Feds support AT&T ceasing landlines: Whether telecommunications giant will remain required to provide basic phone service to rural areas becoming state, federal battle

The Federal Communications Commission approved a petition by AT&T to end the landline service on June 29, which doesn’t immediately relieve AT&T of its obligation, but it does embolden the company’s fight to do so. 

The California Public Utilities Commission ruled in June 2024 that AT&T must keep its obligation to allow residents to keep their landline phones. Around the same time, Assembly Bill 2797 tried to undermine the CPUC’s decision by making it easier for companies like AT&T to withdraw from these obligations without the commission’s input, but this was pulled and the bill failed.

“AT&T was unable to get the CPUC to do it, and then they were unsuccessful twice to get the legislature to do it and so now they’ve gone to the federal government to do it and then sue the state claiming federal preemption,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, whose district covers most the county’s rural areas. 

The drop of landline services would include free access to 911 and telephone relay service for people with speech or hearing issues, among other features. While AT&T hopes to be relieved of offering this obligation, they’ve previously said no customer would be left without voice or 911 services, believing that other companies could step in to provide the service.

At this point, San Mateo County leaders are looking into how they can support the state in the fight to secure essential telecommunication services as long as possible, Mueller said. 

“AT&T has been very clear that this is part of their national plan and they want to get this accomplished,” Mueller said. “It will be left up to the court and while that court process plays out, can we file injunctions to make them continue to deliver service while lawsuits are pending.” 

The county’s coastside and hillside areas are largely affected by this potential loss, as landlines are a necessary service particularly during natural hazard events. Landlines were used for reverse 911 calls during the CZU Lightning Complex fires in 2020, Mueller said. 

The copper wire landlines currently provided by AT&T are powered a distance away from outages, and typically remain functional during natural hazard events like a wildfire, while cell service is dependent on towers that go out if power is lost for too long. 

While fighting for the landline service to be provided is the current focus, Mueller said if the effort fails, a significant investment in providing sufficient cell coverage to vulnerable areas will need to be made. 

“It’s not just about can we go ahead and get cell service, but how can we get the power grid resilient to natural hazard events,” Mueller said. 

The federal commission’s ruling is just one ‘OK’ in AT&T’s fight to override the California regulators’ ruling and cancel its basic phone service. More approvals by the FCC and a federal court case where AT&T is requesting an injunction that would bar Californians from enforcing the carrier of last resort rule are still up for deliberation. 

Should the federal commission rule in AT&T’s favor, the fight is likely still not over, as California and the CPUC maintain the federal body doesn’t have the jurisdiction to weigh in, Mueller said. San Mateo County leaders will be alongside other local representatives, and particularly members of the rural county caucus, in the ongoing fight, the supervisor said. 

“We’re going to fight it,” Mueller said. 

Mueller said he hopes that the matter can be tied up in litigation long enough for there to be a change in who holds positions of power at the federal level, and possibly draw back AT&T’s progress to suspending its service. The federal commission’s ruling and override of state rule is a “direct example” of how a presidency affects the local level, Mueller said. 

“Irrespective of who is in the White House, whether it be either party, we have an obligation to protect our residents,” Mueller said. “If something taking place is affecting them negatively or adversely in a way that could be a threat to their lives in an emergency, we have to fight vigorously on their behalf.”

“If that means we go to court, then we go to court,” Mueller said. 

A representative from AT&T did not respond to request for comment before publication.