MDC Teams Up With MasTec To Launch Broadband Utilities Lab
Miami Dade College teamed up with MasTec, a force in the power plant and renewable energy construction company sphere, to open the Broadband Utilities Lab at North Campus.
The grand opening ceremony for the facility took place at North Campus on Jan. 30. President Madeline Pumariega and MasTec Chief Executive Officer Jose Mas signed the official agreement, which focuses on arming students with the skills needed to succeed in the broadband technology arena.
“It provides another avenue for students to find the skill set that they see [is] best fit to gain meaningful employment or for them to have good careers,” said North Campus President Fermin Vazquez.
On Feb. 3, a cohort of 12 students, the program’s first, started work on courses that will count toward the new nine-course Telecommunication and Fiber Optics Technician certificate program.
The courses include aerial lineman, fiber optic cable blowing, coax splicing, workplace safety and health, fiber splicing, safe wreckout operations, flagger and traffic control, underground construction training and horizontal directional drill operator training.
To enroll in the courses, applicants must be at least 18-years-old and have a high school diploma.
The 4,400 sq. ft. facility, which was previously an Army barrack, underwent a $255,000 renovation. Located on the southeast corner of the North Campus, the refurbished site has two classrooms, accommodating up to 30 students each.
But the standout feature is its hands-on training area outfitted with Broadband pole corrals. The outdoor training area, which is next to the main facility, includes 23 and 35-ft. poles, 20 eye level poles and an emergency safety shower.
At the site, students can practice pole climbing, use safety equipment, and refine their skills in rescue techniques, pole framing, support line installation, and fiber optics and coaxial wire setup.
“I want to see a sustainable program that [allows] our students [to] secure a job in the industry,” said Sunyen Lee, who is the chair of the continuing education department at North Campus.
The corral area also has 13 splicing pedestals with telecommunications equipment such as coax amplifiers, fiber splice enclosures and fiber to the premise terminals.
It also includes an underground vault with a piping system to help students practice pulling and pushing telecommunication using industry-standard methods.
“I think as a college part of our duty is to help the community in any way we can, and it’s building programs like [this] where there is a need in the community,” said Evelyn Rodriguez, the senior director of campus administration at North Campus.
To register for courses in the program or for more information, visit: ce.mdc.edu/fiberoptics.
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