AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers?

Task-level automation exposure for Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers: 20 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

16% weighted task index

20 of 20 tasks scored

Median Salary

$74,330 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Medium

97,720 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

-3.4% employment change

8,000 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 53 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$30,770 – $103,810

Highest medians

Rhode Island $103,810

Massachusetts $103,410

New Jersey $102,090

New York $100,960

California $97,980

Lowest medians

Guam $30,770

Puerto Rico $31,770

Louisiana $48,770

Oklahoma $48,900

Mississippi $49,360

State figures come from the 49-9052 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 16%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 79%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 12%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 0%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 13/100 Low

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

20 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 4%

1 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 12%

2 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 84%

17 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Emerging & rewritten tasks

Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.

New 08/2026 · Incumbent

Locate and mark cables that are buried underground.

Constituent Tasks

#11848 · Core · 10% automatable

Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.

physical manipulation — Connecting electrical components is manual work

Connect electrical components or equipment.

#11847 · Core · 46% automatable

Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.

data analysis — Performance data analysis; equipment context human

Inspect telecommunications equipment to identify problems. Analyze test or performance data to assess equipment operation.

#11857 · Core · 10% automatable

Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.

physical manipulation — Cleaning parts for repair needs hands-on dexterity

Clean equipment, parts, or tools to repair or maintain them in good working order. Maintain work equipment or machinery.

#24058 · Core · 18% automatable

Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment, such as digital subscriber line modems.

data analysis — AI reads test data; physical test setup is human

Test communications equipment to ensure proper functioning. Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance. Install audio or communications equipment.

#11852 · Core · 3% automatable

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.

situated mobility — Climbing structures requires physical mobility

Climb equipment or structures to access work areas.

#11855 · Core · 10% automatable

Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduits running through trenches.

physical manipulation — Laying cables requires physical routing work

Lay cables to connect equipment.

#20807 · Core · 10% automatable

Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches.

physical manipulation — Laying cables requires physical routing work

Lay cables to connect equipment.

#20806 · Core · 10% automatable

Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.

physical manipulation — Laying cables requires physical routing work

Lay cables to connect equipment.

#11846 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Travel to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories.

situated mobility — Physical travel to sites requires human mobility

Travel to work sites to perform installation, repair or maintenance work.

#11849 · Supplemental · 32% automatable

Measure signal strength at utility poles, using electronic test equipment.

physical manipulation — Requires physical gauges and instrument reading

Measure equipment outputs.

#11851 · Supplemental · 3% automatable

Place insulation over conductors, or seal splices with moisture-proof covering.

physical manipulation — Insulation installation requires manual fitting

Install insulation in equipment or structures.

#11859 · Supplemental · 60% automatable

Compute impedance of wires from poles to houses to determine additional resistance needed for reducing signals to desired levels.

data analysis — Calculation from specs; human confirms field conditions

Calculate requirements for equipment installation or repair projects.

#11858 · Supplemental · 45% automatable

Explain cable service to subscribers after installation, and collect any installation fees due.

interpersonal — AI can script; live explanation and trust are human

Explain use of products or services. Collect payments for goods or services.

#11853 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

String cables between structures and lines from poles, towers, or trenches, and pull lines to proper tension.

physical manipulation — Laying cables requires physical routing work

Lay cables to connect equipment.

#11863 · Supplemental · 7% automatable

Fill and tamp holes, using cement, earth, and tamping devices.

physical manipulation — Operating compaction equipment by hand on site

Compact materials to create level bases.

#11861 · Supplemental · 3% automatable

Dig trenches for underground wires or cables.

physical manipulation — Manual digging with tools in ground

Dig holes or trenches.

#11854 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Install equipment such as amplifiers or repeaters to maintain the strength of communications transmissions.

physical manipulation — Installing AV equipment requires hands-on wiring

Install audio or communications equipment.

#11860 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Use a variety of construction equipment to complete installations, such as digger derricks, trenchers, or cable plows.

physical manipulation — Operating heavy equipment by hand in field

Move large objects using heavy equipment.

#11862 · Supplemental · 7% automatable

Dig holes for power poles, using power augers or shovels, set poles in place with cranes, and hoist poles upright, using winches.

physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control

Dig holes or trenches. Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.

#11864 · Supplemental · 6% automatable

Participate in the construction or removal of telecommunication towers or associated support structures.

physical manipulation — Erecting temporary structures requires physical assembly

Remove worn, damaged or outdated materials from work areas. Assemble temporary equipment or structures. Assemble metal structures. Dismantle equipment or temporary structures.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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