AT&T landlines are lifelines to our constituents

In 1996, the California Public Utilities Commission designated AT&T the Carrier of Last Resort for significant portions of California. This required AT&T to provide basic landline service to any customer who requested it in their designated area. Now, AT&T has applied for relief from its COLR obligations which would mean many Californians would lose their guaranteed access to safe, reliable and affordable telephone service.

This is unacceptable. It would compromise the safety of many Californians and place their ability to reliably communicate in jeopardy. We have submitted our concerns in writing to the CPUC.

In San Mateo County, many of our constituents live in remote, hard-to-access areas. They live on mountains or in valleys or along the coast where cell service and internet access is spotty, unreliable, and in some cases, completely unavailable. For many of these communities, a large storm or wildfire can completely cut them off from the outside world. This is not hypothetical. On Feb. 22, AT&T’s cellular network experienced outages across the country, including in the Bay Area. AT&T cellular customers were unable to communicate with their cellphones, leaving them only internet access or landlines to call emergency services.

Many of our constituents are elderly and retired, living on fixed incomes. It is totally unacceptable to revoke their landline access and force them to pay for more expensive services or leave them with only unreliable cell service. For many, there are no alternatives and they would be completely cut off.  

We recognize that technology changes and traditional landline service is becoming less and less necessary. That’s why Congress and the state of California have dedicated tremendous resources to improve connectivity in California, especially for those homes and communities that have limited or no broadband access or have been historically left behind. The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program established by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided almost $2 billion for broadband connectivity in California. The state of California has committed more than $2 billion of its own money to improve middle mile access and to ensure rural and remote communities don’t lose access during natural disasters or other emergencies. But the job isn’t finished, and we cannot simply cut off those whose service hasn’t been updated yet. 

This once-in-a-lifetime public investment in improving our communications infrastructure will benefit private companies like AT&T. It’s reasonable to expect the same private companies that benefit from this investment to maintain their existing infrastructure and ensure their customers stay connected. At the very least, they should not be allowed to step away from their obligations under the law to provide basic service to those who have no alternatives.  

The CPUC has received more than 3,000 public comments on AT&T’s application. They are filled with testimonials from Californians across the state about how important landline connectivity is to them and how it keeps them safe when there are wildfires, natural disasters, power outages, and other emergencies. Many say there is no other way for them to communicate with family, friends and the outside world. These comments demonstrate clearly that this issue isn’t simply one of convenience or cost. It could be life or death. Both California and AT&T must put the safety and security of Californians first and ensure everyone can stay connected by rejecting AT&T’s request to abandon their Carrier of Last Resort responsibilities. 

Ray Mueller represents District 3 on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Anna Eshoo represents District 16 in the U.S. House of Representatives.