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Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers

Install, set up, rearrange, or remove switching, distribution, routing, and dialing equipment used in central offices or headends. Service or repair telephone, cable television, Internet, and other communications equipment on customers' property. May install communications equipment or communications wiring in buildings.

What you’d do

  • 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.

Skills that matter

  • Repairing
  • Troubleshooting
  • Critical Thinking
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Installation

How to get there

Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

Also called

  • Combination Technician (Combination Tech)
  • Outside Plant Technician (Outside Plant Tech)
  • Service Technician (Service Tech)
  • Telecommunications Technician (Telecommunications Tech)
  • Broadband Technician (Broadband Tech)
  • Customer Service Technician (CST)

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