Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 3% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 97% of the time, stays with people.
Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.
97,720 people do this job in the US. $74,330 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work1 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people39 h
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 1 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 39 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Test lines and locate faults (under an hour, a person checks); Compute wire impedance (under an hour, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 3%
- 0%
- 0%
- 1%
- 96%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 3% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 2%. Today's estimate: 3%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 20 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0022% to 0.0029% (released February and March 2025).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0022% | 689 of 708 | 1 of 20 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0029% | 630 of 703 | 1 of 20 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 20 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 20 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 20 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 20 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 20 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 98% of this job's working time as physical work. For 70% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 70% in a purpose-built cell. 0.70 of 3, the 260th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 2%
- No robot shown 28%
- In a purpose-built cell 70%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
97% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Splice cables, the hands-on work, 15%
- Run construction equipment, the hands-on work, 13%
- Dig trenches, the hands-on work, 12%
- Travel to premises for reception equipment, the hands-on work, 12%
- Set up customer service equipment, the hands-on work, 9%
- Reach work areas by bucket or pole, the hands-on work, 8%
What becomes checking the machine
3% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Test lines and locate faults, costly if wrong, 2%
- Compute wire impedance, costly if wrong, 0.8%
What to learn
- The hands-on craft. About 96% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 20 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.Splicing with hand tools, epoxy or equipment.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Thorlabs Vytran All-in-One Fiber Preparation and Fusion Splicing Workstation (FFS series) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 15% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Use a variety of construction equipment to complete installations, such as digger derricks, trenchers, or cable plows.Digger derricks, trenchers and cable plows.Done yearly or less by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 13% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Dig trenches for underground wires or cables.Trenches dug for cable.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Autonomous Excavation System for Excavators (Kawasaki Heavy Industries) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Travel to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories.Driving to customers and installing or repairing equipment.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 1.7 h50 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment, such as digital subscriber line modems.Modems and equipment installed and tested at the premises.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 9% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| 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.Bucket trucks, poles, ladders, tunnels and crawl spaces.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Bombyx aerial fiber deployment robot (Meta (Facebook Connectivity), licensed to Hibot) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.Testing on the line, with the results analyzed.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Telescent G4 Network Topology Manager (robotic fiber cross-connect) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduits running through trenches.Cable laid in trenches or pulled through conduit.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.Cleaning and upkeep by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Telescent Network Topology Manager (NTM) robotic patch panel (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.Cable pulled by hand.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, KABELMAT coil winder and binding line (drum unwinder + length measuring + cutter + coiler) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches.Cable pulled by hand or winch.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Intelli-SuperJet cable jetting/floating machine (Plumettaz) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Install equipment such as amplifiers or repeaters to maintain the strength of communications transmissions.Equipment installed on the line.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Bombyx aerial fiber deployment robot (Meta) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers13% now, 13% by 2028
- Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers1% now, 1% by 2028
- Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers11% now, 11% by 2028
- Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers7% now, 7% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment8% now, 8% by 2028
- Electricians12% now, 12% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 3% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 3% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Test lines and locate faults (30% of the task's time now); and Compute wire impedance (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Splice cables; Run construction equipment; and Dig trenches. Together such tasks are about 92% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the hands-on craft; judgment where errors are severe; and reviewing work you did not do yourself. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 97% of the working time stays with people, 3% becomes checking a model's work and 0% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 98% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 70% of the working time. Its index is 0.70 of 3. One example: Thorlabs Vytran All-in-One Fiber Preparation and Fusion Splicing Workstation (FFS series) for "splice cables". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 20 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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