robert c. fortin

** **** ****** ****: 484-***-****

Hamburg, PA 19526 ab94vg@r.postjobfree.com mobile: 610-***-****

Summary

Telecommunications Specialist experienced in facilities engineering

(circuit ordering, design, interconnect, provisioning, report building,

testing, implementation); field engineering (commissioning, migration,

operations, integration); and transport engineering (network design,

backhaul, transmission). Expertise in plan execution requiring a high

degree of attention to detail and autonomy to maximize fiscal prudence.

Global work experience encompasses start-ups, expanding, mature and

acquisition network models. Experience supporting program management,

network and access operations, and wireless outside plant. Prior

experience as Field Engineer, Cellular Technician and Electronic

Technician.

Professional Experience

2010-11/2012

PC Networks (contract to Verizon Business), Harrisburg, PA

Telecommunications Engineer / Project Manager

Subcontractor assigned to support Verizon Business in Harrisburg, PA as a

Data Project Manager. This Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (CoPA) contract

supports over 40 Governors Jurisdiction agencies and other state agencies

with a wide range of telecommunications services that were previously

provided to CoPA by Level 3 and AT&T. The Data Services portion of this

contract involves transitioning over 2,800 circuits from a Wide Area

Network (WAN) deploying Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology to the

Verizon Private IP WAN solution utilizing Multi Protocol Label Switching

(MPLS) technology. As a Verizon Data PM my responsibilities include

providing accurate initial order information and confirmation of Agency

acceptance of circuit delivery date. Coordination of Agency local site

contact to allow access for the Local Exchange Carrier, vendors and other

Verizon service technicians that provide circuit delivery, demarcation

extension and router support. Schedule and lead the data team in

performance of acceptance testing of the new circuit.

. Specifically assigned to support multiple CoPA agencies including:

Department of Transportation, Department of Corrections, Pennsylvania

State Police, Public Utility Commission, Pennsylvania Game Commission and

Fish and Boat Commission.

. Originated a mail merge program which automates data population into Data

Circuit Cut / Transition sheets eliminating errors from manual data entry

and increasing sheet completion time over 90%.

Weitel telecomm, King of Prussia, PA 2010

Engineering Analyst

Subcontractor supporting the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), USDA

Rural Development, Rural Utilities Services. Accomplished review of

infrastructure proposals for soundness of design, adequacy of network

capacity, reasonableness of project costs and construction schedules.

Familiarity of licensing requirements and construction permitting. Working

knowledge of Physical Layer technologies including: Passive Optical

Networking (PON), Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC),

WiMAX/Canopy/Wi-Fi (muni/mesh), 3G and 4G Mobile, and Broadband-over-Power

Line (BPL). Network Engineering experience regarding project budgeting,

construction practices, permitting and licensing, system and network

design, capacity planning, network traffic analysis (efficiency,

contention, oversubscription), and radio planning (path loss, link budget

analysis). Possess construction and outside plant experience regarding:

underground plant, aerial plant, tower construction, site acquisition, and

licensing and regulatory requirements.

. Personally reviewed over 60 applications. Authored technical reports of

network feasibility.

. Performed NQC (Network Quality Control) on Network Analysis reviews.

Edit and consult to establish consensus.

sprint nextel, Norristown, PA 1999-2009

Planning Analyst - post merger

Provided planning, design, capacity management and optimization of the

signaling, data and voice transport networks in the greater Philadelphia

and Pittsburgh markets. Monitored, maintained, and forecasted required

capacity in the transport network to meet growth demand in the market. The

transport network consists of T1's, DS3's and SONET OCx's required to

connect different network elements to carry telco traffic used for

signaling, data, and voice traffic to cell sites and trunk network in the

greater Philadelphia and Pittsburgh markets. Analyzed existing network

design and identified and implemented opportunities for improvement in

service quality, stability and cost savings. Initiate and monitor internal

work order process for transport network in respective markets according to

requirements and per forecast.

. Managed three concurrent T1 disconnect projects in the Philadelphia

market resulting in (481) T1 line disconnects, reducing operating expense

by $2.3M per year.

. Recognized for work supporting the New York market during a network

reconfiguration. Verified database then executed (1,025) T1 circuit

disconnects resulting in cost savings of $1.8M annually.

. Subject matter expert for two process improvement committees "Nextel

migration" and "DS3 Ordering". Committee results directly impacted

operations with a reduction in disconnect errors and improved operational

efficiency.

Fixed Network Engineer - pre-merger

Responsible for research, analysis, design and provisioning of T1, DS3 and

OCx's riding copper, fiber, and microwave circuits in the Mid-Atlantic

region. Provided tracking, follow-up, and escalation of ASR orders placed

with Verizon and regional independent telephone companies in eastern

Pennsylvania, Delaware, southern New Jersey and upper Maryland. Primary

point of contact for utilities coordinator regarding telecom issues which

included site development and E911 emergency services. Maintained and

audited various databases used by Nextel corporate and regional groups for

Network Engineering functions. Primary resource utilized was Metasolv TBS

(Telecom Business Solutions) - single repository for circuit configuration,

equipment inventory, and termination equipment. Familiar with Verizon's

Carrier Services Gateway (CSG) tool as well as SBC/ATT Access Ordering

System used for wireless wholesale customer interface with the LEC.

. Provided field support for the fixed network build at Dover speedway

supporting NASCAR. This (50) T1 project was diversely designed to prevent

catastrophic failure and completed on time.

. Supervised testing and compliance of 911 and E911 emergency services.

Engineered E911 trunking for the state of Delaware and Chester and

Delaware counties, Pennsylvania.

omnipoint communications, West Norriton, PA 1997-1999

Network Engineer / Provisioning

Designed and implemented circuit ordering procedure for extensive network

build-out. Managed ASR orders placed with vendors. Interface with

construction department representatives regarding circuit status, right-of-

way issues, demarcation placement, and initial site walks.

. Established over (350) T1 lines in 18 months, rapidly establishing the

Philadelphia network.

. Liaised with the local exchange carrier in establishing non-traditional

types of circuit demarcation points including billboards, railroad right-

of-way, catenaries, and other non-building locations.

COMCAST CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS, King of Prussia, PA 1995-1997

Cell Operations Technician II

Autoplex System 1000 Series II and CDPD base stations. Daily support to

greater Philadelphia region. Perform scheduled maintenance, correct

hardware deficiencies, and improve quality of system performance. Drive

test assigned region evaluating call quality, customer complaints,

interference and related items. Provide feedback to engineering, proactive

in resolution of degraded system performance. Responsibilities include all

equipment associated with assigned cell site equipment to include: AT&T

base station, power back-up systems and rectifiers, emergency generator, T1

related equipment, external tower lighting, alarm systems, fire suppression

systems, autodialing systems, transmission lines, etc.

INTECH (contract to Hughes Network Systems), Jacksonville, Orlando, New

Orleans and Memphis 1994-1995

Field Engineer

Cell Site Commissioning: Hughes Network System GMH 2000 digital cellular

system. Working independently, troubleshooting and commissioning base

transceiver stations. Routine tasks include transmit and receive loss and

gain path testing, T1 link verification, analog loop back testing, system

clock tests and combined RF testing. Other tasks included complete system

troubleshooting and repair, hardware ROM upgrade, instruction and training

of other field engineers. Standard communications test equipment used,

specifically: UNIX and KERMIT based software, CTC T-Star 2000 digital

communications test set and HP 8921 cellular test set.

GTE GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS, Chesapeake, VA 1989-1994

Field Engineer II

System Analysis: AT&T Autoplex system 1000 series I & II cell sites.

Worked as a team member for the evaluation of existing systems installed in

Seoul, South Korea. Tasks included complete cell site inspections,

independent antenna sweeps and RF combined tests. Data was compiled using

Procomm + and work processing software. Standard communications test

equipment used, specifically: Traxar GPS and IFR FM/AM 1600S channel

service monitor.

Argentina Cellular Installation: Cellular base stations and switches

included: Plexsys, Novatel and Astronet. Field Engineer for successful GTE

led consortium (CTI) providing cellular service to more than 1,600 cities

and towns across Argentina. Worked with general contractors to insure

sites met all technical requirements before shelter installation. Prepared

preliminary and performance status reports to regional managers.

Inventoried and installed cellular equipment into the shelter. Performed

power-ups, test procedures and final commissioning of systems. Responsible

for maintenance of regional systems. Identified and corrected problems.

Argentina Cellular Build: Team Leader for initial nineteen (19) cellular

shelter builds. Assisted with prototype specifications, power requirements

and all associated hardware. Developed parts lists, work instructions, test

instructions, and wrote technical manuals. Conducted interviews of

temporary and full time candidates. Maintained personnel, manning, and

training databases. Supervised work groups during shelter configuration and

final load out, RF testing, and shipment to Argentina.

Government Contract Support: Provided in-house and on-site engineering and

technical support for a $2.3M government contract upgrading direction

finding capabilities on existing submarine electronic surveillance measure

systems. Member of product assurance preliminary review board representing

engineering department. Maintained technical library including military

specifications and standards.

Education

146 of 180 credit hours completed towards BS, Applied Science, Rochester

Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

AS, University of the State of New York, Albany, NY

Certifications and Licenses

Certificate in Voice Communications, College of Applied Science and

Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Federal Communications Commission general radiotelephone license with RADAR

endorsement; PG-8-6237.

Professional Development

General telecommunications training; Telcordia - Network Fundamentals,

Advanced Information Technologies - Fundamentals of Telecommunication.

Vendor specific telecommunications training; Tellabs - Titan 5500 (DCCS)

Digital Cross-Connect System, Ericsson - CME 20/CMS 40 system survey,

AT&T - CL3615 CDPD Mobile Data Base Station O&M, CL1517 Autopace System,

CL3502 Autoplex System 1000 Series II Cell Site maintenance, CL1000X

Autoplex Station Switch, Plexsys - D150 Cellular Base Station Switch.

Software training; Maxwell - Introduction to MS Excel 5.0/7.0,

Introduction to MS Access 7.0, Intermediate Access 7.0, SkillSoft -

Working with UNIX Programs, TBS (Telecom Business Solutions) inventory

software, Bill Trak Pro billing software, CellTrack - inventory software,

TCMS (Telco Cost Management System), JAX (Teleworx) - Fixed Network design.

Military Service

United States Navy, Electronics Technician (communication) First Class,

March 1975 to November 1987. Consisted of two (6) year enlistment periods.

Navy 1981 - 1987 2nd enlistment, honorable discharge.

Electronics Technician first class (E6). Work center supervisor for

submarine antenna and electronic

surveillance measures shops on forward deployed submarine repair ship USS

Orion (AS-18) located in

Sardinia, Italy. Previously stationed at Fleet Training Center, Electronics

School, Norfolk, VA. Repaired

and calibrated electronic test equipment.

SCHOOLS and TRAINING:

Miniature Electronics Repair (2M), (4 wks)

Instructor Training (3.5 wks)

Precision Measuring Equipment Metrology (PMEL)

- Electronics Accelerated (6 wks) [honor graduate]

- Microwave Measurement / Calibration (4 wks);

Micro-Advanced Electronics Assembly Repair (2M), (2 wks)

Navy 1975 - 1981 1st enlistment, honorable discharge.

Electronic Technician second class (E5) - Electronic Warfare System

Technician (1482). Duty stations

included Wyman Support Detachment Bay St. Louis, MS and USS Flying Fish

(SSN 673) fast attack

submarine home port Norfolk, VA.

SCHOOLS and TRAINING:

Basic Digital Principles (4 wks)

Electronic Technician "A" School (17 wks)

Basic Electricity and Electronics (6 wks)

General

Maintain current U.S. passport, experienced traveling and living outside

the United States.

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