Copper phone line retirement report: May 2026
In May 2026, the FCC published notice of 5 filings to stop copper phone service, from 2 phone companies. They cover 514 telephone exchanges we track in 9 states, 497 of them in a filing for the first time.
The numbers
- Filings
- 5
- Exchanges covered
- 514
- First time in a filing
- 497
- States with exchanges covered
- 9
18 of these exchanges are named in a filing. 496 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T | 3 | 426 | CA, GA, KY, LA, MS, SC, TN |
| Frontier | 2 | 88 | AL, GA, IA, MS, TN |
The filings
AT&T, FCC docket 26-120
Business copper phone services (business lines, PBX trunks, ISDN and similar) in in portions of 360 wire centers in California.
Public notice May 21, 2026; date in the filing June 1, 2027. Covers 408 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
AT&T, FCC docket 26-121
Home phone lines on the copper network in in portions of 360 wire centers in California.
Public notice May 21, 2026; date in the filing June 1, 2027. Covers 408 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Frontier, FCC docket 26-115
Business copper phone services (business lines, PBX trunks, ISDN and similar) in Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Public notice May 18, 2026; date in the filing September 8, 2026. Covers 88 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Frontier, FCC docket 26-116
Residential and business legacy TDM-based voice service in throughout the former Frontier telephone service areas in Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Public notice May 18, 2026; date in the filing September 8, 2026. Covers 88 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
AT&T, FCC docket 26-106
Business copper phone services (business lines, PBX trunks, ISDN and similar) in in portions of the following AT&T wire centers: Johnson Corner, GA (JHCRGAES), and Tifton, GA (TFTNGAMA); Carrollton, KY (CRTNKYMA); Angie, LA (ANGILAMA), Dulac, LA (DULCLAMA), Gibson, LA (GBSNLAMA), Lafitte, LA (LFTTLAMA), Lake Providence, LA (LKPRLAMA), Loreauville, LA (LRVLLAMA), Morganza, LA (MRGZLAMA), Napoleonville, LA (NPVLLAMA), Oil City, LA (OLCYLAMA), St. Martinville, LA (SMVLLAMA), and.
Public notice May 7, 2026; date in the filing June 30, 2026. Covers 18 exchanges we track.
Dates in May 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.
- May 5, 2026: Consolidated Communications, docket 26-32, 295 exchanges (ME, NH)
- May 5, 2026: Consolidated Communications, docket 26-33, 107 exchanges (VT)
- May 5, 2026: Consolidated Communications, docket 26-34, 1 exchange (CA)
- May 15, 2026: Lumen (CenturyLink), docket 26-66, 148 exchanges (CO)
- May 15, 2026: AT&T, docket 26-67, 12 exchanges (AL, AR, GA, KS, MO, OK, TX)
Other services
2 other filings this month were for services other than ordinary copper phone lines (VoIP products, data circuits, long distance): AT&T (26-107), GCI (26-128).
Running total
Through May 2026: 98 copper phone line filings with an FCC public notice, covering 3,627 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.