(Credit: Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images)
Verizon is responding to concerns about its copper landline retirement plan, telling the FCC that it’ll keep the old-school technology in place if its alternative solution falls short.
“If a Commission-approved solution is not available, Verizon will not take any action, and the customer will continue to be served over the Verizon copper network,” it told the agency in a Thursday letter.
Some US consumers have filed their own complaints, fearing that the landline phase-out will cut them off from reliable telephone service because their homes or buildings are too far from cell towers or receive only spotty cell coverage.
Verizon has already filed two applications to discontinue copper-based landline service in 18 states, saying that only just over 2% of the networks are in use across the affected locations. The company is asking the FCC for approval to replace the technology with modern fiber and wireless coverage. Verizon has been notifying affected customers, but in Thursday’s letter, the carrier said that not every customer who receives a notice will be cut off.
“Instead, Verizon will confirm whether a Commission-approved replacement service is available at the customer’s address prior to transitioning that customer off of POTS [Plain Old Telephone Service] over copper network facilities,” the company explained. Commission rules require the replacement technology to offer “substantially similar levels of network infrastructure and service quality as the service being discontinued,” for the application to receive an automatic grant.
The 17-page letter adds that Verizon plans to use multiple tools, including a proprietary technology to “measure signal strength for wireless coverage” of its proposed alternative, which includes a cellular-based “fixed wireless POTS voice” that features a backup battery for use during a power outage.
The company further notes: “Verizon will review and respond to any customer inquiries regarding the availability of the replacement service at their location. If a customer receives a disconnection notice, but it is determined before disconnection that the service is unavailable, Verizon will not disconnect service. If a customer transitions to a replacement service but it is determined within one month of the transition through a Verizon professional review that the Commission-approved replacement service is unavailable at the location, Verizon will restore the customer’s service over copper facilities and maintain that service until an adequate replacement solution is identified and available.”
Verizon also argues that much of the opposition to the copper retirement plan misunderstands the company’s intentions. “Many commenters misconstrue the Voice Application as seeking discontinuance approval for all locations in the nine states where Verizon provides POTS over copper. That is not correct,” the letter adds. “Some commenters who state that they will not have access to an approved alternative if Verizon discontinues their copper POTS are correct, and accordingly, such customers are not subject to discontinuance at this time.”
Last month, the FCC accepted Verizon's first application to discontinue copper-based legacy voice services in nine US states, which will be “deemed granted automatically" on Sept. 26, 2026, unless the commission intervenes. The application covers "portions of Arizona, Delaware, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia," and would enable Verizon to discontinue service starting "on or after October 23, 2026."
However, a growing number of consumers and groups have been urging the FCC to reject Verizon’s plans. “Axing landline service is like building a passenger ship with no lifeboats and sending 1,000 people out to sea. What happens if the ship sinks?” wrote the Association of BellTel Retirees Inc., which represents “tens of thousands of telecommunications retirees and active employees.”
"Millions of Americans regard landlines as vital lifelines, especially in areas regularly exposed to natural disasters like wildfires, earthquakes, and floods. Many get zero cell service even on the best of days, leaving elderly citizens reliant on their trusted landlines during medical emergencies," the group added, saying it fears the landline termination plan will also "eliminate the jobs of tens of thousands of union technicians that maintain the system and its critical infrastructure."
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I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.
Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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