Telecommunications Installation and Repair Workers

Nature of work

Telecommunications installation and repair workers install, test, repair, and maintain telecommunication systems. They work for telephone and other telecommunications transmission services companies.

Job duties

Telephone installers and repairers:

• Install, arrange, remove and maintain telephone equipment, wiring and related hardware.
• Test installed telephone systems to find transmission faults.
• Repair or replace broken telephones, wire and related equipment.

Switch network installers and repairers:

• Install electromechanical, analog and digital trunking systems, circuits and equipment in telecommunications central offices and switching centres.
• Inspect and test trunking systems, circuits and equipment.
• Examine test results and adjust, change or repair switching system, network, related equipment and software.

Telecommunications service testers:

• Run computerized testing systems to carry out service tests on customer lines and equipment.
• Determine the nature, cause and location of service trouble.
• Dispatch correct repair workers.
• Complete test reports and maintain test and service records.
• May help repair personnel to test lines, circuits and systems, isolate and clear cable faults and verify records.

Telecommunications equipment technicians:

• Install, remove and maintain telecommunications equipment and related systems like telex and fax machines, teletypewriters, mobile radios, cellular telephones, pagers and other telecommunications equipment.
• Configure operating systems and install software for access to the Internet.
• Inspect and test operation of telecommunications equipment.
• Identify and find equipment faults, and change, replace or repair telecommunications equipment.

Sample job titles

• apprentice communication technician - switching
• cellular telephone technician
• communications technician
• exchange tester - telecommunications
• mobile radio installer
• private branch exchange (PBX) installer
• switch network installer and repairer
• telecommunications equipment technician
• telephone installer
• telephone line and station installer

Skills

• Analytical and mechanical abilities
• Math skills
• Communication and interpersonal skills
• The ability to work and solve problems independently
• Good colour vision, manual dexterity, and hand-eye coordination
• The ability to climb poles and ladders while carrying tools and equipment

Job requirements

• High school or equivalent (usually).
• Telephone and switch network installers and repairers need a combination of over three years of work experience in the trade and some high school, college or industry-related courses.
• Communication technicians usually need a college electrical and electronics program and several months of on-the-job training, or training through a 3,600-hour apprenticeship program with two apprenticeship levels: to become an apprentice you first need to have a job - enter an apprenticeship agreement either directly through an employer or after graduating from a college-level pre-apprenticeship program; learn on the job, mentored by a certified journeyperson who signs off on skills in a logbook.
• Trade Qualifier option, 5,400 hours, and other criteria.
• Certification for communication technicians is voluntary in Nova Scotia.
• To work in the Communications Technician trade, an individual requires a license under the regulatory authority in Nova Scotia, the Technical Safety Division.
• Experience as an installer and repairer (telephone and switch network) is usually required for service testers.

Other considerations

• Communications technicians install, repair, upgrade, and maintain communication cables. They i) create the design and layout of the system or any part of the system, ii) and install communications cabling supports, except cable trades, conduits, or wire ways, and iii) bonding any communications equipment to the main electrical ground system.
• Working conditions vary considerably in this occupation. Communication technicians may work indoors or outdoors and often travel to several work sites in a day.
• They generally work a standard 35- to 40-hour week but may have to work overtime, particularly when weather conditions or other events disrupt cable or telephone service. Shift work may be required.
• Stringing cable from utility poles may involve climbing and balancing on an aerial platform or pole in all types of weather.
• Risks include injury from electrical shocks, falls, or hazards associated with cable splicing.
• Changes in telecommunications and multi-media technology and the ways in which they are delivered to customers may affect the type of work performed and job prospects in these jobs. Changes in technology, like high-speed Internet and digital phone services, require that workers in this group continuously upgrade their skills.
• Experienced communication technicians may advance to supervisory positions such as foreman, superintendent or quality assurance. They may retrain and transfer to other departments such as sales, engineering or systems design, or become an estimator.

Regulations

There are no additional resources for this occupation.