Interview With A Network Operations Technician
It’s time for another behind-the-scenes look at the employees of UTOPIA Fiber! This month we are talking to Network Operations Technician Matt Webber to learn what it’s like to work in the Network Operations Center at UTOPIA Fiber.
What’s your name, position, and how long have you been at UTOPIA Fiber?
My name is Matt Webber, I’m a NOC Tech and I’ve been here for a year and a half.
What does NOC stand for?
It stands for Network Operations Center.
What is the role of the NOC at UTOPIA Fiber?
We monitor the network and help troubleshoot issues that customers may have with their internet.
What do you do as a NOC Tech?
It’s kind of two parts. Over half the day is spent helping techs provision new equipment and getting it up and running. The other part is helping internet service providers when they call in to troubleshoot issues.
What does it mean to provision new equipment?
Once fiber is installed we’ll configure the equipment that is on-site in the customer’s home and then work with the ISP to get the customer connected.
What made you want to go into network operations?
So I spent most of my IT career in system administration, but I actually knew the previous NOC manager here, so I decided to come here to give it a go and change things up a bit.
What’s the most common call you get in the NOC?
The most common call is probably the setup call from our tech. I would say 70-80 of our calls are talking with our tech to get equipment set up.
What’s your favorite memory you’ve made working at UTOPIA Fiber?
Probably any of the times that we have gotten together as a company for summer parties or Christmas parties. Just getting to be around the people and feeling like a family.
What’s the best part about working in the NOC?
Oh, there’s a lot. I think the best part is just the satisfaction of either troubleshooting and figuring something out or getting something up and running.
What’s been the weirdest experience you’ve had at UTOPIA Fiber?
Fortunately, there haven’t been too many weird ones. The only thing I can think of is every once in a while we’ll get calls from people out of state who think that we are in their state, and we’re not.
Outside of work what is your favorite thing to do?
Just spending time with my family. Taking the kids to see a movie or going to the pond with the kayaks and paddle boards.
What do you wish people knew about UTOPIA Fiber?
I think just having people understand that UTOPIA Fiber is more of the backbone or roadway to get there, and their internet service provider is the one that handles most of the issues that they might have.
NOC vs Engineering in a super smash tournament, who would win?
The NOC. More people play video games in the NOC than in engineering, so I think we’d take them down.
That’s all for today’s interview, we hope you enjoyed getting to know one of our amazing NOC Techs! We know that we couldn’t do what we do without all the incredible work that our Network Operations team puts in every day.
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