The partnership supports SCTE Certification Programs in the industry and provides a clearer route for certification preparation through Jones/NCTI. Jones/NCTI is taking on the role of an "Official Training Partner" of SCTE, and the Society is sharpening its focus on certification and professional development. In turn, Jones/NCTI is recognizing SCTE as an "Official Certification Provider" and is providing direct support for the Society's six certification programs. The result will be a clarification of each organization's role for the technical side of the industry: individuals will turn to Jones/NCTI for training and to SCTE for industry certification.

As a first step, the organizations will spend the next six months more closely aligning Jones/NCTI's training with the competencies outlined for each of SCTE's certifications. Additionally, the two have agreed to:

• Roll out a specific set of Jones/NCTI curriculum for SCTE certification preparation;
• Create pre-certification assessments to test an individual's readiness to sit for a certification exam;
• Review competencies and training curriculum on a regular basis to ensure ongoing alignment of the two;
• Develop a voucher system that gives graduates of Jones/NCTI's certification preparation curriculum a voucher for each course completed. The voucher(s) can then be applied toward the costs of SCTE certification or membership.

For the individual involved in the technical side of broadband operations a number of significant benefits are available. Primarily, there will be a specific training resource to help prepare for SCTE certifications. The training and certification will be periodically reviewed to ensure they are in synch with industry developments. Secondly, each time you complete a certification preparation course you will earn a voucher to apply toward SCTE certification and membership costs. Finally, you can take a pre-certification assessment to find out if you are prepared to sit for a certification exam.
 
The Jones/NCTI/SCTE partnership will also provide important benefits for a company with technical staff. The company will have all it needs to get individual employees started on the road to industry certification. Jones/NCTI will provide an easy to follow career path for SCTE certification. Pre-certification assessments will allow the company to identify which employees are ready for certification and what knowledge needs to be gained for those who aren't quite ready. Of equal importance, the voucher system will help the company save on its certification and membership/dues budgets on an ongoing basis while still ensuring its employees gain the valuable industry knowledge needed to run correctly a broadband operation.

No, Jones/NCTI won't train to specific exam questions. In fact, Jones/NCTI will not have access to the actual questions in the exam pools of any certification exam. However, the company will ensure that its certification-related curriculum contains the information and knowledge that will be tested during the certification exam.

No. The only way to become SCTE certified is to pass an SCTE certification exam. To pass the exam you have to understand the concepts and master the knowledge the exam is testing you on. Jones/NCTI's courses can help you pass a certification exam by teaching you the specific concepts and knowledge tested in the certification exam.

Jones/NCTI will develop curriculum to support each of SCTE's 6 certifications, including any available endorsements. The 6 certifications are:

• Broadband Premises Specialist
• Broadband Distribution Specialist
• Broadband Transport Specialist
• Broadband Telecom Center Specialist
• Broadband Communications Technician
• Broadband Communications Engineer

Training for SCTE certification is already available in the form of Jones/NCTI's existing course structure. However, as a result of the agreement, Jones/NCTI will more closely align the content and grouping of its courses to provide certification candidates a one-for-one correlation between a Jones/NCTI training course and an SCTE certification exam. Expect curriculum to be gradually rolled out over the next 6-24 months. Before that happens, Jones/NCTI and SCTE are taking the remainder of 2004 to understand existing training and certification alignment, to identify what training/certification gaps exist, and to begin curriculum development to bridge those gaps.

In a separate agreement, on October 1, 2004, Jones/NCTI took over ownership, selling, and fulfillment of the following SCTE training materials:

• From Tap to Home
• A Practical Guide to Broadband Network Calculations
• Foundations for Delivering Quality Broadband Services
• Customer Service Essentials for Today's Technical Personnel

Jones/NCTI training has always provided knowledge to help you prepare for SCTE certification exams, so you may already be ready to sit for one or more SCTE certification exams. In the future, Jones/NCTI will provide reference material that correlates past Jones/NCTI courses with new Jones/NCTI certification-track courses so you can determine what material you've already studied and what courses contain new information that will help prepare you for SCTE certification exams.

This agreement will make it easier in the future for you to gain the knowledge you need to succeed on SCTE certification exams. Currently, certification candidates have to obtain, read and study a wide variety of training and reference materials to prepare for most SCTE certification exams. In the future, one or two Jones/NCTI courses will typically provide all the information to support the competencies a given exam is designed to test on.

For the next six months, Jones/NCTI and SCTE will release any additional information as it becomes available. You can also periodically check the Web sites www.jonesncti.com and www.scte.org for updates. For any additional information contact: