Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)

Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist (BTCS)

Credential: Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist (BTCS)  GI Bill resource
Credentialing Agency: Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)

Renewal Period: 3 years

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist (BTCS) certification is for individuals with knowledge in maintenance and troubleshooting of the inside plant facilities and of advanced entertainment, data and voice networks within the headend. Candidates must have a minimum of six to eight years of experience in cable television headend operations. Candidates must also pass a written exam.

More information can be found on the certifying agency's website.

Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist (BTCS)

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

 

Eligibility Requirements (View Details)

  • Credential Prerequisite
  • Experience: 6 years recommended
  • Education
  • Training
  • Membership
  • Other
  • Fee

Note: This credential may have multiple options for becoming eligible. Listed are the minimum requirements based on the minimum degree required. To view other options, see the Eligibility tab.

Exam Requirements (View Details)

  • Exam
  • Written Exam
  • Oral Exam
  • Practical Exam
  • Performance Assessment

RECERTIFICATION SUMMARY

Renewal Period: 3 years

  • Continuing Education
  • Exam
  • Continuing Education OR Exam
  • Fee
  • Other

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)

140 Philips Rd.
Exton, PA  19341-1316

Phone: (800) 542-5040

Fax: (610) 363-5898
Email: jwelch@scte.org

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Candidates must have a minimum of six to eight years of experience in cable television Headend operations.

The Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist (BTCS) credential has the following other requirements:

  • Candidates must agree to uphold the SCTE Certification Code of Ethics.

Written Exam

  • Facilities
    • Facility resources at the hands of critical facility managers.
    • Important principles regarding planning, installing, and caring for an effective headend operating climate.
    • Purpose, procedures, theory and operation of headend fire protection equipment and its related components. Familiarity of OSHA, safety, and security regulations and practices related to headend site layout and personnel.
    • Operation, procedures, and practices relating to headend and network system monitoring. Headed rack design relating to organization, specifications, and environmental performance.
    • Theory, acrhitecture, methods, procedures, and specifications used to ensure proper headend and facility grounding practices.
    • Commercial and backup headend powering and the associated safety implications.
    • Headend towers, cable routing methods and practices, including labeling, as well as cable and connector types.
  • Cabling and Fiber Transport
    • Basic technology of coaxial cable, optical fiber and optical fiber transport systems.
    • Microwave links for the transport and distribution of voice, video and data.
    • Channel frequency assignments used in broadband hybrid fiber/coax networks.
    • Hybrid fiber coax networks for business services and cellular backhaul applications.
  • RF Signal Modulation, Demodulation, and Processors
    • Relationship of symbol rate, bandwidth and channel size to the cable system.
    • Analog and the digital modulation orders used in the cable access network.
    • Demodulation and the demodulation process.
    • Multiplexing signals; the differences and features between them.
    • Cable operator devices used to format video signals for transmission over the HFC network.
  • Baseband and Digital Signaling
    • Analog RF and baseband audio and video signals, the various types, their standards, testing procedures, and maintenance operations.
  • Signal Transmission and Reception
    • Analog and digital transmission systems and describe how these two systems work over metallic, fiber and RF based facilities.
    • Fiber based facilities and the different types of fiber optic cables.
    • Satellite systems from the orbital and satellite itself to the equipment used to make it all happen.
  • Network Fundamentals
    • Various network topologies and five distinct types of networks, and the numbering behind them.
    • Ethernet, VLAN technology, and various Ethernet cabling standards.
    • How Networks indicate errors and various packet flows.
    • OSI model and the TCP/IP model, common network protocols found in today's network, and the way media is digitized and sent over IP based networks.
    • Network IP addressing and static and dynamic routing techniques and error detection and correction.
  • MPEG Systems
    • Why cable operators are interested in compressing digital video.
    • Basics of compression.
    • Block elements of encoding.
    • MPEG and how it is used in cable to compress and transport digital video.
    • ATSC standard.
    • Difference between the MPEG standards.
    • MPEG digital audio standards.
  • Video Services
    • Physical interfaces and common protocols used for video transport and the role headend controllers play in accessing video content in the cable network.
    • Types, characteristics and operation of narrowcast services. Architectures used by VoD systems and types of server management used by operators in the cable network.
    • Commerical and Emergency Alert Program Insertion (Analog and Digital): components of commerical or digital program insertion.
  • Circuit Switched Telephony
    • Phone company entities and switching concepts, including call processing, PSTN switches, ISDN and SS7 signaling.
    • PSTN call features.
    • Various aspects of central office configuration and PSTN supported Customer Premise Equipment (CPE).
    • IPSTN facilities; digital hierarchy, local loops, trunk groups transport CSV traffic and how cellular networks provide wireless coverage.
    • PSTN versions of broadband delivery.
    • Different methods of testing used to validate PSTN networks.
    • PSTN reference architecture documentation and applicable standards.
  • Cable Telephony
    • How VoIP packets are created, from a high level overview.
    • VoIP signaling protocols needed to make a call.
    • IP Multimedia System (IMS) networks.
    • CableLabs "cable-VoIP" solution "PacketCable."
  • Data Services and DOCSIS
    • How the DOCSIS protocol is used within the cable network.
    • Components that make up the DOCSIS protocol.
    • How RF operates in the upstream and downstream.
    • How DOCSIS cable modems function and initialize in the cable network.
    • Security concerns and how DOCSIS addresses these concerns.
    • Tools used for DOCSIS traffic management and bandwidth efficiency.
    • Service identifiers and how they are used in DOCSIS.
    • Feature set of DOCSIS 3.x.
  • Test Equipment and its Applications
    • The theory and operation of the various types of test equipment, as well as their applications.
    • RF Equipment Theory and Application.
    • Leakage Measurements.
    • Photonic Equipment.
    • Other Headend Equipment.
  • Testing and Maintenance
    • The equipment and methods used to test Digital Video, Audio, and Digital Performance. Measurement techniques and troubleshooting procedures, and techniques to correct impairments.
    • Measurement Techniques.
    • Testing and Troubleshooting.
    • Impairments and Mitigation.
    • Proactive Network Maintenance.

Exam Preparation Resources

There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist (BTCS) examination:

RECERTIFICATION

Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist (BTCS)

Renewal Period: 3 years

The Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist (BTCS) credential has the following recertification information:

  • BTCS certification is renewable every three years. BTCS certification holders must earn 12 Recertification Units (RUs) to maintain certification without having to re-take the exam.

    Additional information about recertification is available on the SCTE Certification Maintenance page.

In Demand

This certification is considered in demand

COOL Bucks

See your installation Education Service Officer for credential exam information and coordinating instructions.

COOL Summary

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COOL Summary

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COOL Summary

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COOL Summary

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Some

Credential is related to some tasks associated with the duties of the military occupation (at least one critical task but less than 80%)

Most

Credential is directly related to most of the major duties associated with the military occupation (at least 80%)

Other

Credential is related to this military occupation, but is more advanced or specialized and therefore will likely require additional education, training, or experience

Promotion Points

This certification has been approved for promotion points.

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Star

Star credentials are MOS enhancing, as designated by the Proponent. MOS enhancing credentials are directly related to an MOS or ASI, are taught either partially or completely as part of a Program of Instruction (POI), and improves the MOS technical proficiency.

Skill Level

The Skill Level reflects the level, based on MOS training and/or experience, the Soldier should be the most prepared to successfully earn the credential. See the Table Legend for details about each level.

Proponent Funded

Indicates the credential may have funding through the MOS proponent. Some proponents offer credentialing opportunities in conjunction with military training and/or as part of MOS development beyond the training base.

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Navy Bucks

Credential voucher or reimbursement for credential exam, re-certification, or maintenance fee has been approved for payment through the Navy's Credential Program Office. To get a voucher request form, click 'Complete Voucher and Apply' at the top of any page.

CG Bucks

Coming Soon - Coast Guard policy regarding service member eligibility requirements to participate in the Voluntary Credentialing Program is under review with a projected release date of first quarter FY20.

Early Career

1-3 years experience; Enlisted E1 through E4

Mid Career

4-10 years experience; Enlisted E5 through E6

Late Career

10+ years experience; Enlisted E7 and Above

Early Career

1-3 years experience; Enlisted “A” School through E5

Mid Career

4-10 years experience; Enlisted E6 through E7

Late Career

10+ years experience; Enlisted E8 and Above

LaDR

This credential is recommended on the rating Learning and Development Roadmap (LaDR) for Sailors currently in the pay grade indicated on the icon, BUT MAY BE TAKEN BY SAILORS IN OTHER PAY GRADES.

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GI Bill®

Reimbursement for exam fees has been approved for payment through the GI Bill. Click for external link to GI Bill licensing and certification information.

Note: GI Bill approval data is updated quarterly. For the latest information, visit the WEAMS Licenses/Certifications Search page. Make sure to select "Both" in the LAC Category Type drop-down before searching.

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ANSI

This credential has been accredited by ANSI. Click for external link to the ANSI web site.

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ICAC

This credential has been accredited by ICAC. Click for external link to the ICAC web site.

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ABSNC

This credential has been accredited by ABSNC. Click for external link to the ABSNC web site.

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NCCA

This credentialing program has been accredited by NCCA. Click for external link to the NCCA web site.

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IAS

This credential has been accredited by IAS. Click for external link to the IAS web site.

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Low

May be difficult to attain: minimum education requirement is a Bachelor's degree, and/or minimum experience is 10 or more years.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

Medium

Moderate ease of attainment: minimum education requirement = Associate's and/or prerequisite and/or minimum experience = more than 2 years and less than 10 years of experience.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

High

Highly attainable: mimum education requirement = HS or less and/or minimum experience = 2 years or less experience and no additional requirements.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

MOS is Military Occupational Specialty
ASI is Additional Skill Identifier
WOMOS is Warrant Officer Military Occupational Specialty

Army e-learning

State-of-the art Computer Based Training available for free to the Army Workforce. Click for more information.

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NKO e-learning

Credential preparation courses are provided at no cost through Navy e-Learning. Click for external link to the Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) web site, then select the “Navy e-Learning” link within the “Learning” tab to proceed to Navy e-Learning.

Bright Outlook – new job opportunities are very likely in the future for this job
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Updated: October 16, 2019
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