FCC drafts order to override California limits on AT&T copper shutdowns

On Thursday, October 30, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr began circulating a proposed order that would preempt California rules standing in the way of AT&T’s plan to retire copper phone service at roughly 360 wire centers, covering about 184,000 customers.¹² The FCC has already approved those discontinuances. The state’s own requirements, so far, have kept AT&T from acting on that approval.²

The FCC’s stated aim is to ensure “state obligations cannot be used” to block an approved discontinuance.¹ Nothing is final: the proposal needs a comment and reply period before commissioners vote, and Light Reading has asked the FCC when the text will be released and when a vote might come.¹

What the order is built on. It follows a March FCC order that invited companies to ask the agency to set aside state rules that hinder copper retirement.² AT&T asked for exactly that in May.² Per the FCC, AT&T can begin the California shutdowns on or after June 1, 2027, and it has started telling affected customers.¹ AT&T also attached a commitment to build fiber to more than 4 million additional homes and businesses in the state, for a total of 9 million.¹

Where the state disagrees. The California Public Utilities Commission has stricter rules on what counts as an adequate replacement service. The FCC chairman has been willing to accept reported wireless coverage as adequate, which is the gap in practice.² In a Thursday court filing, the CPUC said its rules do not block copper retirement at all. They require a minimum level of reliable basic service, and the agency says it does not care whether that service rides on copper.² Its pointed read of AT&T: the company wants “to stop providing basic service” altogether.²

Unions and consumer groups have also pushed back. The Communications Workers of America, the Rural County Representatives of California and The Utility Reform Network argued that the Communications Act limits the FCC’s power to override states, and that AT&T’s petition should be rejected.¹

The lawsuit. AT&T sued in federal court in May, arguing California’s rules were already preempted by the March order. California is now asking judges to dismiss that case.² The CPUC did not say whether it would challenge a preemption order in court.²

My reading, not a sourced finding: if adopted, the order would stop California’s service requirements from holding up a shutdown the FCC has already blessed.

AT&T says it spends $6 billion a year maintaining copper nationwide, and that it has grandfathered services at 85 percent of its wire centers.² Its statement promises “No customer will be left without access to voice or 911 service.”¹

Asterisk count: zero plan terms. The sources state no prices, fees or replacement-plan conditions. What exists is a list of open legal questions: no vote date, an unresolved lawsuit, and a comment period still ahead. Nothing here is a bill line.

Who this is for: AT&T landline customers in California, especially anyone in those 360 wire centers who should watch for notices before June 2027.

Our read: The fight is no longer about whether copper goes, but about who defines “adequate” replacement. Watch the comment period and whether the CPUC takes this to court.

Footnotes

1. Light Reading, “FCC moves to knock down copper network retirement roadblocks in California”. Retrieved October 31, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Broadband Breakfast, “FCC Circulating Order to Preempt California Copper Retirement Rules”. Retrieved October 31, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰