Copper phone line retirement report: March 2026
In March 2026, the FCC published notice of 10 filings to stop copper phone service, from 3 phone companies. They cover 611 telephone exchanges we track in 17 states, 7 of them in a filing for the first time.
The numbers
- Filings
- 10
- Exchanges covered
- 611
- First time in a filing
- 7
- States with exchanges covered
- 17
16 of these exchanges are named in a filing. 595 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 | 6 | 447 | IL, ME, MN, NH, PA, TX, VT |
| Lumen (CenturyLink) | 2 | 151 | CO, IA, UT |
| AT&T | 2 | 13 | AL, AR, GA, KS, MO, NC, OK, TX |
The filings
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 26-64
Legacy voice service in at locations in six exchanges in Maine and three exchanges in New Hampshire that are passed by fiber.
Public notice March 10, 2026; date in the filing June 2, 2026. Covers 295 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Lumen (CenturyLink), FCC docket 26-66
Legacy voice service in in a small area in Avon, Colorado.
Public notice March 11, 2026; date in the filing May 15, 2026. Covers 148 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 26-62
Legacy voice service in at locations in six exchanges in Vermont that are passed by fiber.
Public notice March 10, 2026; date in the filing June 2, 2026. Covers 107 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 26-60
Legacy voice service in at locations in one exchange in Texas that are passed by fiber.
Public notice March 10, 2026; date in the filing June 2, 2026. Covers 21 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 26-65
Legacy voice service in at locations in four exchanges in Minnesota that are passed by fiber.
Public notice March 10, 2026; date in the filing June 2, 2026. Covers 12 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
AT&T, FCC docket 26-67
Home and business phone lines on the copper network in in portions of the following AT&T wire centers: Wetumpka, AL (WTMPALMA); Bentonville, AR (BNTVVARCR); Jonesboro, AR (JNBOARMA); Cochran, GA (CCHRGAMA); Paola, KS (PAOLKSPE); Hutchinson, KS (HTSNKS02); Wichita Amherst, KS (WCHTKSAM); Wichita Kechi, KS (WCHTKSKE); Desoto, MO (DESTMOGI); Maxville, MO (MXVLM060); Cherokee, OK (CHRKOKMA); Idabel, OK (IDBLOKMA); Greenville, TX (GNVLTXGL); Comeron, TX (C.
Public notice March 13, 2026; date in the filing May 15, 2026. Covers 12 exchanges we track.
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 26-63
Legacy voice service in at locations in one exchange in Pennsylvania that are passed by fiber.
Public notice March 10, 2026; date in the filing June 2, 2026. Covers 11 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Lumen (CenturyLink), FCC docket 26-55
Legacy voice service in in wire centers in Laurens, Iowa; Renwick, Iowa; and Springdale, Utah.
Public notice March 4, 2026; date in the filing April 20, 2026. Covers 3 exchanges we track.
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 26-61
Legacy voice service in at locations in one exchange in Illinois that are passed by fiber.
Public notice March 10, 2026; date in the filing June 2, 2026. Covers 1 exchange we track (portions of the state, not every address).
AT&T, FCC docket 26-73
Business copper phone services (business lines, PBX trunks, ISDN and similar) in in portions of Charlotte, NC.
Public notice March 27, 2026; date in the filing June 1, 2026. Covers 1 exchange we track.
Dates in March 2026
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.
- March 1, 2026: GCI, docket 25-265 (AK)
- March 3, 2026: AT&T, docket 25-327, 5 exchanges (KS, KY, TX, WI)
- March 16, 2026: Iowa Telecommunications, docket 26-31 (IA)
- March 24, 2026: Consolidated Communications, docket 26-5, 1 exchange (IL)
- March 24, 2026: Consolidated Communications, docket 26-6, 295 exchanges (ME, NH)
- March 24, 2026: Consolidated Communications, docket 26-7, 107 exchanges (VT)
- March 26, 2026: Lumen (CenturyLink), docket 25-350 (MN)
- March 31, 2026: Lumen (CenturyLink), docket 26-8, 91 exchanges (FL)
Running total
Through March 2026: 89 copper phone line filings with an FCC public notice, covering 3,119 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.