The broadband industry needs more workers. Desperately. Specifically, it needs tens of thousands more construction workers and broadband technicians to complete a coming wave of government-funded deployment projects or else critical broadband expansions could be delayed.
Some original research conducted by Continuum Capital found that the U.S. is short by about 58,000 tradespeople to build about $80 billion in government-funded fiber projects over the next five to seven years.
The research was done on behalf of the Power & Communication Contractors Association (PCCA) and the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA). Researchers interviewed 350 people across all 50 states who were selected for their knowledge and experience in the broadband market.
The report notes that the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) monies, along with matching funds, will contribute $52 billion toward fiber projects, while other government programs are adding billions toward fiber deployments, as well.
That’s great, but the influx of funding also means the industry will require an influx of workers to build the networks being funded.
According to the research, all this work will require about 186,900 workers. But in order to meet that total workforce demand, the U.S. will need 28,000 additional construction tradespeople, and it will also need about 30,000 additional skilled broadband technicians.
Blandin on Broadband
News and information on broadband use, policy, and trends
