Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers
Also called: Break Fix Technician (Break Fix Tech), Broadband Installer, Broadband Specialist, Broadband Technician (Broadband Tech), Cable TV Installer (Cable Television Installer), Cable TV Line Technician (Cable Television Line Technician), Cable TV Tech (Cable Television Technician), Call Box Wirer
Install, set up, rearrange, or remove switching, distribution, routing, and dialing equipment used in central offices or headends.
What Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers do
Typical tasks
- Note differences in wire and cable colors so that work can be performed correctly.
- Test circuits and components of malfunctioning telecommunications equipment to isolate sources of malfunctions, using test meters, circuit diagrams, polarity probes, and other hand tools.
- Drive crew trucks to and from work areas.
- Assemble and install communication equipment such as data and telephone communication lines, wiring, switching equipment, wiring frames, power apparatus, computer systems, and networks.
- Run wires between components and to outside cable systems, connecting them to wires from telephone poles or underground cable accesses.
- Inspect equipment on a regular basis to ensure proper functioning.
- Collaborate with other workers to locate and correct malfunctions.
- Climb poles and ladders, use truck-mounted booms, and enter areas such as manholes and cable vaults to install, maintain, or inspect equipment.
- Test connections to ensure that power supplies are adequate and that communications links function.
- Repair or replace faulty equipment, such as defective and damaged telephones, wires, switching system components, and associated equipment.
- Maintain computer and manual records pertaining to facilities and equipment.
- Remove and replace plug-in circuit equipment.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers salary
The median annual wage for Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers is $63,890 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $44,240 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $96,730. The mean annual wage is $68,500.
The mean hourly wage of $32.00 is 4.4× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $63,890 → in 3 years $69,300 → in 5 years $73,100 → in 10 years $83,700 (10-year range $71,900–$97,100). The model assumes pay growth of +2.7% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 3 — medium preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★☆☆☆ Fairly easy (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.