Skip to main content

Telecommunications Line Technician

Skilled Trades

Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Electrical Engineering

Picture the job

Where you'd usually workA workshop

  • Outdoors most days, in all weather
  • On your feet for most of the day
  • Dealing with customers or the public
  • A noisy workplace

An illustration of a typical workplace, not a photo. The work-style notes come from US O*NET data, so read them as a guide.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Quick answers

How do you become a Telecommunications Line Technician in Malaysia?

Routes after SPM that lead here include Diploma and TVET.

Can I become a Telecommunications Line Technician straight after SPM?

Yes. This career can be started with a certificate, diploma or TVET training straight after SPM, without a degree.

What should I study to become a Telecommunications Line Technician?

Related fields of study: Electrical Engineering. SPM subjects that help most: Electrical & Electronic Eng. Studies, Computer Science / ICT, English and Mechanical Engineering Studies.

How much does a Telecommunications Line Technician earn in Malaysia?

We don't yet have a Malaysian source we can cite for Telecommunications Line Technician pay, so we show no figure.

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment.
  2. 2Explain cable service to subscribers after installation, and collect any installation fees due.
  3. 3Travel to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories.
  4. 4Measure signal strength at utility poles, using electronic test equipment.
  5. 5Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
  6. 6Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.
  7. 7Access specific areas to string lines, or install terminal boxes, auxiliary equipment, or appliances, using bucket trucks, climbing poles or ladders, or entering tunnels, trenches, or crawl spaces.
  8. 8Place insulation over conductors, or seal splices with moisture-proof covering.
  9. 9String cables between structures and lines from poles, towers, or trenches, and pull lines to proper tension.
  10. 10Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.
  11. 11Compute impedance of wires from poles to houses to determine additional resistance needed for reducing signals to desired levels.
  12. 12Install equipment such as amplifiers or repeaters to maintain the strength of communications transmissions.
  13. 13Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduits running through trenches.
  14. 14Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
  15. 15Use a variety of construction equipment to complete installations, such as digger derricks, trenchers, or cable plows.
  16. 16Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches.
  17. 17Dig trenches for underground wires or cables.
  18. 18Fill and tamp holes, using cement, earth, and tamping devices.
  19. 19Dig holes for power poles, using power augers or shovels, set poles in place with cranes, and hoist poles upright, using winches.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Climber
  • Jointer
  • Lineman
  • Splicer
  • Cableman
  • Reel Man
  • Installer
  • Cable Layer
  • Cable Wirer
  • Line Tester

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Electrical & Electronic Eng. StudiesDraws directly on Telecommunications — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Computer Science / ICTDraws directly on Telecommunications — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
PhysicsDraws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Telecommunications90%

    Electrical & Electronic Eng. StudiesComputer Science / ICT

  • Customer and Personal Service88%
  • English Language75%

    English

  • Public Safety and Security68%
  • Computers and Electronics65%

    Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies

  • Mechanical64%

    Mechanical Engineering StudiesPhysicsDesign & Technology (RBT)

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersHigh
  • Handling conflict situationsOften
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherEvery day
  • Noisy environmentEvery day

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment, such as digital subscriber line modems.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points, not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023, already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

What beginner adverts asked for

We read 8 internship and fresh-graduate adverts in related fields (August 2026). A small sample from one job site, not every vacancy.

7 of 8 were internships

Allowance or pay, when stated

RM950 – RM1,075

4 of 8 adverts printed an amount: usually between RM950 and RM1,075 a month. Many print none.

Languages named

Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin

An empty line means the adverts did not say, not that employers have no requirement. Check each employer's own advert before you plan around it.

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org