Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers
Human Advantage 69%
Significant human skills needed
AI Automation Risk Moderate Risk
3.1 / 10
Some tasks in this role may be augmented by AI, but human oversight and interpersonal skills remain important.
Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.
Also Known As: Aerial Installer, Aerial Lineman, Block Cableman, Broadband Cable Installer, Broadband Cable Specialist, Broadband Technician, Buried Wire Technician, CCTV Technician (Closed-circuit Television Technician) +77 more
Core Tasks
- Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment.
- Travel to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories.
- Measure signal strength at utility poles, using electronic test equipment.
- Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
- Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.
- Access specific areas to string lines, or install terminal boxes, auxiliary equipment, or appliances, using bucket trucks, climbing poles or ladders, or entering tunnels, trenches, or crawl spaces.
- Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.
- String cables between structures and lines from poles, towers, or trenches, and pull lines to proper tension.
- Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
- Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduits running through trenches.
- Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches.
- Dig trenches for underground wires or cables.
Supplemental Tasks (7)
- Explain cable service to subscribers after installation, and collect any installation fees due.
- Place insulation over conductors, or seal splices with moisture-proof covering.
- Compute impedance of wires from poles to houses to determine additional resistance needed for reducing signals to desired levels.
- Install equipment such as amplifiers or repeaters to maintain the strength of communications transmissions.
- Use a variety of construction equipment to complete installations, such as digger derricks, trenchers, or cable plows.
- Fill and tamp holes, using cement, earth, and tamping devices.
- Dig holes for power poles, using power augers or shovels, set poles in place with cranes, and hoist poles upright, using winches.
Emerging Tasks
New and evolving responsibilities for this role:
- Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment, such as digital subscriber line modems.
Education & Training
Job Zone 2 Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Education: These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Experience: Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
On-the-Job Training: Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Education Level Distribution
Percentage of workers in this occupation with each education level.
Technology & Tools
Hot Technologies
Software (15)
Tools & Equipment (74)
Where This Career Leads
Career progression organized by specialty track and experience level.
Utilities Advanced Manufacturing
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Architectural and Engineering Managers 73% match
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