AT&T Asks FCC For Permission to Discontinue Live Operator Service in Alaska
The company tells FCC modern alternatives carry ‘the same functionality'
WASHINGTON, June 23, 2026 — AT&T is seeking to end what it considers an outdated phone service: Its Alaska customers can still dial a live operator to place a long‑distance call, but the company says this service is no longer needed.
In a June 17 filing, AT&T asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to discontinue operator‑dialed long‑distance service statewide by July 31, 2026, citing collapsing demand. AT&T said it handled fewer than 820 such calls over the past year, or about two a day.
“The public convenience and necessity will not be impaired by discontinuing the Affected Service, because the service is sparingly used, customers have been given notice of the proposed discontinuance, and numerous alternative technologies and services exist,” AT&T lawyer Brett Farley wrote.
The company told regulators that modern tools – Internet search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing, and voice‑activated devices such as Alexa, Siri and Google Home — now “replicate the same functionality,” along with speed‑dialing and online directories.
