PSTN-to-IP transition

The Federal Communications Commission voted on proposals that would explore how to successfully phase-out the intercarrier compensation regime for voice telecommunications providers. This is the latest FCC effort to move America’s networks to Internet Protocol technology and address the outdated rules that keep Americans on legacy Time-Division Multiplexing technology. The FCC is working to thoughtfully create the right incentives for providers to upgrade to modern, high-speed networks.

When my phone stopped working last month during the latest calamitous network outage to hit the US, I assumed it was that pesky Amazon cloud POP in North Virginia playing up again.

My best guess is the public switched telephone network will ether be dead or dying by the end of 2030. This doesn’t mean the death of telephone voice service, but the end of the regulated service that has been offered by telephone companies. Any voice products that remain will be delivered using Voice over Internet Protocol. The death of the PSTN is being fostered by the Federal Communications Commission, which has made it much easier for telephone companies to tear down or decommission copper telephone networks.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 28, 2025:

US telephone companies of varied shapes and sizes will be retiring portions of their copper networks in the years to come. However, none are currently attacking copper phase-outs like AT&T. AT&T's initiative is simply much more massive in size and scope. As announced in 2024, AT&T is on a mission to shut down power-hungry and broadly inefficient copper-based services across the bulk of its US footprint by the end of 2029. AT&T is making progress. The Federal Communications Commission recently approved AT&T to discontinue legacy services in about 10% of its footprint.

The California Public Utilities Commission has set significant new requirements to improve the quality of phone service for Californians, especially in emergencies. At its Sept. 18 Voting Meeting, the CPUC approved new service quality standards that will help to ensure that Californians receive reliable telecommunication services. The Decision also extends minimum service quality standards to fixed interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol providers for the first time.

The road to copper retirement is paved with paperwork, but AT&T seems to be moving along just fine in its quest to shut down its legacy copper network by 2029. AT&T recently secured Federal Communications Commission approval to fully discontinue copper services in about 500 wire centers, or 10 percent of its footprint. The update comes after the FCC got the ball rolling to speed up the copper retirement process for operators.

AT&T announced at the end of 2024 that it plans to retire all copper networks by the end of 2029. The Federal Communications Commission noted in a recent filing that the use of traditional telephone service has decreased rapidly over time. The transition away from copper is going largely unnoticed in urban areas since customers typically have good alternatives to a landline.

The Federal Communications Commission launched a rulemaking to accelerate the transition from aging copper line networks to the modern, high-speed ones that Americans want and deserve. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted looks to encourage the swift transition to IP-based networks and advanced communications services for consumers.

In a precursor to the headlines we’ll be seeing in the U.S., Telefónica announced on May 27 that it shut off its copper telephone network in Spain. The company was able to decommission the first two of its 8,500 exchanges in 2014, and the pace has accelerated since then, with 4,300 exchanges shut in 2024. Telefónica claims to be the first telephone company in Europe to have completed the transition from copper to fiber.