AT&T fights California over plan to shut down legacy phone network
▼ Summary
– AT&T sued California over the state’s refusal to let the carrier stop providing phone service to all potential customers in its wireline territory and asked the FCC to declare California cannot enforce its rules.
– AT&T claims it must spend $1 billion yearly to maintain a copper-wire network used by only 3% of households in its California territory.
– In June 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission rejected AT&T’s request to end its Carrier of Last Resort obligation, which requires it to offer landline service to any customer in its territory.
– AT&T has received relief from Carrier of Last Resort obligations in 20 of the 21 states in its wireline service territory, with California being the sole exception.
AT&T has taken legal action against California, filing a lawsuit in federal court yesterday that challenges the state’s refusal to let the telecom giant end its obligation to provide phone service to all customers within its wireline territory. The company is also petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to block California from enforcing its current rules, which would allow AT&T to stop serving roughly 199,000 remaining phone customers.
“California requires AT&T to spend $1 billion each year to maintain a century-old telephone network that almost no one uses,” the company stated in its lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of California. “The copper wires that once served every home now serve just three percent of households in AT&T’s California territory, with consumers fleeing every day to modern broadband services that are more affordable, reliable, and energy-efficient.”
The dispute dates back to June 2024, when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rejected AT&T’s bid to shed its Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) obligation. This legal duty requires the company to offer landline telephone service to any potential customer in its designated service area. AT&T has secured relief from similar COLR requirements in 20 of the 21 states where it operates wireline networks, with California standing as the sole holdout.
(Source: Ars Technica)
