Verizon has hit an unexpected snag in its plan to discontinue traditional copper landline phone service in portions of nine states.
In August, the carrier submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission seeking approval of this plan that affects states such as Arizona, South Carolina, and New Jersey. Verizon said that the billions of dollars it spends to maintain this service annually are weighing on its business.
“Copper infrastructure is too slow to meet modern needs, many decades old, costly to maintain, and vulnerable to damage and theft,” said Verizon in the filing.
The carrier said the change would affect about 277,000 residential and business legacy voice lines. It has notified customers who would be affected by the move that they can choose alternative phone service options, such as wireless or fiber.
FCC delays decision on Verizon’s landline plan amid opposition
As Verizon seeks to cut costs by discontinuing copper landline phone service, the FCC has decided to delay approving the carrier’s proposal amid blowback from customers who would be affected by the change.
The FCC said in a public notice released on Sept. 25 that the application Verizon filed “will not be automatically granted” because the commission “requires additional time to complete its review.” The application was previously scheduled for automatic approval on Sept. 26.
“We emphasize that our removal of Verizon’s application from the automatic grant process is not a final determination on the merits of Verizon’s request for authority to discontinue service,” said the FCC in the notice.
The FCC’s decision comes during a time when opposition to Verizon’s plan to discontinue copper landline phone service is growing.
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For instance, Thomas Steed, chair of the Association of BellTel Retirees, sent a letter to FCC Chair Brendan Carr on Sept. 20 asking the commission to vote against Verizon’s request.
In the letter, which was shared with TheStreet, Steed states that retiring copper landline phone service will “negatively impact Americans” in the nine states where Verizon plans to do so.
He said the move “ignores the needs of millions of older and vulnerable Americans, particularly those in rural areas, who rely on landlines in areas where cell service is inconsistent, potentially leaving millions of our fellow Americans entirely dependent on spotty or nonexistent cell service and at the mercy of price-gouging bottom dweller-providers.”
Steed also said his organization believes that Verizon’s request is a “cloaked attempt for the company to walk away from and eliminate the jobs of tens of thousands of union technicians that maintain the system and its critical infrastructure.”
He emphasized that the infrastructure is critical because it remains a “lifeline to people across the United States.”
“If a community or county loses power in a storm or natural disaster such as wildfire, and citizens can’t charge their cell phone, they are left totally alone in isolation,” he wrote. “With no electricity, and no cell signal, there is no 911 operator and emergency responders to come to their aid, nor is there a way to connect with loved ones during a crisis.”
Verizon responds to growing concerns over its plan
Verizon has also received criticism from U.S. Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.), whose Sept. 8 letter to Carr urged the FCC to closely review the carrier’s proposal to ensure customers can receive adequate replacement services for copper-based landline phone service.
He warned that “replacement options may not yet be adequate to protect public safety and basic connectivity” in the rural communities he represents in Virginia, flagging three major concerns.
“First, large portions of my district remain cellular dead zones, where the mobile wireless devices offered as a substitute are unreliable or do not work at all,” wrote Cline. “Second, fiber to the home has not yet been built out across these communities, leaving some households with no wireline alternative once copper is retired.
“Third, and most urgent, copper lines continue to function during power outages, while the battery backups on wireless and fiber replacements typically last only a day or less,” he continued.
In response to recent concerns, Verizon said in a letter to the FCC on Sept. 24 that it has a “goal of improving connectivity without leaving consumers behind.
“If a Commission-approved solution is not available, Verizon will not take any action, and the customer will continue to be served over the Verizon copper network,” said the carrier.
“To further aid customers in understanding this transition, Verizon will work closely with affected communities to explain the process and demonstrate the alternative services available,” it continued.
Verizon follows a broader industry shift away from landlines
Verizon’s move to discontinue copper landline phone service mirrors AT&T’s. In May, AT&T submitted applications to the FCC to retire this service in portions of California, impacting 184,000 residential customers and 15,000 business customers.
In an application, AT&T states that it aims to discontinue this service because customers are increasingly switching to more modern phone service options. It also said the rise of copper theft is creating significant challenges.
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“AT&T must spend $1 billion a year to maintain a nearly empty copper network that has become an easy mark for criminals — California has already suffered about 2,000 outages from copper thefts this year — and that is estimated to drain the power grid of over 100 million of kilowatt-hours each year,” said AT&T in the filing.
The FCC accepted these applications, in which AT&T proposes a plan to stop providing service to these customers on or after June 1, 2027.
AT&T also plans to shut down the majority of its legacy copper landline network across the U.S. by the end of 2029.
Wireless carriers are increasingly scaling back traditional landline service as U.S. consumers gradually move away from it.
According to a February report from the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE), which analyzed FCC data, the number of U.S. consumers using copper-based traditional landline phone service fell 81%, from nearly 66 million to about 12.5 million between 2014 and 2024.
By 2024, 79% of U.S. adults lived in wireless-only households, while less than 1% relied solely on landlines.
“Consumer behavior has already determined the outcome; regulation has not caught up,” wrote Eric Fruits, director of economic research at the ICLE, and Brian Albrecht, the organization’s chief economist, in the report.
“Maintaining copper networks for this shrinking user base is increasingly expensive,” they continued.
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