FAQs and POLICIES

What are the public seminar class hours?
I called the hotel and they say they don't know anything about your meeting/seminar.
What is your public seminar cancellation policy?
What are the tuition fees for public seminars?
Are travel, meals and accommodations included?
Does the seminar qualify for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits?
Is there a discount for registering more than one person?
How many people do we need to have to hold an onsite seminar?
Do you sell seminar workbooks separately from the courses?
How do I get my free bonus Online Courses, Certifications or Telecom 101 eBook?

For every seminar, EXCEPT WASHINGTON DC and WASHINGTON DC AREA: classes run from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on each day. Please arrive 30 minutes earlier on the first day to sign-in and get your course material.

For Washington DC and Washington DC area ONLY: classes run from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on each day. Please arrive 30 minutes earlier on the first day to sign-in and get your course material.

Travel, meals and accommodations are not included.
Your tuition fee includes the training course, your course materials and coffee breaks. Lunch is on your own.

If you need a sleeping room, we recommend that you book a sleeping room at the hotel where the seminar is being held via the hotel's website. A link to the hotel is provided on the seminar schedule page. You may also telephone the hotel at the listed number. Alternate hotels may also be listed there.

We may have a "courtesy block" of rooms reserved under the name Teracom, or identified with a group code. Please check the seminar schedule page to see if this is mentioned. The "courtesy block" are rooms that can be reserved at a preferential rate until a cutoff date, which is usually about three weeks before the seminar.

If there is no mention of a preferred rate or group code on the schedule page, the reservations clerks at the hotel will not be aware of the Teracom meeting.

In some cases, the hotel where the seminar is being held may be sold out of sleeping rooms. In this case, please check the seminar schedule listing on teracomtraining.com, where we may have already posted links for sleeping rooms nearby. Or call us: 1-877-412-2700. We're glad to help.

Car rental: We have a corporate rate with Avis. Go to www.avis.com and use Teracom's "AWD number": C136022.

Yes, Teracom's courses are Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

Every state association for every profession has the ability to define their own criteria for qualification.  The criteria jointly developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) are reasonable and could be applied to any state and any profession.  Those criteria measure credits in "contact hours".

Based on the AICPA-NASBA Standards For Continuing Professional Education Programs, that measure credits in contact hours, successful completion of our courses result in the following CPE credits:

Instructor-led Courses, 3 days: 21 CPE contact hours credit
Instructor-led Courses, 2 days: 14 CPE contact hours credit

These CPE hours might have to be divided by 7 to translate them into CPE days if credits are measured in days by a particular state association.

A 1-semester, 1-credit university course is 15 CPE contact hours credit in the AICPA-NASBA criteria, therefore, if a particular state association measures CPE credits that way, the credits resulting from successful completion of our courses would be contact hours /15.

Instructor-led Course, 3 days: 1.4 1-semester-course-equivalent CPE credits
Instructor-led Course, 2 days: 1.0 1-semester-course-equivalent CPE credits

Please note that a particular state association for a particular profession may not accept Teracom's courses for CPE credit. (Though they should - our courses are CPE).  If in the unlikely event that any work is required to get our courses certified with a particular state association for a particular profession, that work is the responsibility of the student; there is no component in our course fees for that work.

Yes, when registering two or more people for the same class, same location and same date, you are eligible for a discount on every registration.

You can get the discount online by using the correct coupon number during registration.

Seminar group discount coupon numbers

If you have 5 or more people to train, it will most likely be less expensive to have an onsite training session than send five people to a public seminar, when airfare, hotel and meals are taken into account. If your people wouldn't have to travel, then it's breakeven at 10.

There are other advantages to holding an onsite seminar:
- you can have basically as many people as you want for the price of 10
- everyone will be up to a common speed, with a common vocabulary
- it will be a strong team-building exercise
- pre- and post-training online tests with management reports are available,
providing concrete assessment of your team's readiness and competence,
identifying weak links and proving return on training investment.

To get more information on onsite training and an automatic pricing quote,
please submit the "get more info" form and visit the onsite training page.

Teracom's very popular Telecom 101 textbook covers the same topics as our main core training Course 101. This is the way to get the Course 101 materials separate from the course.

We sell the workbooks for Courses separately, at a cost of US$179 per book, for the use of an individual only, not for use as courseware for teaching classes.

Please contact us for more information.

Please see the Specials, Bonuses, Discounts and Deals page for description of what you get,
and the bonuses information page for detailed instructions on getting them. Enjoy!

Can we order DVDs with a PO (Purchase Order)?
Do you have a DVD catalog?
Can I cancel an order? What is the return policy on DVDs and textbooks?
Can I order a DVD set and make monthly payments?
Are there any extra fees for International orders?
When will you ship my order?
What does "1-Day" or "Next-Day" shipping mean?
What does "2-Day" shipping mean?
How do I get my free bonus Online Courses, Certifications or Telecom 101 eBook?
What is your DVD format?
Can you ship to APO addresses?
Are your training products relevant and compatible with telecoms technologies in the UK?
I ordered an eBook and I have not received it yet.
Can I order the eBook and print in from my computer?
What happen if I install the eBook and change computers next year?

An order can be cancelled if it has not been shipped. Once shipped, an order can not be cancelled. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all sales are final. We do not accept returns of items that are not defective.

All products: DVDs, textbooks and workbooks are guaranteed for one year. Contact us to obtain a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) number and ship any defective items to us prepaid with signature proof of delivery, and it will be our pleasure to replace them with the same item within one year of purchase.

The shipping charges for international orders are of course higher. In addition, international customers are responsible for any taxes or duties on receipt of shipment, as those fees are imposed by your country and not by us.

Consider the Online Courses instead, as there are no shipping or customs fees with Online Courses.

Our commitment is to ship orders within 2 working days of reception. We usually try to ship before the end of the day if the order is received before 2 pm New York time and by the end of the next working day if received later in the day.

Please see the Specials, Bonuses, Discounts and Deals page for description of what you get,
and the bonuses information page for detailed instructions on getting them. Enjoy!

With the advent of IP-based telecom, including MPLS, IP and Ethernet, the same technology is used in all countries, so the answer to that question is "yes", they are relevant and compatible.

There are only two areas where there are significant differences between North America (NA) and the Rest of the World (ROW):
- Telecom Industry: this one short chapter is North America specific.
- SONET vs. SDH and T1 vs. E1 : these transmission and access technologies respectively are different in NA and ROW. We go over the NA technologies and use them as examples, but do mention the ROW technologies and how they relate. These are older technologies on the way out.

What if there is a typo, error or discrepancy on a web page or other document?
Can I get a refund? Are there administrative charges?

How are Teracom Online Courses organized?
Do you have an Online Course / elearning / e-learning catalog?
What is a Certification Package?
What certifications are available?
How do I get Certified?
How do I register for a Certification?
What does it cost?
Can I try it free?
What are the terms and conditions for the 14-day free trial?
How can I pay?
How do I register for Online Courses?
How do I get the bonus Online Courses, Certification(s) and Telecom 101 textbook eBook?
How do I use the Online Catalog?
How do I access Online Course Lessons and Exams?
How do I use the Dashboard?

Do you have group discounts?
I want my team of 10 people to take this training. How do I register them?
How can I buy 20 seats if I don't know the names of all the students yet?
Can I monitor the progress of my team?
Is there management reporting?
Can I upload this to my company's system?

What are the packages and prices?
How do I get the package pricing as per the price list?
Is there a list of coupon numbers?
What is the Standard Plan?
What is the Unlimited Plan?

How do I get my Certificate and Letter of Reference?
What are the instructions for the included CTA Certification?
What is the 100% Money-Back Guarantee?
Can I buy Online Courses one at a time?
Can I pay in installments?
Can I skip the lessons and just take the Certification Exam?
What if I fail an exam?

Does this training qualify for CPE credits?
Do I have to pay a yearly fee to maintain my certification?
Is this available Internationally?
What are the system requirements?
It says the exam has started in another window, but I don't see it, and the exam result is Fail

Teracom Online Courses and Certifications are organized into Lessons, Courses and Packages.

Lessons
At the finest level, Teracom Online Courses are made up of Lessons. A Lesson corresponds roughly to one slide in an instructor-led presentation, one video segment in a DVD-video course, one page in a student manual. Each Lesson is one download from the Learning Management System, and usually lasts 10 to 20 minutes. Lessons finish with informal quiz questions to help ensure key points are understood.

Courses
Lessons are grouped into Online Courses by topic. For example, Online Course “The OSI Layers and Protocol Stacks” consists of 14 Lessons starting with an introduction, then the idea of open systems, progressing through layered architectures and a lesson for each of the layers, and ending with lessons on how a protocol stack operates from a procedural point of view and from a bits point of view and standards organizations. Each Course ends with a course Exam, a set of multiple-choice questions chosen from a pool and shuffled in order so no two students see the same exam.

Packages
Courses are organized into packages. The "Telecom, Datacom and Networking for Non-Engineers" Course Package is all of the courses in a package at a discounted price.

Certification Packages include a set of courses plus TCO Certification, Certificate, Letter of Reference and all of the other great benefits of TCO Certification. Register for certification packages by displaying the certification package in the catalog and clicking "add to cart".  full details

Other packages are available. These packages are coordinated sets of courses at a discounted price, for those who need training but not all of the courses in a certification package. Each course in these packages comes with an individual course completion certificate. To register for these packages, add individual courses to your cart, then apply a coupon to get the discounted price. Please sign in first. The coupons only work if you are signed in.   full details

Yes, a printable version and the catalog online.

The printable version has very detailed and complete information on all the Online Courses and Certifications.  download the printed Online Courses and Certifications Catalog in PDF, then print and/or save from your browser.

The catalog online has a medium level of detail on courses and certifications, and importantly, is the first step for registering for Online Courses and Certifications.

A Certification Package is the set of exams required for a Certification, plus the Online Courses that correspond to the exams. When you purchase a Certification Package, the Online Courses and Exams are displayed together in your Dashboard. With the Unlimited Plan you can repeat the courses and/or exams, in any order.

The Certifications page provides more detail on the Teracom Certification Packages, and links to pages detailing each Certification Package.

The printable catalog has total full information on Teracom Certification Packages.

The catalog online lists all Certification Packages.

The register for online courses page has information on registering for Certification Packages.

The Online Courses and Certifications Pricelist provides a quick summary of TCO Certifications for which Teracom is the TCO training partner.

The Certifications page provides more detail on the Teracom Certifications, and links to pages detailing each Certification.

The printable catalog has total full information on Teracom Certifications and Certification Packages.

The catalog online lists all Certification Exams, both Teracom Certifications and Certifications from other TCO training partners.

The CTA Certification Exam is the "final exam" for Course 101, the DVD-Video Full Library, and the Telecom 101 textbook. It is included at no additional charge when you purchase one of the products above.

Procedure for getting your CTA Exam

Pass the exam(s) required for the Certification.

Most exams are 10 multiple-choice questions taken out of a pool and shuffled in order.
Some certifications require multiple exams, for example CIPTS is 4 exams, CTNS is 6 exams and CTA is 16 exams.

Register for the Certification Exams by registering for a Certification Package (Courses+Exams) or Certification Exam (Exam only).

With the Unlimited Plan, you can repeat courses and/or exams - which means guaranteed to get certified if you're willing to learn.

You will begin by joining or signing in to myTeracom, then from the online catalog, adding a Certification Package or a Certification Exams (Exam only) to your shopping cart and checking out in the usual way.

If you're registering a group, you'll start with the Group Registration page to enter the names of the students before going to the catalog.

Please see the Register for Online Courses page for full instructions.

Yes, absolutely. No credit card is required.

Try the Online Courses for free by clicking on the "course intro" links and "sample lesson" links beside the name each course on the price list. These are actual lessons from the Online Courses. They are not served from the myTeracom Learning Management System, they are viewed direct.

Try the Learning Management System for free, and try writing a sample 10-question multiple-choice exam taken from the full CTA exam for free by writing the Teracom Telecom, Datacom and Networking Quiz.

With the 14-day free trial offer, you get the CTNS Certification Package Unlimited Plan - that's unlimited access to all six online courses - plus a Telecom 101 textbook eBook for an initial charge of $1 to your credit card. You agree that on the 15th day after purchase, the remaining $218 CTNS Certification Package Unlimited Plan tuition will be charged to your card.

To take advantage of this offer, add the CTNS Certification Package Unlimited Plan to your cart, then apply Coupon 1191, then check out using a credit card.

If for any reason you decide to cancel, email cancel@certify-tco.org before the end of the 14-day trial period with the word "cancel" and your order number, and no second charge will be made, no questions asked, and the Telecom 101 eBook is yours to keep.

These details will be printed on your receipt for your reference.

You will have immediate access to the online courses. You must request a username and password for your eBook by clicking here. Your receipt will also have this link. At present, the eBook usernames and passwords are issued manually, so there may be a delay of up to 12 hours working days and longer over the weekend between your request and receiving your username and password.

You agree that you have already confirmed compatibility of your system with the eBook software by testing with the free Chapter 1. You must be signed in to myTeracom first. After signing in, look for Textbook: Telecom 101 Chapter 1 (eBook) in the FREE PREVIEWS section.

If you cancel as described above before the 15th day, you will only be charged $1. Otherwise, you will be charged the remaining $218 on the fifteenth day. This offer can only be used with a credit card. There are no refunds with this offer.

Visa or MasterCard is the simplest method. For Online Courses and Certifications, we accept payment by Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and wire transfer. more

You will begin by joining or signing in to myTeracom, then from the online catalog, adding courses or packages to your shopping cart and checking out in the usual way.

If you're registering a group, you'll start with the Group Registration page to enter the names of the students before going to the catalog.

Please see the Register for Online Courses page for full instructions.

Please see the Specials, Bonuses, Discounts and Deals page for description of what you get,
and the bonuses information page for detailed instructions on getting them. Enjoy!

Please see the Catalog help page for full instructions.

If you're registering a group, you'll start with the Group Registration page to enter the names of the students before going to the catalog.

Online Courses and Exams are both accessed via your personal Dashboard.

The dashboard shows the Online Courses and/or Certification Exams that you are registered for, your progress or status for each, plus links to the lessons or exam you are currently working on.
Instructions for using your Dashboard

To see your personal Dashboard, sign in to or join myTeracom.
A link to your dashboard is displayed after you log in.

Yes, every course and package has a discounted price for five people, Unlimited Plan.  price list

You'll enter a group registration, where you will be guided through the process of entering the students' names, then taken to the online catalog to add the desired Certification Package or Course(s) to your shopping cart, then apply a coupon to get the discounted price and check out.

If you're registering for one or more individual courses instead of a Certification Package, please add your selections to your cart from the catalog category "Individual Courses - Unlimited Plan".

If you already have a myTeracom account, click here to start your group registration.

If you don't have a myTeracom account, please join myTeracom first.  You may then click the link above, or the "group registration" link in the Online Learning section of your myTeracom home page displayed after you sign in.

List of coupon numbers to use for 5-person groups.

Please contact us for larger groups.

You'll enter a group registration, where you will be guided through the process of entering the students' names, then taken to the online catalog to add the desired Certification Package or Course(s) to your shopping cart, then check out.

If you're registering for one or more individual courses instead of a Certification Package, please add your selections to your cart from the catalog category "Individual Courses - Unlimited Plan".

If you already have a myTeracom account, click here to start your group registration.

If you don't have a myTeracom account, please join myTeracom first.  You may then click the link above, or the "group registration" link in the Online Learning section of your myTeracom home page displayed after you sign in.

The myTeracom registration system is designed to handle exactly this situation, with the "Add Seats" button during the first step of group registration when you are entering the students.

You'll follow the procedure above for those team members you have information for, then use the "Add Seats" option, which creates "seats", basically ready-to-assign accounts for future students, like future hires. You can use these accounts anytime. There are no expiration dates.

These additional seats are associated with temporary user IDs. Subsequently, you may contact us anytime to “activate” these additional accounts for students one at a time or all together.  more

This allows you to benefit from higher discounts by buying more seats, for now and upcoming needs.

Yes, but your company must purchase a site license and sign a non-disclosure agreement first.
Some tweaking of the reporting interface might be necessary to integrate with your system.
Please contact us to find out more.

For small and medium organizations and individuals, there is no need to put the courses on your system. The myTeracom Learning Management System hosting the courses on Teracom’s servers in a high-quality data center in the USA is included at no extra charge. As long as you can run Internet Explorer or Google Chrome to download a web page from the Internet and view Flash files, anyone in your company can take the training by registering on myTeracom and the content will be served from Teracom’s system. 

We recommend Google Chrome because of its speed. Opera and Firefox are not compatible. 
test your compatibility with this free sample

The Online Courses and Certifications Pricelist provides a quick summary.

The Certifications page provides more detail on the packages, and links to pages detailing each Certification Package. Remember that the Certification Exams are optional... if you like the set of courses and the discount, but don't feel like writing exams, it's your option! The "Telecom, Datacom and Networking for Non-Engineers" Course Package is all six courses without certification.

The printable catalog has total full information.

CTNS and CIPTS Certification Packages and the "Telecom, Datacom and Networking for Non-Engineers" Course Package are specific products in the catalog online.

For other packages, add individual courses to your shopping cart then apply a coupon to get the package price. You must be signed in to myTeracom for the coupon to work.

If you're registering a group, you'll start with the Group Registration page to enter the names of the students before going to the catalog.

List of coupon numbers to use for Online Course packages

The Standard Plan allows you to take the Lessons in a Course once and write the Exam once.

There are no time limits on finishing lessons - you can stay on a lesson as long as you like.
Close your browser and log in a week later and you will resume at the start of the same lesson.

When you are ready to move on, click the "finish lesson" button at the end of the lesson.
If you fail a course exam, you can purchase a retake for a small charge.

If you have purchased the Unlimited Plan for a Certification, Individual Course or Certification Exam, 
you can repeat the courses and/or exams at no additional charge.   full details

If for any reason you are unsatisfied with your purchase of an Online Course, within 30 days of purchase you may request a full refund. This applies to Online Courses. It does not apply to Exams or Free Trial offers. full details

No worries. You may re-take each course exam as necessary for a small fee.

If you buy the Unlimited Plan, there is no charge to repeat exams.

If you click the link to begin an exam in the Learning Management System dashboard, and see a notice that the exam has started in another window - but don't see the other window, and your exam result is recorded in your dashboard as "Fail", this is caused either by
(a) Your system is incompatible, for example, you are using an iPad. Please see the system requirements above.
(b) You are using Windows 8. Solution: please download Google Chrome browser and use that.
(c) Your system is compatible, but a popup blocker is preventing the exam window from opening. Please disable your popup blocker and try again. If the problem persists when using Microsoft Internet Explorer, please download Google Chrome browser and try that, as it handles popups better.