AT&T Defends Copper Network Retirement Plan Amid Union Opposition

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2025 – AT&T is resisting pressure from the Communications Workers of America, which has demanded that the Federal Communications Commission keep the telecommunications giant investing in copper-based networks.

AT&T is actively transitioning to newer fiber optic technology and plans to largely retire its copper infrastructure, which the CWA argues could leave rural customers behind without adequate service. 

The industry-driven deregulation of communications services has allowed telecommunications companies to select their own service areas. In recent years, AT&T has focused on deploying fiber in densely populated areas that can yield a high profit margin. The CWA says AT&T is prioritizing maximizing profits over the public interest and demands that the FCC intervene.

“Compelling AT&T to divert resources away from investment and toward maintaining an outdated TDM-based network would actively impede the deployment of fiber and wireless connectivity,” AT&T said in a Feb. 25 FCC filing defending its plan to grandfather copper networks and transition other locations to fiber. “AT&T spends over $6 billion annually in direct costs to keep its copper services running – resources that would be much better spent connecting more Americans to newer networks.”

AT&T’s proposal would enable the telecommunications provider to exit 250,000 square miles of rural communities across 18 states, or 50 percent of AT&T’s historic footprint. 

The CWA says that abandoning copper and discontinuing landline services in rural areas without adequate fiber infrastructure would leave those communities without reliable service.