While being replaced by AI panics people across countless industries, skilled trade workers are sipping job security through a steel straw. Broadband technicians — though not the first trade to come to mind — sit among them in a world increasingly reliant on internet infrastructure.
The job isn’t threatened by AI replacement, but it is going to be changed by it — some of it becoming more dynamic and less repetitive, according to Jason Moore, co-founder of RouteThis.
Next-gen tech like AI is already impacting traditional trades and construction, reshaping workflows in everything from diagnostics and reporting to customer communication. Moore saw the opportunity to bring similar tools to broadband trade techs.
RouteThis supports internet provider installation crews with technological tools intended to improve job efficiency, reduce repeat home visits and promote solid connectivity across all areas of the house.
During an industry event held in Nashville, Moore explained to Broadband Nation some of the ways AI will be and already is a new tool in the technician's belt.
“I think what you're going to see is the value of the field technician increase dramatically,” he said.
With less focus on repetitive or tedious reporting (logging router serial numbers and signal strength readings), the job will become more focused on active problem-solving and applying technical knowledge in more adaptive, people-centered ways.
“What AI is going to do here is almost widen that role," continued Moore. "In a lot of ways, it's going to let that field technician be good at six things that you never would have been good at before, because AI is just gonna be like this super charger behind them.”
The router placement problem
Moore, who’s done numerous ride alongs with field technicians to intimately understand the daily ins and outs and pain points of the job, discovered a small but impactful issue plaguing many in-home installations.
While networks have largely continued to become more reliable, Moore and his team were observing an uptick in complaint calls dealing with spotty coverage — the issues coming from inside the house. “Nine times out of the 10 now it is something going wrong within the four walls,” said Moore.
During his string of ride alongs, he discovered the source of those complaints often came from poorly located routers.
Most folks installing Wi-Fi in their home would prefer not to have Darth Vader’s breathing box on their mantelpiece, so even when a technician explains optimal coverage placement, the common reply is: “Yeah, I get it. I get it. I'll have better Wi-Fi coverage. But I really do not want to see the router. I want it in the back corner of my house, buried down there... thank you, goodbye,” Moore said.
But because many install technicians who interface directly with residents are measured on customer satisfaction, “none of them want to push back. They’re all just like, ‘it’s not worth it.’” Yet it can potentially harm that measurement down the line.
Techs may be trained extensively in running neat, high-quality installs, but when routers are constantly placed in bad locations — even if by a customer’s request — connection across the home suffers. This is amplified by a second observation from Moore’s team — what he referred to as “mystery Wi-Fi blockers” or “Wi-Fi killers.” Whether it's hidden brick behind dry wall or steel floor reinforcements, they hinder the connection reaching every area of the house.
The combo leads to more residents complaining and a negative impact on the perceived job performance of the installing technician — despite what may be a professionally excellent install.
“The technicians were essentially being asked to be salespeople, in addition to incredibly competent, technical craftsmen at the end of the day,” explained Moore. “And none of them want it.”
New tools for the technician belt
Moore and his team developed a tool, Certify, to assist technicians in tedious on-the-job tasks while also taking the lead on the customer conversation that was lacking around router placement and connection blockers.
Through partnerships with satellite and GIS companies, the tool automatically generates a floor plan layout map of the home. The tech can capture signal strength data by walking across the house, with no need to manually log it. It generates connection heat maps and signal-weak areas automatically, filling in portions of the install report for the tech.
The app then directly texts the customer “with a top-down view of their home” and provides an optimal placement of the router. They can then play with different placements and see how it will affect connectivity across different rooms — whether it’s for a parent's home office, or their kid being able to do homework at night.
Techs then aren’t forced into leading a sales conversation they don’t want to have. They can simply “be good at what they're amazing at,” Moore noted.
While the tool revealed numerous surface-level benefits, Moore’s team observed one deeper and unexpected impact. They found “dramatic improvement” in technician job satisfaction and retention in several companies — particularly in larger ones where communication between ground teams and management can be more prone to disconnects or neglect.
It presents one possibility for AI-enabled tech to aid in issues deeper than efficiency. As the tools create clarity and simplicity in the more tedious tasks, technicians can shift focus towards the more nuanced and unpredictable parts of the job — areas that will continue to rely on their experience, technical craft and human judgement.
Interested in exploring job opportunities within the industry? Check out our jobs board, training portal and Learning Center.