Fibre testing involves the processes, tools, and standards used to test fibre optic components, fibre links, and fibre network deployment. It requires the use of tools and test instruments tailored specifically to the requirements of each phase of a network deployment. Performing fibre testing helps to guarantee that system components are working properly and within specifications.

In the case of a fiber to the home (FTTH) architecture, fiber testing is one of the first tasks to be performed so that an acceptable loss budget can be determined based on industry guidelines and standards.

There are many reasons to test and monitor fibre optic networks, not only because of industry standards and warranty requirements, but the performance of fibre optic networks should also be monitored and tested for many other reasons.

Fibre networks have become increasingly large and complex due to market demand for bandwidth. There has been an increase in cable segments, insertion loss locations, and performance requirements even as loss budgets have decreased due to the introduction of passive optical networks (PONs) and DWDMs (dense wavelength division multiplexing) in recent years. Thorough and accurate fibre testing at all network levels and phases can ensure customer satisfaction and competitive edge.

There is no denying that fibre optics are delicate and complex. Despite highly trained technician's best efforts, fibre optics are vulnerable to contamination, micro-bending, and connector damage. In fact, dirty connections are responsible for most fibre network failures. Testing the network comprehensively prior to turn-on allows any defects or damage to be detected and repaired proactively.