My area is served by Verizon and Comcast Cable.
I've noticed plain white trucks bearing a stick-on sign saying "Verizon Authorized Contractor" or "Comcast Authorized Contractor".
I am not very impressed with the people in such trucks. Compared to regular crews they seem, quite frankly, to be rather scuzzy. They don't seem to be as proficient in their work habits or job skills; that is, when I see them working on lines they seem confused in tracking down junction boxes or knowing what to do. In the case of fixing broken cableTV dome junctions, they never seem to do it right, or do it extremely sloppy (letting coax lay across the lawn or even sidewalks).
My own experience with a Verizon Contractor was very negative and I complained to the company. They waived the charges for his services.
My guess is that the carriers are trying to save money by outsourcing. They regular employees (particulary Verizon) get a salary and benefits and may be union, while contractors get zilch.
I think we the public are the ones hurt by this practice; an example of cheap outsourcing results in cheap services.
For Comcast Cable, whose predecessor local cable companies were rather threadbare already*, subcontracting is scary. If I lose my TV picture my life isn't over, but nowadays many people have the 'net hookup via cable and even their telephone service. That's "mission critical" service.
I had them out on a service call once and their man blamed me for a problem in the wiring that _they_ installed, although I was not charged for the call.
*Their intitial wire stringing was extremely low budget, done very fast on the cheap. It eventually had to be redone.Comments anyone? [R#2]