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AI exposure Installation, maintenance and repair

Will AI replace telecommunications equipment installers and repairers?

Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers. US occupation 49-2022.

3.3%

of the time telecommunications equipment installers and repairers spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of telecommunications equipment installers and repairers' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 290 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 61% of them.Further along than 61% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for telecommunications equipment installers and repairersWhat telecommunications equipment installers and repairers no longer do alone

O*NET lists 40 tasks for telecommunications equipment installers and repairers. AI use at work shows up in 2 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Diagnose and correct problems from remote locations, using special switchboards to find the sources of problems.Core task mostly automated 1.00
  2. Perform database verifications, using computers. mostly automated 0.95

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

38 of the 40 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Adjust or modify equipment to enhance equipment performance or to respond to customer requests.Core task
  • Analyze test readings, computer printouts, and trouble reports to determine equipment repair needs and required repair methods.Core task
  • Assemble and install communication equipment such as data and telephone communication lines, wiring, switching equipment, wiring frames, power apparatus, computer systems, and networks.Core task
  • Clean and maintain tools, test equipment, and motor vehicles.Core task
  • Climb poles and ladders, use truck-mounted booms, and enter areas such as manholes and cable vaults to install, maintain, or inspect equipment.Core task
  • Collaborate with other workers to locate and correct malfunctions.Core task
Show the other 32
  • Communicate with bases, using telephones or two-way radios to receive instructions or technical advice, or to report equipment status.Core task
  • Demonstrate equipment to customers and explain its use, responding to any inquiries or complaints.Core task
  • Designate cables available for use.Core task
  • Determine viability of sites through observation, and discuss site locations and construction requirements with customers.Core task
  • Dig holes or trenches as necessary for equipment installation and access.Core task
  • Drive crew trucks to and from work areas.Core task
  • Enter codes needed to correct electronic switching system programming.Core task
  • Examine telephone transmission facilities to determine requirements for new or additional telephone services.Core task
  • Inspect equipment on a regular basis to ensure proper functioning.Core task
  • Install updated software and programs that maintain existing software or provide requested features, such as time-correlated call routing.Core task
  • Maintain computer and manual records pertaining to facilities and equipment.Core task
  • Measure distances from landmarks to identify exact installation sites for equipment.Core task
  • Note differences in wire and cable colors so that work can be performed correctly.Core task
  • Perform routine maintenance on equipment, including adjusting and lubricating components and painting worn or exposed areas.Core task
  • Refer to manufacturers' manuals to obtain maintenance instructions pertaining to specific malfunctions.Core task
  • Remove and remake connections to change circuit layouts, following work orders or diagrams.Core task
  • Remove and replace plug-in circuit equipment.Core task
  • Remove loose wires and other debris after work is completed.Core task
  • Repair or replace faulty equipment, such as defective and damaged telephones, wires, switching system components, and associated equipment.Core task
  • Request support from technical service centers when on-site procedures fail to solve installation or maintenance problems.Core task
  • Review manufacturer's instructions, manuals, technical specifications, building permits, and ordinances to determine communication equipment requirements and procedures.Core task
  • Route and connect cables and lines to switches, switchboard equipment, and distributing frames, using wire-wrap guns or soldering irons to connect wires to terminals.Core task
  • Run wires between components and to outside cable systems, connecting them to wires from telephone poles or underground cable accesses.Core task
  • Test circuits and components of malfunctioning telecommunications equipment to isolate sources of malfunctions, using test meters, circuit diagrams, polarity probes, and other hand tools.Core task
  • Test connections to ensure that power supplies are adequate and that communications links function.Core task
  • Test repaired, newly installed, or updated equipment to ensure that it functions properly and conforms to specifications, using test equipment and observation.Core task
  • Address special issues or situations, such as illegal or unauthorized use of equipment, or cases of electrical or acoustic shock.
  • Clean switches and replace contact points, using vacuum hoses, solvents, and hand tools.
  • Install telephone station equipment, such as intercommunication systems, transmitters, receivers, relays, and ringers, and related apparatus, such as coin collectors, telephone booths, and switching-key equipment.
  • Place intercept circuits on terminals to handle vacant lines in central office installations.
  • Program computerized switches and switchboards to provide requested features.
  • Provide input into the design and manufacturing of new equipment.

How that compares

Among the 50 installation, maintenance and repair occupations, telecommunications equipment installers and repairers rank 4. The group averages 0.7%, and its most exposed job is Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers at 10.7%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 289Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers 3.4%
  2. 290Chief Executives 3.3%
  3. 290Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other 3.3%

Just below

  1. 293Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 3.2%
  2. 293First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers 3.2%
  3. 293Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers 3.2%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.