High-Speed Internet Boom Hits Low-Tech Snag: a Labor Shortage

Fiber cables were laid at a record-high number of homes in 2025, fueled by billions in federal grants for broadband internet. Tech companies’ voracious appetite for data centers is ratcheting up demand further, with the need for millions more miles of cables. Yet the rush to build is hitting a human bottleneck, particularly among workers who can piece together the fiber networks at the heart of the technology. Some jobs take months of training or an artist’s attention to detail; others require the physical strength and stamina to climb telephone poles in summer heat. Crews can’t hire fast enough, and when they do, workers often are poached by competitors dangling higher wages. “We just don’t have the people to do the work,” said Kyle Braude, a former rodeo rider who now manages fiber build projects for JKL Associates, a subsidiary of utility-construction contractor Push. The biggest holdup in the fiber boom, he said, is human capital for roles including drillers, foremen, splicers and aerial linemen.