The purpose of this Standard is to define commonly used terms, symbols and abbreviations for fiber optic applications. INTRODUCTION The increased usage of fiber optic technology has created the need to standardize on the terms used. It is the purpose of this Standard to establish the applicable terms and to reference a definition for each. The initial base for this Standard was prepared jointly by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (NTIA/ITS) and the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). The EIA FO-6.2 Subcommittee was granted permission by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) and by NTIA/ITS to use and publish terms from their documents to update and revise EIA Recommended Standard RS-440, published May, 1978. IEEE Standard 812-1984 includes many of the terms and definitions from the aforementioned base. It is a major source reference for this revision of EIA-440.