BCN Industry Tracker
POTS & Copper Retirement Tracker
State-level status of carrier copper and POTS retirement programs, FCC filings, deadlines, and affected business systems.
Data updated
Current, next update September 4, 2026
2
States with confirmed, documented FCC filings
274K+
Customer locations covered by confirmed filings so far
49
States with an active carrier retirement footprint
90 days
FCC minimum customer notice window before disconnection
- Confirmed FCC filing or approval
- AT&T footprint
- Lumen (CenturyLink) footprint
- Verizon footprint
- Fidium (Consolidated Communications) footprint
- No confirmed program
Select any state for carrier status, deadlines, and affected systems.
Washington
Active: Lumen footprint
- Carrier
- Lumen (CenturyLink)
- Status
- Part of Lumen's 14-state legacy CenturyLink/Qwest territory. Lumen stopped accepting new and move/add/change POTS orders here on May 1, 2025; full wire-center retirement filings are expected to follow through 2026-2029 under the FCC's streamlined framework.
- Key deadline
- Full retirement filings expected 2026-2029
- Alternative service offered
- Lumen fiber, SIP trunking
- Most affected businesses
- Rural businesses and life-safety systems in legacy Qwest exchanges.
Status by state
Showing 11 states matching Verizon. Show all states
| State | Status | Carrier | Key deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| Delaware | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| Maryland | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| Massachusetts | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| New Jersey | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| New York | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| Pennsylvania | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| Rhode Island | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| Virginia | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| West Virginia | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
| Washington, D.C. | Active: Verizon footprint | Verizon | Filings ongoing, market-by-market |
Key national deadlines
-
Done
FCC cuts the required copper-retirement customer notice period from 180 days to 90 days.
-
Done
Lumen stops accepting new & move/add/change POTS orders across its 14-state legacy CenturyLink/Qwest territory.
-
Done
AT&T stops accepting new copper POTS orders across ~20 states in its ILEC footprint.
-
Done
AT&T files FCC discontinuance application covering ~90,000 customers across 18 states.
-
Done
FCC grants AT&T's 18-state application, over 30% of its copper footprint outside California.
-
Done
FCC adopts the Network and Services Modernization Order (FCC-26-19A1), streamlining Section 214 nationwide.
-
Done
AT&T begins physically decommissioning ~500 wire centers (~10% of its footprint).
-
Done
FCC approves AT&T's California discontinuance application covering 184,000+ locations.
-
Upcoming
Deadline: permanent copper discontinuance for ~90,000 AT&T customers across 18 states.
-
Upcoming
Earliest date AT&T can begin discontinuing California copper service (184,000 locations).
-
Upcoming
AT&T's target to retire the large majority of its copper footprint outside California.
Latest coverage from carriers and the FCC
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Broadband Breakfast
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DataRemote
-
Fusion Connect
FCC Unanimously Clears a Faster Path to Retire Copper Networks
-
Broadband Breakfast
-
FCC
Network and Services Modernization Order (FCC 26-19), full text
-
Broadband Breakfast
AT&T Approved to Discontinue Service at More Than 30% of Copper Footprint This Year
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Light Reading
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Fierce Network