FCC Backs AT&T Bid to End Landlines for 184,000 California Households as State Fight Deepens
Updated
Updated · The Mercury News · Jul 4
FCC Backs AT&T Bid to End Landlines for 184,000 California Households as State Fight Deepens
3 articles · Updated · The Mercury News · Jul 4
Summary
June 29 FCC approvals let AT&T keep pursuing a shutdown of copper landline service for 184,000 California households, though customers cannot be disconnected before June 1, 2027.
The win supports AT&T’s broader push to override California’s carrier-of-last-resort rule, using a March FCC order that allows carriers to seek federal relief from state landline mandates.
Two more substantive FCC petitions and a federal court case still stand in the way, with AT&T seeking to block California from enforcing the rule while the state asks a judge to preserve service.
AT&T says it spends about $1 billion a year maintaining the network and will move customers to newer options without losing 911 access, but consumer advocates say fires, storms and earthquakes can knock out cell and internet alternatives.
The dispute now reaches beyond one carrier, testing how far the FCC can preempt state utility oversight as consumer groups, a union and rural counties separately challenge the March order in federal appeals court.
Is AT&T's 'modernization' creating a new digital divide for California's most vulnerable residents?
As copper lines vanish, will critical infrastructure like hospital alarms and 911 services remain fail-safe?
AT&T’s California Landline Shutdown: FCC Approval, 184,000 Households at Risk, and the Battle Over Public Safety and Equity
Overview
The FCC has recently granted AT&T early approval to discontinue traditional copper-wire landline service in California, marking a major step in AT&T’s move away from legacy infrastructure. While this ruling does not let AT&T disconnect customers right away, it opens the door for future changes. AT&T’s efforts are complicated by California’s refusal to let the company shed its Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) status, leading to a lawsuit against the state’s utility commission. Relinquishing COLR status is crucial for AT&T, as it would allow the company to retire its copper network without meeting strict replacement requirements. Meanwhile, California regulators are considering changes to these rules, and AT&T has reached a partial agreement with consumer advocates, showing the ongoing and complex nature of this transition.