AT&T’s Plan To ‘Phase Out’ Landline Service In California Likely To Be Denied

After months of public backlash, California regulators are expected to reject AT&T’s bid to phase out landline service at a meeting on Thursday this week — but the company is still exploring other legal remedies.

AT&T is trying to withdraw as a carrier of last resort (COLR) which requires the company to offer basic phone service to anyone who wants it. It’s held that designation since 1996, and remains one of the only companies in the state to offer traditional copper-based landline service.

Public comments

Thousands of Californians submitted public comments and called into public meetings over the last year to urge the commission to reject AT&T’s application due to public safety. They say the move could hurt older adults, people with disabilities and other groups impacted by the digital divide.

Public commenters also highlighted the unreliability of cell phone networks or VoIP (voice over internet protocol), which allows users to make calls over an internet connection.

In the case of an emergency, copper landlines are considered more dependable because they work during power outages — especially for people who live in rural or coastal communities.

“We're now in fire season and people had better have a way to receive emergency alerts and communicate with each other when the power goes out,” said Regina Costa of the advocacy group TURN. It helped organize residents around the landline issue.

Proposed denial

Last month, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed denial of AT&T’s request, citing public feedback and the fact that no other telecommunications company stepped up to replace AT&T in that role (Other companies could still offer landline service if they wanted to, but would not be legally required to do so).

“Specifically, AT&T failed to demonstrate the availability of replacement providers willing and able to serve as COLR, nor did AT&T prove that alternative providers met the COLR definition,” the CPUC said in a statement.

The proposal will now be fully voted on by the commission during its June 20 meeting.

“AT&T did not prove its case at the commission … they didn't present any evidence to show that customers would have any real alternatives, and in fact, they admitted that they don't,” Costa said.

Outlier

California may be something of an outlier in this issue. Twenty states have already given the telecom giant permission to drop landlines. In Illinois, the company agreed to pay $23 million in fines for allegedly bribing lawmakers to end mandated landline service.

“In California, we tend to look at things a little more closely, so hopefully [lawmakers] will see through this,” Costa said.

About 5% of AT&T’s customers, or 500,000 people, have traditional copper-based phone service. A spokesperson said it plans to phase out its copper-based network over the next few years because it’s an “older, antiquated technology,” and that people are leaving the network everyday in favor of advanced services like fiber.

“We remain committed to keeping our customers connected to voice service and will continue working with state leaders on policies that allow us to bring modern communications to Californians,” the company said in a statement.

AT&T says state regulators dismissed its application before it had the chance to create a plan that would ensure that no customer would be left behind.

It recently partnered with Assemblymember Tina McKinnor of Inglewood on a new bill that would “modernize” the state’s communications infrastructure and essentially remove any carrier of last resort obligations. It’s expected to be heard in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee in early July.

Meanwhile the CPUC says it will also consider updating the rules for carrier of last resort service obligations in its meeting this week.