Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers
Also called: Broadband Cable Installer, Cable Installer, Cable Repairer, Cable Splicer, Cable Systems Installer, Cable Tech (Cable Technician), Cable TV Installer (Cable Television Installer), Cable TV Tech (Cable Television Technician)
Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.
What telecommunications line installers and repairers do
Typical tasks
- Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.
- Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
- Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.
- Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment, such as digital subscriber line modems.
- 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.
- Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduits running through trenches.
- Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches.
- Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
- 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.
- 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.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers salary
The median annual wage for telecommunications line installers and repairers is $74,330 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $45,310 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $103,680. The mean annual wage is $73,940.
The mean hourly wage of $35.00 is 4.8× 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 Line Installers and Repairers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $74,330 → in 3 years $80,600 → in 5 years $85,100 → in 10 years $97,400 (10-year range $83,700–$113,000). 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 Line Installers and Repairers
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 Line Installers and Repairers? 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 Line Installers and Repairers
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 Line Installers and Repairers
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 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★☆☆☆ Fairly easy (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become telecommunications line installers and repairers
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 line installers and repairers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.