The FCC ended 2024 with a potentially significant decision to grant AT&T permission to replace its traditional copper home phone lines with a new wireless landline technology called AT&T Phone-Advanced (AP-A) for 52 customers in nine small service areas in Oklahoma. While the number of customers is small, this represents a significant step forward for AT&T as it attempts to eliminate its copper network by 2029.
At its 2024 Investor Day held in December, AT&T said it spends $6 billion annually to keep its copper infrastructure running, while only 5 percent of its customers subscribe to copper services today. Moreover, according to the Washington Post,
The infrastructure of yesteryear, responsible for carrying voice calls and internet traffic at modest speeds, is quickly becoming a liability for AT&T. It’s vulnerable to water damage and theft. Many manufacturers of the original networking parts have shuttered, leaving AT&T employees to scour eBay for replacements when the lines break down.
It’s lucrative for telecommunications companies like AT&T to phase out copper and sell the network for parts. Carriers could recover nearly 1 million metric tons of copper over the next decade, fetching more than $7 billion in today’s market, according to estimates from TXO, a U.K.-based firm that provides engineering services to the industry. (Washington Post, December 20, 2024).
AT&T plans on replacing copper wireline home phone service with services such as AT&T Phone-Advanced service. AP-A is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service that uses AT&T’s existing cellular network and/or broadband connections. It offers similar features to traditional landlines, plus some enhanced features. These include:
Works with existing phones – Customers can use their existing phones with AP-A.
Supports multiple devices – AP-A works with up to six devices.
Includes popular features – AP-A includes features like call forwarding, caller ID, call waiting, 3-way calling, and anonymous call blocking.
E911 location detection – AP-A includes E911 location detection with 24-hour automatic battery backup.
Cloud-based – AP-A is a cloud-based replacement for Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).
Easy installation – AP-A can be installed professionally to get started quickly
AT&T introduced its wireless home phone service about 18 months ago and it now has about 166,000 customers who voluntarily chose to use it. However, to eliminate its copper network still in place for those customers, AT&T (or any other carrier) must obtain FCC approval study area by study area. As mentioned, it hopes to do so by the end of 2029.
AT&T applauded the FCC’s decision in a Statement released on December 23, 2024.
The FCC’s approval of our application is a significant step forward in our path to modernize our network. This allows us to replace traditional landline service for a small number of our customers with AT&T Phone – Advanced (AP-A). No customers will be left without voice or 911 service. We appreciate the FCC and Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s attentiveness to this process, recognition of changing customer needs, and eye toward the future of our industry. We look forward to working with Chairman-Designate Brendan Carr to find additional opportunities to accelerate modernizing the nation’s communications infrastructure.