Mother-In-Law has Comcast, for YEARS the woman's told her internet is fine and given every excuse in the book that DOES NOT actually factor to her speed, devices outdated, too far, not wired, not updated, etc. Hell some outright asked her if she was ever late on a payment because they could throttle her speed by lowering her rate. She's got a decently averaged sized PA style home. Two stories, basement, about 2800sqft. Half the home however was originally the front porch so after the remodel they had making the additional kitchen and dining room and master bedroom. The walls, floor and ceiling in the kitchen, dining, and half of the master bedroom was brick and concrete. ANOTHER reason she was told her internet was bad.

I finally convinced her to let me take a look, she's worried I'm going to charge her some huge fee. She figured it'd be hundreds, maybe a thousand... Even if I was paid a rate I got back in Texas it wouldn't come near that. At my height I made $27.00/hour as a technician. All she has is internet, a single modem and router combo unit, the XB8. Her speeds in her kitchen and dining room are awful, like 20-50mbps down. Master bedroom 80-300mbps down. She has 1GB. I look into our system and find out she wasn't lied to at least about her signal. Everything was in the green, even ideal levels. Problem is, that software ain't sh**. I go out, check her lines on the side of the house, she's not grounded, and she's got actual moss growing on her cables, corroded, harder than someone fresh out. I cut them all down, run myself up the pole and cut the drop down and bring her a new one in. New feed-in line, and grounded her out.

Now her speeds in the master bedroom where the XB8 is... 700mbps on average, with highs in the 900s. Dining room directly below, 300-500mbps down. The saddest realty to this story is how unbelievably common place it is. It comes to a point I can without a shroud of doubt tell you, it's not your provider that is so terrible, it's the technicians. Because with comcast we have something called a PHT, Premise Health Test. That test tells us if everything's green then everything's fine, and comcast will back that statement. Even if you're getting only 20 down and have 1GB speed, the tech CAN walk away and tell you it's fine. I wish I was joking. Not every company has this kind of test, but I can assure you this is a problem and it's not just comcast. I dealt with it in every company I've worked for and I've heard the story a thousand times over from other techs in other companies.

Don't accept sh** service and say it's part of the company, it's not. Don't be mean, don't be nasty, just be calm, polite, keep your phone handy and make sure you get the supervisor there and make them test the speed and replace the cables. If a technician wants to refuse you, a supervisor can't (or at least a good one won't.)

iO = Internet Only
Barrel = A split in a line that allows a connection to continue along a single line.
Drop Cable = Line from the service pole to your home
House Box = Literally just a box we place on the side of your home to keep the fittings and splitters out of the elements.
Ground Block = The point where the drop cable and feed in cable meet and are grounded.
Feed In Cable = Line going from the outside into your home prior to any splits. This line can often be the only line in your home.
Tap = Point of Service at a pole.
Modem = Device that provides signal based off of Coaxial or Ethernet.
Coax / Coaxial = Cable line you screw into, commonly a black one.
Ethernet = Cable you plug into something like a router, modem, or PC.
Router = Device that provides WiFi, WAN and LAN ports that connects to your modem.
COE = Customer Owned Equipment; You purchased your own modem or router.
Mesh WiFi = Systems that allow a WAN and LAN based connection that can be incredible to have if you have a larger property, or live in a place where the walls are brick, plaster or concrete. So long as they're wired.
Toner = Device that allows us to find cables.
RG59 = Older cable once used, no longer a good cable. Doesn't carry connection as well as RG6, and commonly will have noise in it which can mess things up.
RG6 = Standard issue cable used. Dual or Quad Shielded to ensure better connections.
ISP = Internet Service Provider

By the Book

1.) I call you prior to arrival, verify the address is proper, verify the work order is right and give you an estimate to when I'll be there.
2.) Once there, I'll go ahead and check the outside of your home as I'm making my way to your door to see where your lines all are if any and knock and greet you.
3.) Discuss where your modem/router is going, I will always steer you away from idiotic places like basements, attics, etc. and try to go for the most central place to the home unless you NEED it in a certain location.
4.) From there I go back to my van, grab my wire, and run myself up the pole. Test the ports to make sure they're decent.
5.) Connect the line to the tap, and then get down and run it to your home.
6.) Attach your House Box and ground out my ground block, rarely will this not go on the side where your power line goes.
7.) Attach the drop to your home, attach it to the ground block. Then test the ground block and ensure the signals are good.
8.) Drill into your home if needed, and run the feed in cable through to where it needs to go.
9.) Plug the modem in.
10.) Walk you through the app while I'm finishing up tidying up any wires or connecting in devices for you.
11.) Connect any devices you'd like to have WiFi to.
12.) Done.

Common Practice

1.) I call you prior to arrival, verify the address is proper, verify the work order is right and give you an estimate to when I'll be there.
2.) Once there, I'll go ahead and check the outside of your home as I'm making my way to your door to see where your lines all are if any and knock and greet you.
3.) Discuss where your modem/router is going, I will always steer you away from idiotic places like basements, attics, etc. and try to go for the most central place to the home unless you NEED it in a certain location.
4.) Get my toner out if you have existing lines in the ideal or area you want it in. Find the other end of said cable, take out any splitters. Depending on how many are in the cable I may replace it as a whole (I won't allow more than 2 splits in a modem line), and will if it's RG59.
5.) Ensure the line goes back out into the House Box, if one isn't there already I attach one.
6.) Make sure the ground block is grounded after replacing it and the drop cable fittings.
7.) Check the signal at the ground block and ensure the signal is good, if not I go up the pole and figure out what's wrong.
8.) Replace the drop if needed, otherwise just the fitting. Do the mental math and make sure the signals look good and match in your home at the modem.
9.) Plug the modem in.
10.) Walk you through the app while I'm finishing up tidying up any wires or connecting in devices for you.
11.) Connect any devices you'd like to have WiFi to.
12.) Done.

Do you need a degree? No.
Do you need special knowledge? No.
Do you need to be tech savvy? Not really.. Does help though.
Is it hard? Depends on the day.. Might be dealing with a couple fighting all the time or a hoarder, or you might be stuck in a bar or restaurant for an entire day trying to snake lines. Every home and business is different.
I've had some amazing moments working in this field, from getting home made mead, wine, $50.00 and $100.00 tips to people trying to give away pets or stuff. Potentially worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. Been in amazing houses and mansions, and I always love that feeling of being in a business with security clearance points and just walking through like it's nothing. Just feels nice. A lot of the time people are eager and happy to see you too, so it's fairly easy to keep a smile.
Does it pay well? In all honesty, it really does depend... If you end up W2 working directly for the company, the benefits are great. Usually free service, health, dental, vision, life, 401k.. As I got older I realized how much more I'd want those. If you're a sub contractor, it's a hit or miss. Usually the starting rate is $16.00 - $19.00/hour. Yeah.. BUT the overtime will make up for it. On average I work 45-55 hours a week. Wake up at 05:30, drive in with the company vehicle which is always nice that in this industry you'll always have a company vehicle to take home. Get the day started at 08:00 and end usually around 16:00 - 18:00. The best days are when the first or last appointment to make is like 10 minutes from home and it's super easy. It's a lot of hand work, climbing up and down flights of stairs and a ladder up and down poles. Doesn't matter if it's snowing, hailing, sleeting, 115F or -20F. You're working. Being a contractor is a bit nice, but the taxes scare me and there' zero benefit.. And likely all the tools you'll need won't be supplied which sucks as even subcontractors will get that for free or have the option to have them purchased and then garnished out.

I took a pretty big cut in pay when I moved from TX to PA. I didn't realize how much more expensive it would be to live here and it has been impressively draining. Didn't help with the pay cut I got too. The year before I made 50k. It ain't great.. Especially now. It's good and honest work, but it can be draining on your social, mental, emotional, and physical battery. Some days are super easy, other days it's a nightmare from hell.


Tools We Use
Coaxial Compression Tool, Long and Short
Coaxial Wire Strippers RG6, RG59
Wire Cutters
Hammer Drill - SDS and Wood bits, 18 inches, 3/8" and 1/2"
Impact Wrench - 7/16, 1/2, 3/8, 1/4, 5/16, flathead, philips
Coaxial Toner
7/16 Wrench
Crescent Wrench
Flush Cutters
RJ45 / Phone Crimp Tool
Punch down tool
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