The Great Worker Shortage: Exploring the Solutions Addressing the Telecommunication Workforce Shortage in the U.S.
A shortage of trained fiber technicians is causing enormous challenges for the American telecommunication industry. Questions are being raised about whether the demands and targets of the U.S Government in bridging the ‘digital divide’ in the next 10 years can be met. However, the solution to the problem may be simpler than you think.
In today's fast-paced digital age, high-speed internet and reliable connectivity have become necessary for our businesses, education, and almost all aspects of our daily lives. Unfortunately, a Digital Divide still exists; the unequal distribution of access to technology and the internet in the United States prevents millions of Americans from accessing reliable high-speed internet, particularly in rural and low-income areas.
To combat this rift, the U.S. government announced they would invest $42 billion into expanding broadband accessibility and infrastructure, with much of the funding allocated to lay fiber optic lines in more rural areas of the country. While this funding is a huge step forward in bridging the Digital Divide, there are real concerns that there need to be more trained fiber technicians available to get the job done.
The Problem
The fiber optic industry in the United States has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, driven by the massive increase in demand for high-speed internet and reliable connectivity. However, the industry is struggling to keep up with this demand due to a shortage of trained fiber optic technicians. This follows a worrying trend demonstrated in a U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey, showing that 91% of contractors report moderate to high difficulty finding skilled workers. (1)
This shortage of skilled technicians has led to longer installation times, delays in project completion, and increased costs. In addition, the quality of installations may suffer as inexperienced technicians are tasked with performing splicing in the field. This inaccessibility for a trained workforce is only expected to grow this year as the money from the $42 billion broadband infrastructure plan begins to flood into the market.
The Future is Pre-Connectorized
The answer to the worker shortage may be simpler than you might think. For a number of years Emtelle have offered a range of pre-connectorized fiber solutions that allow for a simple and easy?“plug and play” approach to fiber installation.
These proven and tested pre-connectorized solutions are specifically designed to:
领英推荐
An Expert’s Opinion
Scott Bohaychyk, Emtelle’s Solutions Manager for North America, spoke on his experiences with fiber optic deployment and splicing and how, in his opinion, Emtelle’s pre-connectorized solutions are the answer to more than just the workforce shortage;
?"During a traditional installation, when a fiber technician arrives at the home, they must gather their splicer, cleaning kit, and other tools needed. They then have to prep, clean, and cleave the fiber at the home. Only then can they fuse a connector on. This process takes anywhere from 25-45 minutes to complete. The technician then repeats this process at the other end adding 10-20 minutes, taking a total of 35-60 minutes per home.
"Alternatively, this process using a pre-connectorized fiber solution such as Emtelle’s QWKlink takes just under 10 minutes total because all that is needed is for the technician to remove a protective cap and place the final housing assembly on each end. The process takes about 10-15 seconds, but if you allow 5 minutes per end, the total time is still only 10 minutes maximum.
"If we looked at a 300-home deployment, pre-connectorized solutions reduce the time needed to turn up the network from around 175-300 hours to approx. 50 to 75 hours of labor. If we use a cost model of $100.00 per hour for a loaded labor rate, that is a savings of $12,500-$22,500 for the network.
"Additionally, because our QWK-Range pre-connectorized solutions are produced in a controlled environment, the variable of technician skill, weather factors, and condition of the equipment are also removed, giving the network provider confidence that every connection will perform as expected every time."
The shortage of trained fiber optic installation experts, while it seems to be a significant challenge for the industry going forward, has presented a golden opportunity to revolutionize the way we approach fiber deployment in North America. By moving away from the more traditional approaches and embracing more modern methods such as pre-connectorized solutions we can both save time and money and increase connection first pass reliability for broadband providers.
Pre-connectorized ferrules have been deployed across Europe for over 8 years and have been pivotal in the reduction of skilled labor required for installing fiber broadband connections. Europe also has its share of labor issues for fibre broadband and this technology was an enabler in reducing the needs for such specialist training and tools
Overall, pre-connectorized solutions reduce the need for skilled labor, the associated tools needed, the time requirements and overall deployment cost. It is really the only way that we can hope to achieve the goal of bridging the Digital Divide in the U.S.
References
Independent Fiber Optic Splicers, LLC Fiber optic technical services available throughout the southeast. Industry Specialists! Be safe out there everybody.
1 年I know an experienced technician who is willing to train the next generation to build quality skills and networks. Only waiting for the right opportunity. Be safe out there everybody.