. Bring the splice point within 50 ft.
12. A fiber cable's spec sheet gives an outside diameter of 0.5 in and minimum bend radius of 20 times OD under load and 10 times OD with no load. What is the minimum radius around the sheave while hoisting it up the tower?
Answer: 10 in. During hoisting the cable is under tension, so the loaded (dynamic) bend radius applies: 20 x 0.5 in = 10 in. The 5 in figure is the no-load (static) radius for the cable once installed and at rest. Sheaves and guides must be at least that large to avoid damaging the fibers.
13. An OTDR set to a group index of 1.468 shows a reflective event with a round-trip time of 25.0 µs. How far down the fiber is the event?
Answer: 2.55 km. Distance = (speed of light x time) / (2 x index) = (299,792 km/s x 25.0 µs) / (2 x 1.468), about 2.55 km. Forgetting the index gives 3.75 km, and forgetting to halve the round trip gives 5.11 km. A wrong index setting causes a distance error in proportion.
14. A 120 m outdoor single-mode link has 4 mated connector pairs and 1 fusion splice. Using TIA-568 allowances (0.75 dB per connector pair, 0.3 dB per splice, 0.5 dB/km for outside plant cable), what is the not-to-exceed loss?
Answer: 3.36 dB. Connectors 4 x 0.75 = 3.0 dB, splice 0.3 dB and fiber 0.12 km x 0.5 = 0.06 dB, total 3.36 dB. Using the 1.0 dB/km inside plant figure gives 3.42 dB, and leaving out the splice gives 3.06 dB. A good link usually measures well under this ceiling.
15. During a single-mode link loss test to TIA-526-7, why is the transmit reference jumper wrapped in a single 30 mm diameter loop?
Answer: To strip higher-order modes that a short jumper can carry, steadying the reference. A short single-mode jumper can carry a higher-order mode that would otherwise inflate the reference and make links look better than they are. A single 30 mm loop strips it so the launch is truly single-mode. It is not a bend test and not a way to attenuate the source.

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ETA FTAA exam FAQ

How many questions are on the ETA FTAA exam?

75 multiple-choice questions, with a time limit of 2 hours. Format: closed book; scratch paper and a non-programmable calculator are allowed. eta requires a special course, fee and hands-on exam from an eta-approved school before the knowledge exam, so this prep covers only the written knowledge exam.

What is the passing score for ETA FTAA?

75%.

How much does the ETA FTAA exam cost?

US$155 for the exam, with one free retake within one year of the first sitting; course and hands-on fees are set by the school. Certification term 4 years, with maintenance required. BICSI fees can change without notice, so confirm on bicsi.org before you apply.

Which languages is the ETA FTAA exam offered in?

English. ETA does not list other languages for FTAA; confirm with ETA or your school.

Where do I take the ETA FTAA exam?

ETA-approved schools with an ETA Course Approval, which run the required FTAA course and hands-on exam; the written exam is proctored by an ETA Certification Administrator online (Trapeza) or on paper.

Is this ETA FTAA practice test free?

Yes. The 15-question practice test on this page is free, with an explanation for every answer and no signup. A free account also unlocks the complete study notes for the first topic. The full ETA FTAA prep is Premium at $147 a month for this exam.

What's in the premium ETA FTAA prep?

3,000 practice questions organized topic by topic (Light, Transmission and Fiber Theory: 375; Fiber Characteristics and Designations: 375; FTAA Safety: RF, Towers and Lasers: 375; Light Sources, Receivers and Attenuators: 375; Fiber and Hybrid Cabling for Cell Sites: 375; Connectors, Cleaning and Inspection: 375; Cable Installation, NEC and Bonding: 375; Testing: OLTS, OTDR and Documentation: 375), 6 full-length timed mock exams of 75 questions, 800 flashcards and 60 comprehensive key notes split across all 8 topics, plus a mistakes bank and the Readiness Score.

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Exam details are summarized from the official candidate information available in October 2026. BICSI changes formats and fees, so confirm with ETA International (Electronics Technicians Association), accredited by ICAC under ISO/IEC 17024 before you book. RCDDQuizBank is not affiliated with BICSI or Pearson VUE.

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