My brother does that exact work.

From what I’ve gathered the actual splicing is partly automated today and relatively straightforward if somewhat tedious. The big variable is the context. New construction should have relatively few variables.

With repair, everything goes out the window. I just talked to him last night and he was out on a cable cut repair all night Friday. Middle of a snowstorm, maps were not accurate, repair site was very difficult to work in.

To answer your actual question, the big barrier to adoption (in the US anyway) will be the CWA. :D