Empowering connectivity: a reflective journey through fiber optics and field operations

My journey began with the fundamental building blocks of modem communication like the types of fiber optics cables. I quickly learned that in this field, millimetres matter. Whether I was working in the controlled environment of a data centre or out at a distribution point, the tools of the trade like the OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer) and the Optical Power Meter became extensions of my own hands.
There is a unique kind of satisfaction in troubleshooting a signal loss of -64.2 dBm and successfully tracing the fault through a maze of yellow patch cords. It taught me that engineering isn't just about knowing how things work but it's about the patience to find out why they don't.
One of the most inspiring aspects of this internship has been the sheer variety of the "office." In the server room, I spent an hour to navigate the server racks. The reason is to ensure that every connection is seated perfectly, and every cable labelled with care. It's a place where you realize the weight of responsibility; if someone pulls the wrong lever, it could disconnect an entire neighbourhood.
At the working site under the blazing sun with the TM technicians, I saw the true grit behind the TM logo. From deploying new infrastructure near rural paddy fields to maintaining poles that stand as sentinels of connectivity, I learned that technology is only as good as the people willing to maintain it in the heat and the rain.