AT&T Urges FCC to Allow the Company to Get Rid of Copper Services

Washington, June 30, 2026 – AT&T is seeking a way to end its copper service in the California, despite the state's resistance. The company filed a Reply to Opposition document on June 24, asking the Federal Communications Commission to reject the California Public Utilities Commission’s regulations to allow the company to phase out traditional copper landlines. Learn about America250 / Telecom150 Learn about America250 / Telecom150 The CPUC previously rejected AT&T’s request to end the copper service, explaining that dismissing the request protects customers’ access to telephone service no matter their income, access to other forms of communication, or where customers reside. In May, AT&T filed a lawsuit seeking to obtain a court order declaring it does not have to continue offering copper wire services to customers since California law requires the company to keep the old network. The company is arguing that the network costs $1 billion to maintain and only services about 3 percent of households in California. In the letter to the FCC, the Dallas-based company explained that the legacy landline infrastructure is obsolete. In areas where copper service is available, AT&T also offers more reliable, faster broadband coverage and will also be compatible with devices that have been traditionally dependent on copper lines. “The Commission has long recognized that the transition to modern, IP-based networks is a national priority that cannot be held hostage by a patchwork of fragmented state regulations,” the document says. “Opponents' attempts to weaponize state Carrier of Last Resort rules to indefinitely delay the retirement of obsolete copper facilities directly conflict with federal policy.” The company also claims that California’s laws ask for stricter review than the commission requires and that it fulfills the standards provided by the FCC. Under the commission’s rules for transitioning away from legacy networks, carriers can receive streamlined processing if it demonstrates that an alternative voice service is available in the area. Last March, the FCC introduced new rules to remove regulatory barriers that were designed to prevent telecom companies from decommissioning old networks, like the copper landlines. The CPUC has petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to throw out the FCC’s new rules.