FCC Loosens Copper Retirement Rules

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2025 – The Federal Communications Commission moved Thursday to loosen multiple copper retirement rules. For at least the next two years, providers looking to decommission voice services will no longer need to show another stand-alone voice option is available – a bundled option will suffice. 

Copper is expensive to maintain and no longer offers competitive broadband speeds, so providers have been eager to rip up their aging infrastructure as quickly as possible. Regulators don’t want swaths of rural areas to lose access to 911 and voice services, so getting the greenlight usually involves showing the incumbent will replace the service with something comparable or another option is available.

The FCC issued four orders Thursday aimed at making that process easier for providers. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr signaled the agency would be taking additional action on the issue in the future.

“There is much more work ahead for the FCC, and our goal through additional actions is to ultimately free up billions of dollars for new networks that otherwise would have been diverted into costly and outdated copper lines,” he said in a statement. “As we take these actions, we are also ensuring that consumers remain protected during the transition.”

USTelecom, the major broadband trade group, had submitted a petition Feb. 27 asking for the alternative options test change, which the agency granted by allowing services that bundle voice with text and mobile data or fixed broadband to qualify. The group was pleased to see Thursday’s orders.

“Broadband providers appreciate Chairman Carr’s laser focus on cutting through red tape and outdated mindsets to accelerate the work of connecting all Americans,” USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter said in a statement. “Today’s decision marks a significant step forward in transitioning outdated copper telephone lines to next-generation networks that better meet the needs of American consumers.”

The FCC also moved to make it easier for providers looking to replace copper with their own replacement service to get streamlined treatment. Previously, the agency said there had been confusion about whether applicants had to conduct involved technical studies, but a Thursday order, not limited to a two-year window, clarified that less time-consuming evidence would suffice.

In any event, the agency noted the only company that’s tried to replace voice service with its own alternative so far is AT&T. The order claimed the requirements delayed the company’s July 2024 application by “several months.”

The carrier has ambitious copper retirement goals, looking to decommission by 2030 all of its copper outside California, where utility regulators have been less receptive to the plan. The company earlier this year filed applications to retire about 1,300 wire centers, central offices to which old copper phone lines connect. AT&T has a total of 4,600 such centers, the majority of which it’s looking to retire.

AT&T wants to replace its copper with a separate product that connects to its wireless or fiber networks and provides the same functionality as a landline, including faxing and alarm systems.

The FCC also moved Thursday to waive for at least two years a requirement that providers file notices with the agency before network changes, including copper retirements, and to waive requirements related to grandfathering legacy services.