AT&T sues California amid big push to retire copper in the state

AT&T has filed a suit in California seeking to preempt state requirements that it believes are preventing the company from retiring copper-based phone services, arguing that those requirements conflict with new Federal Communications Commission rules. Alongside that suit, filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of California, AT&T is seeking permission from the FCC to discontinue plain old telephone service in portions of California (the initial ask is for permission to discontinue 60% of its wire centers in the state, or about 360 wire centers) where it can offer a like-for-like alternative over fiber or wireless rather than via the operator's power-hungry copper networks. It could take until at least June for the FCC to undertake that process and come to a decision.