Telecommunication Line Installer

Telecommunication line installers install, maintain, and repair various communication cables inside and between buildings.

They handle…

• Termination of the complex cable runs at demarcation points of customers
• Join the cable to distribute services through neighborhoods and buildings

Some are experts in running cables inside buildings, outlining the shortest and most protected routes through the structure to reach the service points.

Others specialize in the outside wiring, running cables through conduits underground or stringing them between telephone poles.

Telecom line installers are the ones who make the internet revolution carry on.

It’s thanks to their effort of running miles of copper and fiber optic cables that web out around the world that makes us connected with each other.

Without these cables, there would be no Internet.

So let’s learn more about these telecommunication line installers and how you can become one.

What Telecom Line Installers Work With

Telecom line installers can work everywhere.

They may run the last cable mile from a central office along phone poles to your house, or on a seashore helping land massive trans-oceanic communication cables.

This job comes with countless opportunities and experiences.

Telecommunication cables can be of three primary types:

• Optical fibers (use lasers to signal through finely-spun reflective tubing)
• Transmission lines (e.g., a copper cable carrying signals using on/off electrical currents on wire pairs)
• Waveguides (using metallic cable as well to use it to carry electromagnetic wave signals)

Fiber Optic

The installation of every type of cable requires specific tools and considerations.

For example, optical fibers are hard to splice together.

And so, it requires specialized training and tooling to do it.

Fusion splicers make an electric arc that melts the glass strands together.

It requires practice and training to do it without blocking light transmission.

Metal Cables

Metal cables are easier to splice.

Telecom line installers will crimp or solder them.

But by doing so, every connection will reduce the signal’s conductivity, so it requires careful planning.

Waveguide Cables

Waveguide cables are susceptible to electrical interference from emissions sources, similar to high-voltage power lines.

They have to be run to avoid these sources or shielded with a layer of woven metallic fiber that encases them in a tubular Faraday cage.

Some cables are strung overhead from telephone poles and are connected by branch lines to the premises of customers.

So they may have to work high up on ladders or in bucket trucks to string these cables.

They work close to power lines and have to undergo the same safety training as electrical linemen.

What Telecom Line Installers Do at Work

Working with Cables and Conduits

More often now, telecom cables are being run below the ground through a plastic conduit.

With the digging and earth-moving equipment, telecom line installers excavate a trench down a below-freezing level layer.

Then, they lay down and cover up conduits of different sizes.

Sometimes, to lay the conduit off, they use special machinery.

With fewer joints, the continuous conduit is also less likely to leak.

Telecom line installers will either blow or pull cables that run through conduits.

Some cables have messenger lines or were previously run with them, which are light synthetic cords.

A cable is carefully connected to that cord.

Then, they will pull the other end to draw it through the conduit.

Sometimes, to facilitate the pull, they use gels or other lubricants.

This is the most common method to add capacity to older conduit lines.

With a new conduit, they usually use a cable jetting or blowing technique.

To reduce the force required by pulling and the amount of friction on the cable, they use compressed air to pull the cable and feed it in at the source end.

This installation technique is faster and less likely to damage the cable.

Working with Transoceanic Communication Cables

Telecom line installers who work with transoceanic communication cables use even more unusual tools.

To trench and bury the cables in shallow waters, they will…

• Work on huge ships with spools of heavily armored cables
• Use remotely operated underwater vehicles

Then the line is dropped on the ocean floor, with the polyethylene cover, reinforced steel, and mylar insulation to protect the glass and copper inside.

Above and below-water long-distance communication lines have to be laid to operate switching equipment or signal amplifiers located along the line.

These devices are usually low-voltage, 110VAC or lower.

However, installers should be extremely careful to ensure that stray voltage doesn’t go directly into signaling lines.

If that happens, it would destroy the equipment.

Becoming a Telecom Line Installer

Education and Training

Telecom line installers don’t typically need college degrees.

However, some community colleges offer two-year telecommunication associate’s degrees.

With this education, you can build a foundation for on-the-job training, either informal or apprenticeship.

You will get on-the-job training through one to two years of training programs.

At some organizations, they go through an apprenticeship, where you’ll learn the ropes under the supervision of senior installers.

It takes you about two years to advance from being an apprentice.

Unlike other electrical trades, no independent apprenticeship councils apply here because the hiring companies manage the apprenticeship programs internally.

Professional Certification

Telecom certifications are more common.

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers offers a range of specialized cabling certifications.

Another industry trade group, the Fiber Optic Association, offers certification for fiber optic cabling.

Salaries and Job Prospects

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, telecom line installers have a median salary of $52,920.

The salary can vary depending on the specialty and location.

Those who specialize in fiber optic connections make significantly more than those who lay cables and do ditch work.

In the following examples, you can see what kind of payment telecom can expect as of August 2016:

• Telecommunication installer in Dubuque – $12/hour
• Telecom installer with a wireless integration company in Washington, D.C. – $23/hour
• Low-voltage cable installation technician in Nashville – $21/hour

In terms of job prospects, telecom line installers can find employment anywhere in the country.

That’s mainly because communication lines run even in geographically remote regions.

So a variety of positions can be found, primarily in urban areas, including inside and outside work.

This page is also available in Spanish.