PSTN-to-IP transition

On August 10, 2026, Verizon filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission requesting authority, under section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.

The company Ooma has been around for about 20 years, offering its voice-over-IP and unified communications as a service phone technologies, but now Ooma has come up with a product that lets residential Starlink broadband subscribers add voice to their Starlink service. Ooma’ StarDial is targeted to Starlink internet users in rural, remote or off-grid locations who may want to also tap their satellite broadband service for voice.

Regulatory fights between state and federal regulators sometimes get messy, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen anything as messy as AT&T’s attempt to retire and walk away from copper facilities in California. AT&T asked the California Public Service Commission for the ability to start retiring copper telephone networks in March 2023. It wasn’t an unusual request since AT&T is in the process of retiring copper in every other state where it owns last-mile copper networks. The CPUC finally ruled on that petition in June 2024 and unanimously rejected AT&T’s request.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation appreciates the opportunity to comment on Reforming the High-Cost Program for an All-IP Future. The Federal Communications Commission should eliminate legacy high-cost support mechanisms and allow A-CAM support to expire without extension. These programs have achieved their original objectives, while changes in the broadband marketplace have substantially reduced the policy rationale for continuing them.

The Utility Reform Network (TURN) has filed a motion to intervene in AT&T’s federal lawsuit against the California Public Utilities Commission and California Attorney General. TURN submitted this filing in partnership with the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), and the Communications Workers of America (CWA). AT&T’s lawsuit aims to have the federal courts determine that California’s Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) rules do not align with federal policy.

Old copper landlines are going the way of so many other aging pieces of technology as smartphones have become the way many people surf the web, pay bills, watch movies and keep up with friends and family. But some residents of L.A. and California—particularly those who live in fire-prone areas—are determined to hold on to their traditional phones. As telecommunications giant AT&T accelerates its push to retire landline service to about 184,000 households and 15,000 businesses across the state, hundreds of Californians have voiced alarm in public comments.

Ribbon Communications, a vendor that does IP routing, is working with MGW Telephone, a third-generation ILEC serving communities across Virginia, to help it transition from legacy TDM infrastructure to an all-IP environment. MGW is using Ribbon's Circuit Emulation Services and NPT platform.

AT&T's plans to shutter its power-hungry copper network in California moved ahead a step or two after the Federal Communications Commission ruled that the operator could start the conversion process for about 184,000 customers in the state. That process targets a subset of AT&T customers who are still using copper-based services in the state. Under the plan, those customers can keep their existing service until it is discontinued on or after June 1, 2027.

Republican Steve Hilton has found rare common ground with Democrats in an unlikely arena: landline phone service. The GOP candidate for governor is urging the federal government to stay out of California’s push to prevent AT&T from ending landline service via copper wiring to around 184,000 residential customers and 15,000 business customers. The debate stems over a Federal Communications Commission action on June 29 that advanced the company’s plans, over the objection of California regulators, many residents, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Copper network retirement in California has taken another litigious turn. In a suit against the Federal Communications Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is asking the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a federal court in San Francisco, to determine that the FCC's new rules aimed at expediting copper network shutdowns constitutes an overreach that violates federal law and conflicts with notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements.