# Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers

US SOC code 49-2022. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/49-2022

Also called: Telecom technician, Telecommunications technician, Broadband technician, Central office technician, Field technician.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **140,920** US telecommunications equipment installers and repairers (except line installers), with median pay of **$63,890** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **233,690**, in May 2017. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/august/bell-system) of **15,000** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: VoIP, fiber-to-the-home, and IP-PBX, 2005 to 2018.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 3.3% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-2022&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **20.3%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1878
- Latest US employment: 140,920 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Latest US median pay: $63,890 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [9]
- Outlook: -3.3% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [21]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 72205)
  - Employment, 2020: 20,485. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [7]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 72205 Telecommunications equipment installation and cable television service technicians, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$70,000. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [10]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 72205 Telecommunications equipment installation and cable television service technicians, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 15,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Library of Congress / US Census Bureau [1] |
| 1930 | 55,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia / Economic Policy Institute [2] |
| 1970 | 140,000 (estimate) | $9,100 (estimate) | Est., Bell System (Britannica) (employment) [3]; Est., EPI (pay) [8] |
| 1985 | 180,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Bell System Memorial [4] |
| 2000 | 248,000 (estimate) | $40,000 (estimate) | Est., EPI [5] |
| 2003 | 195,500 | $48,230 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [6] |
| 2004 | 202,160 | $49,840 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [6] |
| 2005 | 198,350 | $50,620 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [6] |
| 2006 | 190,130 | $52,430 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [6] |
| 2007 | 189,290 | $54,070 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [6] |
| 2008 | 195,170 | $55,600 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [6] |
| 2009 | 189,850 | $55,560 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [6] |
| 2010 | 190,100 | $54,710 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [6] |
| 2011 | 199,240 | $53,960 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [6] |
| 2012 | 208,220 | $54,530 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [6] |
| 2013 | 209,350 | $54,760 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [6] |
| 2014 | 213,620 | $55,190 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [6] |
| 2015 | 219,100 | $54,570 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [6] |
| 2016 | 228,430 | $53,640 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [6] |
| 2017 | 233,690 | $53,380 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [6] |
| 2018 | 229,890 | $56,100 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [6] |
| 2019 | 208,480 | $57,910 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [6] |
| 2020 | 190,510 | $61,470 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [6] |
| 2021 | 172,830 | $60,370 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [6] |
| 2022 | 168,180 | $59,960 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [6] |
| 2023 | 159,670 | $61,270 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [6] |
| 2024 | 153,890 | $62,630 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [6] |
| 2025 | 140,920 | $63,890 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [6] |

## Sources (78)

### Employment series

1. [Bell System history (Library of Congress, "This Month in Business History") + US Census Bureau Historical Statistics of the United States (telephone subscriber series)](https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/august/bell-system), Library of Congress / US Census Bureau
2. [Breakup of the Bell System (Wikipedia) + EPI "Decades of Slow Wage Growth for Telecommunications Workers" (Oct 2020)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_the_Bell_System), Wikipedia / Economic Policy Institute
3. [Bell System (Britannica) — AT&T employed approximately one million workers by 1974, the largest private employer in the US](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bell-System), Encyclopaedia Britannica
4. [AT&T Divestiture (memorial.bellsystem.com) — "All the premise equipment and installers and trucks were transferred from the RBOCs to AT&T. American Bell grew from 1000 to 100,000 employees overnight."](https://memorial.bellsystem.com/att_divestiture.html), Bell System Memorial
5. [EPI — "Decades of Slow Wage Growth for Telecommunications Workers" (Oct 2020): total telecom employment exceeded one million in the late 1990s](https://www.epi.org/publication/decades-of-slow-wage-growth-for-telecommunication-workers/), Economic Policy Institute
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

8. [EPI -- "Decades of Slow Wage Growth for Telecommunications Workers" (Oct 2020): median telecom worker wages historically above national median, driven by union contracts](https://www.epi.org/publication/decades-of-slow-wage-growth-for-telecommunication-workers/), Economic Policy Institute
9. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
10. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

11. [Bell System Practices (Wikipedia) -- AT&T's internal technical standards library that defined installation and repair procedures for all Bell System craft workers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_System_Practices), Wikipedia
12. [Feigenbaum & Gross (2024), "Answering the Call of Automation: How the Labor Market Adjusted to Mechanizing Telephone Operation", Quarterly Journal of Economics 139(3), pp. 1879-1939 (NBER WP 28061)](https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjae005), Quarterly Journal of Economics
13. [AT&T Divestiture (memorial.bellsystem.com) -- history of Bell System craft workers through the electronic switching era](https://memorial.bellsystem.com/att_divestiture.html), Bell System Memorial
14. [Breakup of the Bell System (Wikipedia) -- divestiture effective January 1, 1984; workforce distributed across seven RBOCs and AT&T competitive businesses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_the_Bell_System), Wikipedia
15. [EPI -- "Decades of Slow Wage Growth for Telecommunications Workers" (Oct 2020): fissuring and union decline are central causes of wage suppression post-divestiture](https://www.epi.org/publication/decades-of-slow-wage-growth-for-telecommunication-workers/), Economic Policy Institute
16. [Britannica -- "DSL" (development and deployment of ADSL in the 1990s; DSL splitter originally required technician installation)](https://www.britannica.com/technology/DSL), Encyclopaedia Britannica
17. [O\*NET 49-2022.00 -- technology tools include VoIP systems, Fluke network analyzers, SCADA, GIS; tasks include assembling and installing fiber optic and data communication lines](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-2022.00), O\*NET / BLS
18. [Nokia -- Agentic AI for Home and Broadband Networks (launched May 12, 2026): Altiplano, Corteca, Broadband Easy; targets 50% fewer return visits and first-contact helpdesk resolution above 50%](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/12/3292500/0/en/Nokia-launches-agentic-AI-for-home-and-broadband-networks.html), Nokia / GlobeNewswire
19. [Salesforce -- Agentforce for Field Service (GA May 2025): AI dispatch optimization and onsite troubleshooting; IDC MarketScape Leader 2025-2026](https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/agentforce-for-field-service-announcement/), Salesforce
20. [BLS OOH 2024-25 -- Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers: -3% projected 2024-2034](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/telecommunications-equipment-installers-and-repairers-except-line-installers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

21. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 49-2022 Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers (2025: 143.1 thousand; 2035: 138.4 thousand; -3.3%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-2022&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
22. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 49-2022.00, human-rated β 0.203)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

23. [Bell Telephone Company (Wikipedia) -- first commercial exchange New Haven 1878; Bell Telephone Company organized July 9, 1877 in Boston](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Telephone_Company), Wikipedia
24. [Feigenbaum & Gross (2024), "Answering the Call of Automation", Quarterly Journal of Economics 139(3), pp. 1879-1939: AT&T mechanized switching in over half of the US telephone network between 1920 and 1940](https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjae005), Quarterly Journal of Economics
25. [Bell System (Britannica) -- AT&T employed approximately one million workers by 1974, the largest private employer in the US](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bell-System), Encyclopaedia Britannica
26. [AT&T Divestiture (memorial.bellsystem.com) -- consent decree effective January 1, 1984; American Bell inherited all premise equipment and installers](https://memorial.bellsystem.com/att_divestiture.html), Bell System Memorial
27. [EPI -- "Decades of Slow Wage Growth for Telecommunications Workers" (Oct 2020): total telecom employment declined sharply after 2001 bust; remained below one million workers](https://www.epi.org/publication/decades-of-slow-wage-growth-for-telecommunication-workers/), Economic Policy Institute
28. [Nokia -- Agentic AI for Home and Broadband Networks (May 12, 2026): Altiplano, Corteca, Broadband Easy; 50% return-visit reduction target; 600 million broadband lines](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/12/3292500/0/en/Nokia-launches-agentic-AI-for-home-and-broadband-networks.html), Nokia / GlobeNewswire

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 -- Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers (49-2022.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-2022.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OOH -- Telecommunications Technicians: 156,900 employed; median $62,630/yr; -3% projected 2024-2034 as 5G and broadband buildouts taper](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/telecommunications-equipment-installers-and-repairers-except-line-installers.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Nokia -- Agentic AI for Home and Broadband Networks (launched May 12 2026): Altiplano, Corteca, Broadband Easy platforms; targets 50% fewer return visits, first-contact helpdesk resolution above 50%](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/12/3292500/0/en/Nokia-launches-agentic-AI-for-home-and-broadband-networks.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Salesforce -- Agentforce for Field Service: AI scheduling (GA May 2025), AI onsite troubleshooting (GA June 2025); IDC MarketScape Leader 2025-2026](https://www.salesforce.com/service/field-service-management/), accessed 2026-06-22
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 -- GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [ETI Software -- Optimizing Telecom Field Service Management with AI: predictive work duration, incident type suggestions, alert suggestions for equipment failure prediction](https://etisoftware.com/resources/blog/optimizing-telecom-field-service-management-with-ai/), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.