TCO CTNS Certification: Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist

The core knowledge needed in telecom today, with eight courses covering all major topics – plus TCO Certification to prove it!

The internationally-recognized TCO CTNS Certification is the core telecommunications network knowledge required by everyone serious in the telecom world today.

Bust the buzzwords, demystify the jargon, understand the fundamental concepts, technologies and standard practices … and most importantly, the underlying ideas, and how it all fits together.

The eight full-length courses in the CTNS Certification Package cover all major areas of telecom, datacom and networking.

You will start by getting up to speed on all major topics with the new 2021 course Introduction to Broadband Converged IP Telecom plus fully up-to-date courses on Cellular and Wi-Fi,  VoIP and SIP, the PSTN, OSI Layers, LANs and Optical Ethernet, IP and MPLS.

For an individual, this knowledge and preparation makes you an ideal candidate to hire or promote to a task, as you will be able to build on your knowledge base to quickly get up to speed and work on a particular project – then have the versatility to work on subsequent projects.

For an employer, CTNS is an extremely cost-effective way of getting team members and new hires up to a common speed with a common vocabulary and reference. The myTeracom Learning Management System can generate team progress reports.  A discount of 40% is available for 5 seats or more.

This investment will be repaid many times over in the future in terms of lowered buzzword frustration and higher accuracy and productivity.  Get started today!

The coursework for CTNS is a set of eight high-quality online multimedia courses. The content outline for each course is below. Click on the course name or scroll down for detailed descriptions, what you will learn, and free lessons.

newCourse 2241: Introduction to Broadband Converged IP Telecom
• Specifically designed for non-engineers
• Introduction and first pass through all aspects of today’s telecom
• Convergence • Broadband • Network Core and Edge • Protocols
• Last Mile Copper, Fiber and Wireless • Network Equipment
• Residential, Business and Wholesale Services • Carrier Connections

Course 2206: Wireless Telecommunications
• Mobile network, radio and cellular fundamentals
• Phone calls and mobile Internet over cellular
• 4G LTE, OFDMA, 5G new spectrum, new applications
• Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi security, and satellite communications

Course 2221: Fundamentals of Voice over IP
• The Big Picture. VoIP Phones and Terminals
• Voice in IP Packets. Soft Switches / SIP Servers / Call Managers
• Media Servers, Gateways, LAN and WAN, SIP Trunking, Standards
• Where All of This is Headed: Broadband IP Dial Tone

Course 2201: The PSTN
• Required knowledge while there remains a large installed base
• Loops and trunks, analog, the voiceband
• LECs, CLECs and IXCs. POTS and SS7

Course 2212: OSI Layers and Protocol Stacks
• Protocols and standards. The OSI Model
• Layers: Layer 2 vs. Layer 3. Examples
• Protocol stacks. How protocol stacks work

Course 2211: LANs, VLANs, Wireless and Optical Ethernet
• LAN fundamentals. Ethernet and 802 standards
• MAC addresses and MAC frames
• LAN switches, broadcast domains and VLANs
• Ethernet on twisted pair (Cat 5e/6 cables), radio (Wi-Fi) and fiber (Optical Ethernet)

Course 2213: IP Networks, Routers and Addresses
• Packet network fundamentals. Routers
• IP packets and IP addresses
• Static & dynamic, public & private addresses
• Network Address Translation (NAT). IPv6.

Course 2214: MPLS and Carrier Networks
• Carrier network basics. Customer Edge (CE) device
• Service Level Agreements and CoS
• MPLS for traffic management, VPNs, integrated access
• MPLS Services vs. Internet service

Invest in yourself with the CTNS Certification Package!

Eight CTNS courses plus TCO Certification, giving you a solid foundation in telecom, datacom and networking, from modern IP telecom, wireless, VoIP and PSTN to Ethernet, IP networking and MPLS.

Plus, get your Telecommunications Certification Organization (TCO) Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) Certification to prove it!

Upgrade your skills – and your résumé – with this training and certification today!

The CTNS Certification Package Unlimited Plan includes the eight CTNS Courses and CTNS Certification Exam, both with unlimited repeats – which means guaranteed to pass if you’re willing to do the work, and refresh your knowledge anytime.

Optional printed or eBook study guide available.

Order CTSME – save $813

CTSME – Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert is 5 certifications in one – CTNS, CVA, CWA, CTA plus CTSME.

CTSME certification

Just $1595 when ordered as a bundle.

The most comprehensive telecommunications training and certification available.

Five internationally-recognized telecommunications and network certifications, a total of twenty‑six full‑length high‑quality online courses, TCO Subject Matter Expert certification, with unlimited repeats and no time limits.

Get more Info

Boot Camp IN-PERSON Aug 16-20 – Washington, DC

Do you prefer in-person training to online training?
Are you ready to get back to in-person training?
We’re ready if you are.
Join us Aug 16-20 in Washington, DC for Boot Camp, Course 101 or Course 130.

Teracom’s famous core telecom training for non-engineers, totally updated for the 2020s, with broadband, cloud computing, data centers, 5G, IoT, broadband wireless and much more.

BOOT CAMP is Course 101 and 130 back-to-back to make a whole week, packaged with a discount as Course 111. Career- and productivity-enhancing training, two course books with detailed notes, printed in color, totaling over 600 pages, plus bonus CTNS, CVA and CTA Certification Packages, for only $2495.

In the heart of the nation’s capital, steps from the White House. One block from McPherson Square Metro station, 20 minutes to DCA. Complimentary breakfast and Wi-Fi in Guest Rooms included with sleeping rooms.

Get out of the office, learn more and retain more with five days of the best you can get: live, in-person instructor-led training in a classroom environment.

You may register for only the first three days of BOOT CAMP (Course 101) or for the last two days only (Course 130) as best meets your needs.  But with the bundle discount savings of $695 and three certifications, the full 5-day Course 111 BOOT CAMP is a great opportunity.   which should you get?

Get more info

BOOT CAMP: Live Online Aug 23-27

Teracom’s famous core telecom training for non-engineers, totally updated for the 2020s, with broadband, cloud computing, data centers, 5G, IoT, broadband wireless and much more.

Boot Camp logo

BOOT CAMP Live Online continues to be a great success. Join us Aug 23 to bust the buzzwords, demystify the jargon and understand today’s telecommunications technologies, and most importantly, the underlying ideas… and how it all fits together.

You will learn and retain more as part of a live class with a real instructor, where you can ask questions and interact with others.

Thousands of people have benefitted from this training.  Join us!

Contact us for a private BOOT CAMP if you have a group!

get more info  •  register  •  detailed BOOT CAMP brochure

Here’s a sampling of student evaluations from previous classes:

“Awesome course, really. Just very, very good.”
  – Tim Wilson, Ciena

“Thank you guys so much, this class was amazing! I would take this all over again!”
– Austin Thompson, NHC

“Since I am very new to telecom, this helped me connect the dots, the different layers and terminology. I liked that it followed the printed workbooks very closely so I could read the summaries after the lessons. The instructor was great. He kept it light, added some jokes to keep it entertaining.  I liked most when he did drawings with his explanations.”
  – Ashley Brinkman, Marketing Manager, MTA, Palmer Alaska

“The course was very beneficial for me.  I wish I would have been able to take this class a few years back when I first started!”
  – Tamara Pepin, CRTC

“I had some of the basics; this class filled gaps and added much more depth. Instructor Richard was open to questions at any time, and revisited topics until we got it. Having the notes in the printed course book to follow along and add to was very helpful. Richard was very passionate about the course material and had great real-life examples.”
– Robert Smieszny, NHC

“Richard is an excellent instructor. He has unmatched knowledge on the subject! He does a fantastic job interacting as if we are physically in a classroom with him!”
– Daniel Herfel, National Institute of Standards and Technology

All you need to join BOOT CAMP Live Online and get this world-famous training is a laptop with a webcam. We’ll ship you the high-quality printed color course books in advance of the BOOT CAMP, and you’ll be part of a class that runs 9 – 5 Monday – Friday.

The best part: BOOT CAMP was totally updated for 2020, with 5G, Cloud Computing, Data Centers, Smart Cities & more, just before the pandemic struck!

This is the most up-to-date telecom-for-non-engineers training that can be found anywhere.

This is truly career-enhancing knowledge.

Teracom BOOT CAMP Live Online is a great opportunity:
• Live interactive group training, guaranteed coronavirus-free!
• You will be part of a class.
• You will be able to see and hear everyone else.
• We’ll ship you the high-quality printed color course books in advance.
• The instructor will keep you focused, so you learn, like any other BOOT CAMP.
• You can ask the instructor questions, like any other BOOT CAMP.
• The class will run on a schedule: 9 – 5 Monday to Friday, with scheduled breaks, like any other BOOT CAMP.
• You get immediate access to three TCO Certification Packages, with their online courses.
• No travel required.
• Anyone worldwide can take BOOT CAMP.
• All you need is a laptop with a webcam.

This is an ideal time to get the training you need!

You’ll get the course materials shipped to you: two printed color books totaling over 500 pages with copies of all graphics and detailed text notes.

You will also get immediate access to the included TCO Certification Packages: CTNS, CTA and CVA and their twenty full-length online courses, with no time limits and unlimited repeats.

You’ll get the full BOOT CAMP as close as you can get without actually being there.

If you are an international participant, this is your opportunity to take BOOT CAMP. No US travel visa required!

Carpe diem!

Get more Info

BOOT CAMP: Live Online June 14-18

Boot Camp logo

BOOT CAMP Live Online is going strong.  
Check out student evaluations from previous classes.
Join us the week of June 14 to bust the buzzwords, demystify the jargon and understand today’s converged broadband telecommunications, and most importantly, the underlying ideas… and how it all fits together.  

Or contact us for a private class if you have a group!

Teracom’s famous core telecom training for non-engineers, totally updated for the 2020s, with broadband, cloud computing, data centers, 5G, IoT, broadband wireless and much more.

BOOT CAMP Live Online continues to be a great success. Join us June 14 to bust the buzzwords, demystify the jargon and understand today’s telecommunications technologies, and most importantly, the underlying ideas… and how it all fits together.

You will learn and retain more as part of a live class with a real instructor, where you can ask questions and interact with others.

Thousands of people have benefitted from this training.  Join us!

Contact us for a private BOOT CAMP if you have a group!
get more info  •  register  •  detailed BOOT CAMP brochure

Here’s a sampling of student evaluations from previous classes:

“Awesome course, really. Just very, very good.”
  – Tim Wilson, Ciena

“Thank you guys so much, this class was amazing! I would take this all over again!”
– Austin Thompson, NHC

“Since I am very new to telecom, this helped me connect the dots, the different layers and terminology. I liked that it followed the printed workbooks very closely so I could read the summaries after the lessons. The instructor was great. He kept it light, added some jokes to keep it entertaining.  I liked most when he did drawings with his explanations.”
  – Ashley Brinkman, Marketing Manager, MTA, Palmer Alaska

“The course was very beneficial for me.  I wish I would have been able to take this class a few years back when I first started!”
  – Tamara Pepin, CRTC

“I had some of the basics; this class filled gaps and added much more depth. Instructor Richard was open to questions at any time, and revisited topics until we got it. Having the notes in the printed course book to follow along and add to was very helpful. Richard was very passionate about the course material and had great real-life examples.”
– Robert Smieszny, NHC

“Richard is an excellent instructor. He has unmatched knowledge on the subject! He does a fantastic job interacting as if we are physically in a classroom with him!”
– Daniel Herfel, National Institute of Standards and Technology

All you need to join BOOT CAMP Live Online and get this world-famous training is a laptop with a webcam. We’ll ship you the high-quality printed color course books in advance of the BOOT CAMP, and you’ll be part of a class that runs 9 – 5 Monday – Friday.

The best part: BOOT CAMP was totally updated for 2020, with 5G, Cloud Computing, Data Centers, Smart Cities & more, just before the pandemic struck! 

This is the most up-to-date telecom-for-non-engineers training that can be found anywhere.

This is truly career-enhancing knowledge.

Teracom BOOT CAMP Live Online is a great opportunity:

  • Live interactive group training, guaranteed coronavirus-free!
  • You will be part of a class.
  • You will be able to see and hear everyone else.
  • We’ll ship you the high-quality printed color course books in advance.
  • The instructor will stand up at the front of the room and teach the class like any other BOOT CAMP.
  • The instructor will keep you focused, so you learn, like any other BOOT CAMP.
  • You can ask the instructor questions, like any other BOOT CAMP.
  • The class will run on a schedule: 9 – 5 Monday to Friday, with scheduled breaks, like any other BOOT CAMP.
  • You get immediate access to three TCO Certification Packages, with their online courses.
  • No travel required.
  • Anyone worldwide can take BOOT CAMP.
  • All you need is a laptop with a webcam.

This is an ideal time to get the training you need!

You’ll get the course materials shipped to you: two printed color books totaling over 500 pages with copies of all graphics and detailed text notes.

You will also get immediate access to the included TCO Certification Packages: CTNS, CTA and CVA and their twenty full-length online courses, with no time limits and unlimited repeats.

You’ll get the full BOOT CAMP with our top instructor, as close as you can get without actually being there.

If you are an international participant, this is your opportunity to take BOOT CAMP. No US travel visa required!

Carpe diem!

Get more info

BOOT CAMP Live Online Instructor-Led Training Request

Want to take Boot Camp, but need to get approval. Here is a message you can send to your supervisor for approval.

BOOT CAMP Live Online Instructor-Led Training Request

Dear [Manager]

I need to get training on telecom to do my job effectively, and to that end, I would like to request permission to register for Teracom Training Institute’s Live Online telecom BOOT CAMP seminar the week of May 3-7.

www.teracomtraining.com/boot-camp.htm
detailed outline: www.teracomtraining.com/courses/teracom-brochure-course-111.pdf 
course listing: www.teracomtraining.com/public_seminars.htm#LO

Teracom Training Institute specializes in telecommunications training for non-engineering professionals, which is exactly what I need.

I need this training because I have learned some things technology-wise “on the job”; but am frustrated by gaps in my knowledge, especially when people start speaking in jargon and buzzwords.  Not being up to speed on it all is unproductive, frustrating and a bit awkward.

This training will improve my productivity, accuracy and efficiency… and enable me to contribute a lot more, having a knowledge base in the technologies and the jargon.

Being part of a live online class will keep me away from distractions, so I can concentrate and learn what I need.  Instructor-led training is how I learn best.  Plus, the high-quality detailed course books they will ship directly to me before the course will be good references going forward.

Teracom is the leader in this kind of training… type “telecommunications training” into Google and Teracom Training Institute comes up #1 in the search results. They’ve been doing this since 1992, and by all accounts are very good at it… virtually all of their ratings on Google are 5 stars: https://g.page/teracomtraining. They have a GSA contract for this training, which means they have been thoroughly vetted.

One thing that I like about Teracom’s BOOT CAMP is that it is totally up-to-date, starting with broadband and IP telecom network fundamentals, cloud computing and data centers, LTE and 5G, Optical Ethernet, VoIP, SIP trunking and IoT, plus a module on security.

Here is the five-day outline:

Day 1: Fundamentals, Cloud Computing and Data Centers        
Day 2: Wireless, Fiber and Copper; Equipment and Carriers      
Day 3: IP Networking and addresses plus MPLS, SLAs and Class of Service Guarantees
Day 4: VoIP and SIP: Fundamentals and Technologies, Softswitch as a Service
Day 5: Security, 5G and IoT

It comes with two course books printed in color shipped directly to me.

As a bonus, three TCO Certification Packages: CTNS, CVA and CTA are included, along with their courses and certification exams. There are no time limits or expiration dates on the bonus online courses.

This is the training I need. It will give me a solid base, fill in gaps and get me up to speed on the jargon, technologies and standard practices across the board.

Besides alleviating the frustrating jargon and buzzwords situation, it makes good business sense for me to attend. This training will make me more accurate – understanding the big picture, the ensemble of technologies and how they relate – and this can only make me (and therefore you) more productive and save the organization money.

The in-class discussions and case studies are also an excellent opportunity for me to discuss the general outlines of our situation and find out what others are doing.

The tuition is only $1895 for five days of professional training. I checked around and found other companies like Global Knowledge charge double or more for similar week-long courses, without the included online courses and certifications, and without the printed books.

There is an optional companion reference textbook at $89 I’d like to get as well.

Please let me know if I can get this training.

Thank you,

BOOT CAMP LIVE ONLINE May 5-7

BOOT CAMP is running strong during the pandemic Live Online!

All you need to join BOOT CAMP Live Online and get this world-famous training is Internet, a laptop with a webcam and Zoom.

We’ll ship you the high-quality printed color course books in advance of the BOOT CAMP, and you’ll be part of a class that runs 9 – 5 ET Monday – Friday.

The best part: BOOT CAMP was totally updated for 2020, with 5G, Cloud Computing, Data Centers, Smart Cities & more, just before the pandemic struck!  This is the most up-to-date telecom-for-non-engineers training that can be found anywhere.  This is truly career-enhancing knowledge.

Get more info button

Teracom BOOT CAMP Live Online is a great opportunity:

  • Live interactive group training, guaranteed coronavirus-free!
  • You will be part of a class.
  • You will be able to see and hear everyone else.
  • We’ll ship you the high-quality printed color course books in advance.
  • The instructor will teach the class like any other BOOT CAMP.
  • The instructor will keep you focused, so you learn, like any other BOOT CAMP.
  • You can ask the instructor questions, like any other BOOT CAMP.
  • The class will run on a schedule: 9 – 5 ET Monday to Friday, with scheduled breaks, like any other BOOT CAMP.
  • You get immediate access to three TCO Certification Packages, with their online courses.
  • No travel required.
  • Anyone worldwide can take BOOT CAMP.
  • All you need is a laptop with a webcam.

Get the training you need!

You’ll get the course materials shipped to you: two printed color books totaling over 500 pages with copies of all graphics and detailed text notes.  You will also get immediate access to the included TCO Certification Packages: CTNS, CTA and CVA and their twenty full-length online courses, with no time limits and unlimited repeats.

You’ll get the full BOOT CAMP with a live instructor, as close as you can get without actually being there.

If you are an international participant, this is your opportunity to take BOOT CAMP if you can’t travel to the USA for a public seminar.  No travel visa required!

Here’s a cut and paste training request form to send to your boss!

Get more info button

CTNS Upgrade Coming: Buy Now to Get Two Courses Free!

CTNS logo

New Course 2241 Introduction to Broadband Telecommunications along with existing Course 2221 Fundamentals of Voice over IP will be added to the CTNS Certification Package before year-end.

The price of the CTNS package will increase when the number of courses increases from six to eight. Since all existing customers will automatically get the two new courses at no additional charge, you can beat the price increase by purchasing CTNS before the upgrade and get the two new courses, when they are released, for free!

Development #3: MPLS has replaced ATM

A closer look at the third item in our list of eight major recent developments and trends in telecom

Telecommunications technology is constantly changing and improving – seemingly faster and faster every year – and at Teracom, we keep our training courses up to date to reflect these changes.  In a previous post, we identified eight major developments and trends in telecommunications incorporated in our training.

In this post, we take a closer look at the third development:
MPLS has replaced ATM for traffic management, achieving  another long-held goal in the telecommunications business, called convergence or service integration.


A long-held goal in the telecommunications business has been to transport and deliver all types of communications on the same network and access circuit, and in an ideal world, with a single bill to the customer. This idea is sometimes called convergence, though service integration is a more accurate term.

It results in a large cost savings compared to different networks, access circuits and bills for each type of communications.
In days past, this was not the case.

A residence would have at least two entry cables: twisted pair for telephone and coax for television, and separate bills for each.

The situation was even worse and more expensive in the case of a medium or large organization.

At each location, a typical organization would have the requirement to communicate
• Telephone calls to/from the PSTN,
• Telephone calls to/from other locations of the organization,
• Data to/from other locations of the organization, and
• Data, video and possibly voice to/from the Internet.

In days past, the organization might have had four physical access circuits and services – along with four bills:
• ISDN PRI over T1 to a LEC for telephone calls to/from the PSTN,
• Tie lines or a voice VPN with a custom dialing plan from an IXC for telephone calls to/from other locations of the organization,
• Dedicated T1s from an IXC for data to/from other locations of the organization, and
• DSL, Cable or T1 access from an ISP for data, video and possibly voice to/from the Internet.

Not only did this mean four services and four access technologies and four bills for the customer, it also meant the carrier had to implement and support four network technologies… a very expensive situation.

MPLS for Service Integration

The solution to integrate all of this onto one access circuit and one network is twofold:
At the source,
• Format all types of traffic the same way, and
• Paste an identifier on the front of each piece of traffic, indicating what it is and where it goes.

Then all traffic can be carried interspersed on the same access circuit and in the same network, which results in a huge cost savings for both the customer and the carrier.

The identifier on the traffic is used to both route the traffic to the correct destination, and manage the traffic in the network, performing functions like load balancing, prioritization and restoration.

Starting in the 1980s, telephone companies and equipment manufacturers attempted to implement this with a technology called Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). Literally billions of dollars were spent developing and deploying ATM from 1980 to 2000… but it failed and died, becoming too complex and too expensive, and not used for voice at the big telephone companies.

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) combined with IP has succeeded where ATM failed and is now universally implemented.

Of course, there is a lot of jargon to learn and many components to the “MPLS” story.

Here is a VERY brief explanation:
• All traffic is formatted into IP packets by the equipment that generates it, for example, a telephone or computer.
• Traffic is categorized into classes. A class of traffic goes from the same place to the same place and experiences the same transmission characteristics like delay and lost packets.
• A packet is identified as belonging to a particular class by pasting a number called a label on the front of the IP packet.
• The device that does the classification and labeling of packets is the ingress device, called a Label Edge Router in MPLS. It is normally Provider Equipment (PE), meaning owned and furnished by the service provider, located at the customer premise.
• Network equipment, called Label Switching Routers in MPLS, use the label number to route and in some cases prioritize the packet.
• Labels can be stacked, meaning one label pasted in front of another. This allows the network to manage similar kinds of traffic as a single entity in network control systems.

Returning to our example illustrated above, the four circuits illustrated at the top of the diagram can be replaced with one access circuit with three traffic classes (three labels). The physical access circuit could be 10 Mb/s to 10 Gb/s Optical Ethernet.

The three traffic classes / labels would be:
• A traffic class for telephone calls. This might be called a “SIP trunking service” by the marketing department. This class will carry VoIP phone calls to the carrier for communication to other locations of the organization, or for conversion to traditional telephony for phone calls to the public telephone network.
• A traffic class for data. This might be called a “VPN service” by the marketing department. This class carries file transfers, client-server database communications and the like securely to other locations of the organization.
• A traffic class for Internet traffic. This class carries anything in IP packets to the Internet.

All of this traffic is IP packets interspersed over the single access circuit.

At the other end of the access circuit, the carrier uses the label to route the traffic onward and possibly prioritize it to assure the appropriate service level.

The result is all of the organization’s traffic carried over a single access circuit, using a single technology.

This is one of the Holy Grails of the telecommunications business, called convergence or service integration, having significant advantages in cost and flexibility.


This is a concise description of a story that has many different facets.

In Teracom training, this discussion comes AFTER many other lessons explaining all of the underlying concepts, related technologies like PRI and SIP trunking and their jargon.

If you would like the whole story, it is currently included in the following training:

Course 101: Telecom, Datacom and Networking
for Non-Engineering Professionals

Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS)
Online telecommunications certification courses

Telecom, Datacom and Networking for Non-Engineers textbook

and DVD-Video Courses V3 and V4.

Cheers!

New Online Course L2114: MPLS and Carrier Networks

MPLS and Carrier Networks
MPLS and Carrier Networks
is a comprehensive training course designed to build a solid understanding of carrier packet networks and services, the terminology, technologies, configuration, operation and most importantly, the underlying ideas… in plain English.

This course can be taken by both those who need simply an overview and introduction to the fundamentals of carrier packet networks and MPLS, and by those who need to get up to speed and establish a solid base that project or job-specific knowledge can be built on.

We’ll cut through the buzzwords and marketing to demystify carrier packet networks and services, explaining Service Level Agreements, traffic profiles, virtual circuits, QoS, Class of Service, Differentiated Services, integration, convergence and aggregation, MPLS and other network technologies, and how they relate to TCP/IP without bogging down on details.

You will gain career- and productivity-enhancing knowledge of the structure, components and operation of carrier packet networks and services, how they are implemented, packaged and marketed by carriers and how they are used by government, business… and other carriers.