# Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers

US SOC code 49-9052. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/49-9052

Also called: Telecom line installer, Outside plant technician, OSP technician, Fiber splicer, Cable splicer.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **97,720** US telecommunications line installers and repairers, with median pay of **$74,330** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **107,670**, in May 2022. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/archival-collection/sova-nmah-ac-0205) of **7,500** from 1870, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for telecommunications line installers and repairers: OTDR, EXFO test sets, and OSS-dispatched work orders, 1995 to 2015.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 3.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-9052&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **3.1%** 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.

## Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1844
- Latest US employment: 97,720 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [7]
- Latest US median pay: $74,330 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: -3.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [25]

### 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 72204)
  - Employment, 2020: 9,700. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [8]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 72204 Telecommunications line and cable installers and repairers, 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$71,500. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [11]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 72204 Telecommunications line and cable installers and repairers, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 29 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1870 | 7,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Western Union Telegraph Company Records [1] |
| 1892 | 10,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., A Capsule History of the Bell System [2] |
| 1920 | 80,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Bell System Wikipedia article [3] |
| 1960 | 130,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Bell System Wikipedia [4] |
| 1984 | 160,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Breakup of the Bell System [5] |
| 2000 | 168,480 | $38,110 | BLS OEWS 2000 [6] |
| 2003 | 148,060 | $39,540 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [7] |
| 2004 | 144,080 | $40,330 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [7] |
| 2005 | 142,560 | $42,410 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [7] |
| 2006 | 156,440 | $46,280 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [7] |
| 2007 | 160,250 | $47,220 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [7] |
| 2008 | 168,050 | $48,090 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [7] |
| 2009 | 162,400 | $49,110 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [7] |
| 2010 | 156,350 | $50,850 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [7] |
| 2011 | 148,930 | $51,720 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [7] |
| 2012 | 133,040 | $51,410 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [7] |
| 2013 | 120,050 | $52,630 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [7] |
| 2014 | 114,420 | $54,450 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [7] |
| 2015 | 106,360 | $52,920 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [7] |
| 2016 | 100,080 | $52,590 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [7] |
| 2017 | 107,090 | $55,060 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [7] |
| 2018 | 118,200 | $58,280 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [7] |
| 2019 | 120,900 | $56,750 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [7] |
| 2020 | 122,480 | $58,870 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [7] |
| 2021 | 101,530 | $60,190 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [7] |
| 2022 | 107,670 | $60,580 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [7] |
| 2023 | 98,950 | $64,640 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [7] |
| 2024 | 98,360 | $70,500 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [7] |
| 2025 | 97,720 | $74,330 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [7] |

## Sources (91)

### Employment series

1. [Western Union Telegraph Company Records — Smithsonian NMAH, describing 19th-century telegraph network size and operations (network extent basis for estimate)](https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/archival-collection/sova-nmah-ac-0205), Smithsonian National Museum of American History
2. [A Capsule History of the Bell System — memorial.bellsystem.com (Bell 1892: 240,000 telephones, ~10,000 employees)](https://memorial.bellsystem.com/capsule_bell_system.html), Bell System Memorial
3. [Bell System Wikipedia article — citing 231,000 total Bell System employees by 1920; outside-plant share estimated from labor history sources](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_System), Wikipedia / Bell System historical sources
4. [Bell System Wikipedia — Bell System employed 600,000+ workers total by early 1960s; CATV history: 70 cable systems in 1952 growing through the 1950s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_television_in_the_United_States), Wikipedia / Bell System and CATV historical sources
5. [Breakup of the Bell System — Wikipedia; CWA estimate of 130,000 jobs eliminated post-divestiture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_the_Bell_System), Wikipedia / CWA historical sources
6. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
7. 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)
8. [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

9. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. 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)
11. [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

12. [NPS — The Transcontinental Telegraph (1861): construction methods, pole spacing, and wire stringing across the continent](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-transcontinental-telegraph.htm), National Park Service
13. [Wikipedia — Electrical telegraph: history of line construction, insulators, and the iron-wire era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_telegraph), Wikipedia
14. [Lowell Corporation — The Evolution of the Lineman: from telegraph to telephone, 1840s-1890s](https://lowellcorp.com/evolution-of-the-lineman/), Lowell Corporation
15. [Bell System Wikipedia — telephone network expansion, lead-sheathed cable, outside plant construction 1877-1920](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_System), Wikipedia
16. [HandWiki — Bell System Practices (BSP): the standardized technical library governing all outside-plant work in the Bell System](https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:Bell_System_Practices), HandWiki / Bell System engineering history
17. [CWA History — Communications Workers of America: formation 1947, outside-plant worker organization and bargaining history](https://cwa-union.org/about/cwa-history), Communications Workers of America
18. [Fiber Optics and MCI — Hagley Museum and Library digital exhibit: MCI's 1983 New York-Washington fiber deployment, railroad right-of-way construction](https://www.hagley.org/research/digital-exhibits/fiber-optics), Hagley Museum and Library
19. [Corning — A Timeline of Fiber Optics Technology: 1977 AT&T Chicago field trial through 1980s East/West Coast backbone construction](https://www.corning.com/worldwide/en/markets/Optical-Communications-Market/streamlined-connectivity/timeline-1982.html), Corning Incorporated
20. [EXFO iOLM — intelligent Optical Link Mapper: the next generation of automated OTDR testing for outside-plant fiber certification](https://www.exfo.com/en/products/field-network-testing/otdr-iolm/), EXFO Inc.
21. [Wikipedia — Optical time-domain reflectometer: history and field use in telecommunications outside-plant maintenance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_time-domain_reflectometer), Wikipedia
22. [Data Center Dynamics 2024 — Sumitomo Q502S: world's first AI-programmed active clad alignment fusion splicer](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/product-news/sumitomo-electric-launches-the-q502s-the-worlds-first-ai-programmed-active-clad-alignment-fusion-splicer/), Data Center Dynamics
23. [PTC 2025 — ServiceMax AI: GenAI field service assistant automates scheduling, documentation, and parts recommendations for telecom and utilities](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ptc-launches-servicemax-ai-a-generative-ai-powered-field-service-assistant-302374226.html), PTC Inc. / PR Newswire
24. [RCR Wireless 2024 — A shrinking and aging workforce: 60% of current fiber tech workforce on a retirement path; FBA projects 205,000 technicians needed](https://www.rcrwireless.com/20240606/fundamentals/a-shrinking-and-aging-workforce-the-problem-facing-broadband-in-the-us), RCR Wireless News

### Forecasts and exposure studies

25. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 49-9052 Telecommunications line installers and repairers (2025: 103.4 thousand; 2035: 99.9 thousand; -3.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-9052&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
26. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 49-9052.00, human-rated β 0.031)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

27. [EBSCO Research Starters — Samuel F. B. Morse Opens the First U.S. Telegraph Line (May 24, 1844)](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/samuel-f-b-morse-opens-first-us-telegraph-line), EBSCO Research Starters
28. [NPS — The Transcontinental Telegraph (1861): construction method and completion](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-transcontinental-telegraph.htm), National Park Service
29. [Lowell Corporation — The Evolution of the Lineman: the 1888 Blizzard and Bell System lineman emergency response](https://lowellcorp.com/evolution-of-the-lineman/), Lowell Corporation
30. [CWA History — Communications Workers of America: formation in 1947, the culmination of 50 years of telephone worker organizing](https://cwa-union.org/about/cwa-history), Communications Workers of America
31. [Breakup of the Bell System — Wikipedia: January 1, 1984 divestiture; CWA estimate of 130,000 jobs eliminated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_the_Bell_System), Wikipedia
32. [Wikipedia — WorldCom scandal: WorldCom bankruptcy July 2002, largest at the time; telecommunications construction collapse following dot-com bust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldCom_scandal), Wikipedia
33. [NTIA BroadbandUSA — BEAD Program: $42.5 billion for broadband infrastructure deployment; states ramping OSP construction 2025-2030](https://broadbandusa.ntia.gov/news/latest-news/ramping-bead-workforce-5-things-states-isps-and-construction-firms-can-be-doing-now), NTIA / BroadbandUSA

### Predecessors & successors

34. [Lowell Corporation — The Evolution of the Lineman: telegraph lineman skills transferred directly to telephone line work from the 1870s onward](https://lowellcorp.com/evolution-of-the-lineman/), Lowell Corporation
35. [Bell System Memorial — Life in the Bell System: Signal Corps veterans entered telephone outside-plant work after WWII with directly applicable wiring and line skills](https://memorial.bellsystem.com/lifebellsystem.htm), Bell System Memorial

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers (49-9052.00): tasks, wages, outlook](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-9052.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OOH — Telecommunications Technicians: -3% projected decline 2024-2034; ~23,200 openings/yr from replacement demand](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/telecommunications-equipment-installers-and-repairers-except-line-installers.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Pew Charitable Trusts 2025 — BEAD program: 178,000 fiber workers needed through 2032; 58,000 new positions + 120,000 replacements](https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2025/10/demand-for-broadband-workforce-expected-to-rise-to-meet-bead-requirements), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): physical outdoor trades among lowest LLM task-exposure occupations](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Goldman Sachs 2023 — Generative AI: physical-labor roles among least exposed to AI automation](https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/how-will-ai-affect-the-global-workforce), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Trade Colleges Directory 2026 — Fiber Optic Tech Career: avg $57,818/yr nationally; $42.5B BEAD boom driving 11% fiber deployment growth in 2025](https://tradecolleges.org/blog/trade-programs/fiber-optic-broadband-technician-careers), accessed 2026-06-05
- [PTC 2025 — ServiceMax AI launched Feb 2025: GenAI field service assistant automates scheduling, documentation, and parts recommendations for telecom and utilities](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ptc-launches-servicemax-ai-a-generative-ai-powered-field-service-assistant-302374226.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [IDC MarketScape 2025 — PTC/ServiceMax named Leader in AI-Enabled Field Service Management Applications](https://www.ptc.com/en/products/servicemax/ai-service), accessed 2026-06-05
- [EXFO iOLM — automated, expert-level singlemode and multimode fiber testing; any technician becomes a fiber testing expert at the push of a button](https://www.exfo.com/en/products/field-network-testing/otdr-iolm/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Cabling Installation & Maintenance — EXFO iCERT: automated intelligent fiber certification to industry pass/fail thresholds](https://www.cablinginstall.com/testing/article/16477157/exfos-icert-capability-enables-automated-intelligent-fiber-certification), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Sumitomo Electric 2020 — TYPE-72C+ NanoTune AI fusion splicer: AI eliminates manual splicing skill requirement](https://sumitomoelectric.com/president/2020/12/202021), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Data Center Dynamics 2024 — Sumitomo Q502S: worlds first AI-programmed active clad alignment fusion splicer](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/product-news/sumitomo-electric-launches-the-q502s-the-worlds-first-ai-programmed-active-clad-alignment-fusion-splicer/), accessed 2026-06-05

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