AT&T is planning to end its “legacy voice service,” also known as “landlines,” which has prompted some concern in the past from Santa Clarita Valley customers, particularly those in rural areas, or places with poor cell reception.
Representatives of the service provider have said the company offers alternatives for its customers, citing both the growing cost of maintaining the service versus a dwindling number of users.
The public now has until July 22 to reply to the initial comments to the Wireline Competition Bureau, which is the Federal Communication Commission’s body with jurisdiction over the utility provider’s request. AT&T’s approved deadline for the termination of service to its California call centers that impact about 184,000 customers is June 1, 2027.
AT&T recently gained a victory in this effort, with a federal ruling from the FCC that it can discontinue the service to new customers.
After the state’s Public Utilities Commission denied the company’s request in June 2024, AT&T followed up in May with a federal petition to end its “carrier of last resort” obligations in California.
Most recently, the CPUC created a page, “Information on AT&T’s federal applications to discontinue landline voice service throughout California,” which provides links to the relevant documents about AT&T’s application and the rule-making process.
In its May application to the FCC, AT&T reasoned that the commission has expressed support of the company’s modernization goals, and eliminating copper wires would help the company realize that much faster.
“The copper wires that once served every home now serve just 3% of Californian households in AT&T’s service territory,” according to the application, which also states that number gets smaller and smaller as more alternatives are available.
AT&T contends the copper wiring also represents a less-secure option during recent, growing threats.
“AT&T must spend $1 billion a year to maintain a nearly empty copper network that has become an easy mark for criminals,” the application states. “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.”
The savings to AT&T also would be realized in part through the closing of 360 call centers that are listed on the CPUC’s website.
While none of the locations are in the SCV, SCV customers could still be impacted by next June’s deadline, according to an AT&T official Wednesday who spoke on background.
The official said that any residents whose service may be impacted should have already received a notice.
An AT&T official said Thursday that this is the first step in a multistage process, which is also a part of a lawsuit in the federal courts, and that it’s continuing to reach out to customers through a variety of ways.
The official said that was being done as part of the service provider’s effort to help customers upgrade their service, whether that means fiber, or its “AT&T Advanced,” which works over the wireless network.
The representative said AT&T Advanced had a “better signal” than its traditional wireless network, because it’s “stationary and has more antennae” than cellphone service.
However, some residents have said that, in their area, the current cellphone signal is essentially nonexistent. They also expressed concerns about taking their old number with them to a new service.
Santa Clarita resident Ken Dean reached out to The Signal, because he was concerned “AT&T is trying to pull a fast one on its customers,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday.
He didn’t want to eliminate his hardline because it’s been a part of his home business for decades, he said.
San Francisquito Canyon Road residents, who are just south of the Angeles National Forest, had a more practical concern, noting that their cellphone alternatives don’t always work in their area, which has prompted people in the past to pull over and knock on their doors for the use of a landline, for roadside emergencies.
The efforts are also part of a legal challenge by AT&T, which is suing the state of California seeking a preliminary injunction against the California Public Utilities Commission because “California still refuses to let go. Its monopoly-era ‘Carrier of Last Resort’ (COLR) rules require AT&T to continue offering POTS even after the FCC has authorized the service to be phased out,” according to its filing. “Under basic preemption principles, those COLR rules cannot stand.”
The federal court docket online did not have a future hearing date for that case as of this story’s publication.
Info box:
If you’d like to comment:
All pleadings should reference the proceedings, “WC Docket No. 26-123” and may be filed using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System at fcc.gov/ecfs. To see the initial comments that are available for reply, visit the filings page at fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings, and use proceedings nos. 26-125 or 26-123.
