AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 49-9052.00
Will AI replace Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers?
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers: AI can already handle 1 of 19 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 19 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Explain cable service to subscribers after installation, and collect any installation fees due. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Travel to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| 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. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Clean or maintain tools or test equipment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Install equipment such as amplifiers or repeaters to maintain the strength of communications transmissions. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Use a variety of construction equipment to complete installations, such as digger derricks, trenchers, or cable plows. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Measure signal strength at utility poles, using electronic test equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Place insulation over conductors, or seal splices with moisture-proof covering. | Estimated | No tier | |
| String cables between structures and lines from poles, towers, or trenches, and pull lines to proper tension. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Compute impedance of wires from poles to houses to determine additional resistance needed for reducing signals to desired levels. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduits running through trenches. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Dig trenches for underground wires or cables. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Fill and tamp holes, using cement, earth, and tamping devices. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Dig holes for power poles, using power augers or shovels, set poles in place with cranes, and hoist poles upright, using winches. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 19 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 19 of 19. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 39% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 44% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 56% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 97,720
- Median annual wage
- $74,330
- Middle half of earners
- $54,310 to $95,850
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- -3.1%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers 90% skill overlap, about 4 months to move Exposure21
- Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers 82% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure19
- Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers 77% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure20
- Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers 72% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure24
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure26
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers and AI
Will AI replace Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers?
AI already handles 1 of the 19 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 20 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by -3.1% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers?
20 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 19 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 19 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 39% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 56% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers, and what do they earn?
97,720 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $74,330 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -3.1% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/telecommunications-line-installers-and-repairers
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