Copper phone line retirement report: September 2025
In September 2025, the FCC published notice of 7 filings to stop copper phone service, from 3 phone companies. They cover 435 telephone exchanges we track in 11 states.
The numbers
- Filings
- 7
- Exchanges covered
- 435
- First time in a filing
- 0
- States with exchanges covered
- 11
435 are in areas where a filing covers portions of a state without listing places, so not every address in them is included.
By phone company
| Phone company | Filings | Exchanges covered | States with exchanges covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consolidated Communications | 5 | 435 | IL, ME, NH, PA, TX, VT |
| GCI | 1 | 0 | AK |
| Highline Internet | 1 | 0 | CO, GA, KS, NE, TX |
The filings
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 25-284
Legacy Voice Service in at locations in 32 exchanges in Maine and six exchanges in New Hampshire that are passed by fiber.
Public notice September 12, 2025; date in the filing January 27, 2026. Covers 295 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 25-283
Legacy Voice Service in at locations in 17 exchanges in Vermont that are passed by fiber.
Public notice September 12, 2025; date in the filing January 27, 2026. Covers 107 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 25-286
Legacy Voice Service in at locations in 11 exchanges in Texas that are passed by fiber.
Public notice September 12, 2025; date in the filing January 27, 2026. Covers 21 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 25-282
Legacy Voice Service in at locations in six exchanges in Pennsylvania that are passed by fiber.
Public notice September 12, 2025; date in the filing January 27, 2026. Covers 11 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 25-285
Legacy Voice Service in at locations in five exchanges in Illinois that are passed by fiber.
Public notice September 12, 2025; date in the filing January 27, 2026. Covers 1 exchange we track (portions of the state, not every address).
GCI, FCC docket 25-265
Local exchange service, marketed as Basic Phone Service, Business Voice, No Limits Home Calling in Cordova, Alaska.
Public notice September 3, 2025; date in the filing March 1, 2026.
Highline Internet, FCC docket 25-300
TDM-based Legacy Voice Service, including switched access service and standalone long distance service in at locations in 14 exchanges located in Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas.
Public notice September 29, 2025; date in the filing December 26, 2025.
Dates in September 2025
Filings whose requested date falls this month. A date in a filing is when the phone company asked to stop service, not proof that it has.
- September 2, 2025: Global Crossing (Lumen), docket 25-193 (CT, IL, PA, UT)
- September 9, 2025: Consolidated Communications, docket 25-195, 120 exchanges (NH)
- September 9, 2025: Lumen (CenturyLink), docket 25-202 (AL, LA, MS, WI)
- September 9, 2025: Consolidated Communications, docket 25-210, 107 exchanges (VT)
- September 16, 2025: Lumen (CenturyLink), docket 25-160 (CA, NJ, NY, TN, TX)
- September 30, 2025: American Broadband, docket 25-184 (MI)
Other services
4 other filings this month were for services other than ordinary copper phone lines (VoIP products, data circuits, long distance): AT&T (25-264), Seiontec (25-281), Zippytech (25-289), Wavefly (25-292).
Running total
Through September 2025: 63 copper phone line filings with an FCC public notice, covering 2,952 telephone exchanges we track. See the full timeline or browse by state and town.
Is your line on a filing?
Each town page also has a free email alert for new filings.
How we count
- A month's filings are the ones whose FCC public notice is dated that month.
- State counts are the states where we track exchanges a filing covers. A filing can list more states than that, for example where the company is not the local phone company.
- An exchange is a telephone exchange (rate center) with a town page on this site. Some filings name exchanges or wire centers; others cover portions of a state without listing places, and we count the exchanges in those areas separately.
- A filing is a request. The phone company has to notify affected customers in writing before it changes their service.
- Sources: FCC public notices and the Electronic Comment Filing System, linked from each filing page. This product uses FCC APIs and/or Data but is not endorsed or certified by the FCC.
Data as of November 2, 2026, from FCC public notices. Not legal or regulatory advice.