BURST(NEXSTAR) — If you're still using a landline phone, a change by AT&T may soon impact you.
During its recent Analyst & Investor Day, AT&T announced it is "actively working to exit its legacy copper network operations across the large majority of its wireline footprint by the end of 2029." The company cited its ongoing fiber expansion, saying it "will greatly increase [AT&T's] opportunity to serve customers how they want to be served."
According to the Chamber of Commerce, nearly 69 million Americans still have a landline as of July 2024. That’s compared to roughly 183 million who rely on wireless phones.
A spokesperson for AT&T told Nexstar, however, that only 5% of its residential customers still use copper voice technology.
“Legacy copper services are no longer meeting our customers’ needs for speed, reliability and always-on connectivity,” the spokesperson said. “The Copper network is incredibly inefficient: We are seeing declining reliability with storms and increased copper theft. Copper simply does not do well with water and flooding.”
Landline phones work by sending your voice as sound waves into a metal disk, which then turns those waves into electrical energy, a handout from the Virginia Cooperative Extension explains. The energy then travels via a wire, like copper lines, before being converted back into sound waves for the receiving phone.
Newer home phone lines, like AT&T Phone, rely on Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, which connects phones via the internet rather than a wire. Unlike old copper lines, these newer options can give users faster speeds, lower monthly bills, and functionalities like robocall blocking.
AT&T expects it will no longer provide service to “the large majority” of its copper system by the end of 2029.
“We’re working with our customers through this transition,” the spokesperson added. “No customers will lose voice or 911 service.”
What does that mean for you?
AT&T operates wireline networks in 21 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
California is not included in the copper system exit, a spokesperson confirmed to Nexstar. AT&T still has “Carrier of Last Resort Obligation” in the state, requiring them to keep their copper-based network.
AT&T must also work through federal rules in place during the process, according to the company.
Simply put, if you live in any of the aforementioned states (except California) and have a landline connected to the copper network, you can expect to receive multiple notifications from AT&T about the impending change.
Part of that notification will also include information about alternative offerings available to you, including Fiber, Internet Air, and Phone — Advanced. The latter, according to a company spokesperson, works like a traditional landline and is compatible with landline-using services, like fax machines, medical monitoring devices, alarm systems, and elevators.
AT&T emphasized that impacted customers will not lose access to voice or 911 service as part of this transition, which will happen in a rolling fashion over the next five years.
The company has been moving away from copper services and adjusting to the increased mobile dependency for years.
Susan Johnson, executive vice president of wireline transformation and supply chain for AT&T, told USA TODAY that the company previously planned to ditch its copper wire network by 2020 but found the industry unprepared for the change.
By making this announcement now, five years before the switch is expected to be finalized, Johnson said the company is giving itself as well as customers and federal regulators time to prepare.
“This is a multiyear process to ensure that every single customer has voice and 911 and access to an alternative before we are able to discontinue the copper-based landline service,” she told the outlet.