On June 29, 2026, the FCC allowed AT&T's request to discontinue copper voice service at more than 184,000 locations in California to take effect, Broadband Breakfast reported. AT&T wants to begin turning off service as soon as June 1, 2027, and notified affected customers on May 20, urging them to move to a wireless plan or AT&T Phone - Advanced, its copper replacement service. A separate AT&T request asking the FCC to preempt California's own copper retirement rules is still pending, and the California Public Utilities Commission is suing the FCC over the March 2026 order that streamlined copper retirement.
That March order gave carriers blanket authority to grandfather legacy copper services and shortened the automatic grant window for discontinuance applications from 60 days to 31. In practice, copper retirements can now move faster and with less notice than many businesses are used to.
Copper lines still quietly run a lot of business equipment: fire alarm panels, elevator phones, security systems, fax machines, point-of-sale backup lines and gate controllers. Inventory every analog line you pay for, by phone number and by what it actually connects to. Ask your carrier whether any of those lines are grandfathered or scheduled for discontinuance, and get replacement options in writing. For life-safety lines, confirm with your alarm or elevator vendor and local fire marshal that the replacement meets code before anything is switched.
California is the largest test case, but the FCC rules apply nationwide. Businesses in any AT&T, Verizon or Lumen copper territory should start this inventory now rather than when a notice arrives.
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