Oklahoma Lineman Program Adds Broadband Training

Federally funded curriculum combines high-voltage and fiber skills, a workforce gap for the state's telecom buildout.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Telecommunications

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a fiber-optic cable coil beside a wooden utility pole on open prairie, in deep red and cream. — Pontotoc Technology Center has expanded its Line Worker program to add broadband and fiber training, backed by $665,680 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you trust local training programs funded by federal dollars to create good jobs?

Pontotoc Technology Center has completed a broadband grant project funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, and has expanded its Line Worker program with $665,680 in federal sub-award funding. The expanded curriculum combines high-voltage lineman skills with telecommunications and broadband training. The development is completed and announced, not research-stage.

Why it matters

The expansion addresses demand for workers who can build and maintain broadband infrastructure alongside traditional power-line work. Grant-funded training of this kind is one way states are trying to build the technical workforce needed for fiber deployment.

The grant funded heavy-duty bucket trucks, two 80-foot training towers, expanded pole yards, high-precision fiber splicing equipment, underground line locating equipment, and specialized diagnostic tools. The source does not provide performance benchmarks or cost comparisons for this equipment.

The players

Pontotoc Technology Center

A technology center in Pontotoc, Oklahoma, that runs Line Worker, Heavy Equipment Operator, and I.T. training programs.

The details

Pontotoc Technology Center expanded its existing Line Worker program into a workforce development initiative, launched in August 2023. Federal American Rescue Plan Act funding paid for industry-standard tools, heavy equipment, and dedicated instruction facilities. Equipment purchased will also serve the Heavy Equipment Operator and I.T. programs.

August 2023: The expanded Line Worker curriculum was launched.
November 4, 2026: The grant project was officially completed and announced.

The Tech Race

The project sits within the broader push by states to build broadband capacity using federal relief funds. The source does not name a competing program or prior milestone in Oklahoma for comparison.

Oklahoma residents seeking lineman or broadband technician training can now enroll in the expanded Line Worker curriculum at Pontotoc Technology Center. The source does not state tuition, enrollment capacity, or start dates for new cohorts.

The takeaway

Watch whether Pontotoc Technology Center publishes enrollment and placement figures for the expanded Line Worker program in its next reporting cycle. Those numbers would show whether combined power and broadband training is filling the workforce gap the grant targets.