Copper phone line retirement report: October 2026
In October 2026, the FCC published notice of 3 filings to stop copper phone service, from 3 phone companies. They cover 1,750 telephone exchanges we track in 14 states.
The numbers
- Filings
- 3
- Exchanges covered
- 1,750
- First time in a filing
- 0
- States with exchanges covered
- 14
2 of these exchanges are named in a filing. 1,748 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 | 1 | 1,356 | AL, AR, FL, GA, KS, LA, MO, NC, TN, TX, WI |
| Consolidated Communications | 1 | 295 | ME, NH |
| Lumen (CenturyLink) | 1 | 99 | FL, NV |
The filings
AT&T, FCC docket 26-293
Home and business phone lines on the copper network in in portions of certain wire centers located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Public notice October 22, 2026; date in the filing April 2, 2027. Covers 1,356 exchanges we track.
Consolidated Communications, FCC docket 26-277
Legacy voice service in at locations in five exchanges in Maine and seven exchanges in New Hampshire that are passed by fiber.
Public notice October 1, 2026; date in the filing December 1, 2026. Covers 295 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Lumen (CenturyLink), FCC docket 26-285
Legacy voice service in Altamonte Springs, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Casselberry, Champions Gate, Clermont, Davenport, Estero, Fern Park, Ft. Myers, Groveland, Kissimmee, Longwood, Maitland, Mascotte, Minneola, Naples, Ocoee, Orlando, Poinciana, Reunion, Saint Cloud, The Villages, and Winter Garden, Florida, and Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, Nevada.
Public notice October 5, 2026; date in the filing November 30, 2026. Covers 99 exchanges we track (portions of the state, not every address).
Dates in October 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.
- October 5, 2026: NT&T, docket 26-231 (CO, IA, MN, NE, SD)
- October 16, 2026: AT&T, docket 26-192, 1,355 exchanges (AR, FL, GA, KS, LA, MO, NC, TN, more)
- October 18, 2026: Lumen (CenturyLink), docket 26-242, 151 exchanges (IA, UT)
- October 23, 2026: Verizon and Frontier, docket 26-227, 831 exchanges (AZ, DE, NJ, NM, OH, RI, SC, UT, more)
- October 23, 2026: Verizon and Frontier, docket 26-228, 831 exchanges (AZ, DE, NJ, NM, OH, RI, SC, UT, more)
Other services
1 other filing this month was for services other than ordinary copper phone lines (VoIP products, data circuits, long distance): Belcom (26-278).
Running total
Through October 2026: 147 copper phone line filings with an FCC public notice, covering 6,550 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.