I heard there was a call that announced that in 2025 the numbers of techs working in central offices will be reduced by 2/3. Has anyone heard any details or if the plan is to absorb them outside for the fiber builds?
20 replies (most recent on top)
A list of offices was released that supposedly are central offices to close by 2027. Anyone heard the details?
I hear a lot of things too, 99% of them are rumors.
Not going to happen, too many equipment installs and the company is growing the fiber network while transitioning from legacy copper. The reverse will probably true for the future because of the increased bandwidth and capacity needs from all the new technologies, AI, loT, wireless, satellite, etc.. Most CO’s are too spaced out for a lot of added coverage by a single tech.
Also a lot of vacant space from reduction or no longer viable jobs like, operators, pay phone collections, long distance, less support groups, less engineers/planners, etc. There are many empty floors and some cases whole buildings no longer used with exception of the CO or some network equipment.
There will be less of a need for so much real estate with the much smaller footprint of the fiber and mobile networks. There already is a lot of vacant space after most of the CLEC’s departure from the CO’s in addition to turning down a lot of copper equipment including many switch mods.
I’m a CO tech (ET) and we are constantly turning up new fiber equipment along with provisioning, working troubles/outages, decommissioning older equipment, bandit recoveries, routines, assisting outside techs, vendors and centers among a multitude of other administrative task. Everything has and will continue to transition from the old copper network to the newer fiber network until it’s complete. All those “wireless networks” can’t work without “wired networks” but wired networks can work without wireless. With new technologies coming on-line like AI, lOT, many more connected devices and higher bandwidth requirements for new devices, etc. the network will only continue to grow.
Yes the footprint for large CO spaces is shrinking, the equipment has become much smaller, condensed and there will be less maintenance cost with the newer technology but there still is a need now and for the foreseeable future of qualified ET’s and Data Techs which have already been reduced to skeleton crews. A majority are retirement eligible and will be retired either before or when 2029 rolls around and they aren’t providing any formal training for new hires or transfers. The company goal is to backfill from the Digital Tech (DT)/(ST) System Tech ranks but many of them will be retiring also in a few years and most don’t want to take on the extra duties of a 4 wall ET and the knowledge up-skill, shifts or stand-by for 24/7/365 coverage. It’s a lot to learn, remember, constantly changing and very busy work with all the responsibilities.
"There is nothing to cut except all CO techs and having the OSP fiber splicers and BSF do it now."
thats funny considering it takes 2 OSP linemen and a splicer one month to install 6500 ft of fiber cable. no joke thats how long it took.
If the Central Office is going away, why is so much new eqpt. being turned up?
This year it will look different.
AT&T is trying to make quick bucks. Most COs are empty buildings. AT&T is looking at the realty part of it. Even though they will sell off what they can, we will lease back the space we need. It's a huge money maker and we still get to do business.
"Stankey said was that he expects our CO footprint to be about 2/3 of what it is now by 2029."
For over 100 years, copper built the C.O. and it probably occupies about 2/3 of the C.O.
With copper being de-commissioned, the switch and the frame occupy several floors in the C.O. The switch and frame also suppprts DS0, T1, T3, the DSX panels, the Titan, the DACS IV. And all these circuits are muxed onto the OC3, OC12, OC48, OC192.
With the de-commissioning of copper, all this equipment jist about occupies 2/3 of the C.O. and are gping away by 2030.
1/3 of the C.O. is fiber equipment, Conexus, the coilan, timing, the -48 DC power plant, along with the back-up batteries, back-up engine and diesel portable back-up engines.
The copper is the 2/3 that is going away.
- O. employees already cover on average about 6 offices already. "Manned" offices are few and far in-between.
I like they posts from people who don't know what a CO is or what a CO tech does.
A CO is a central office, where worthiness copper and fiber goes to meet IOF copper/fiber to go to other CO'S. CO techs mostly run fiber jumpers in the racks to turn up orders. Nobody is making copper orders. They is already a wait time for a CO tech to get there when an order did not turn up.
There is nothing to cut except all CO techs and having the OSP fiber splicers and BSF do it now.
What @b1+1jjx43hkq Said!
There is not a lot of meat left on the CO tech bone to cut. Those guys already spend 80% of their time driving between CO locations.
Business conditions will always need to change and progress. It suc*$ when it impacts the many great people who work here.
I’m wishing nothing but the best for anyone impacted. You deserved better and you will get through this.
Be Well My Friends!!
Re: CO's are obsolete. No more copper
Clearly never worked in engineering or OPS…….get back to sales please
Nothing specific about technicians was said. Watch ATG earnings call when it comes back out, what Stankey said was that he expects our CO footprint to be about 2/3 of what it is now by 2029.
You have to assume this targets rural areas where it’s no longer profitable to operate. One caveat to that is that these CO’s are intertwined in many cases with redundancy and trunk and toll fiber cables that have nothing to to with the copper facilities where they serve but connect other offices to tandems and also serve the mobility networks for us and TMOB and VZ and others.
There is NO wireless without wireline so we’ll see if they can realize this. You need to know how the network really works to understand the big picture, there’s more here than just local copper loops at stake.
I haven’t heard any rumors about this but I hope you all come through this ok.
Be well!!!
off the payroll
CO's are obsolete. No more copper.
I don’t work in the central office, two technicians heard rumblings about it. I have friends that work in the C/O and trying to find details to try to either assuage their fears, or be prepared to find work elsewhere.
Ask your supervisor