Telecommunication

A new "consensus-driven roadmap" on the future of the Universal Service Fund argues that universal service should be understood as an ongoing responsibility, not a goal to achieve, and offers six principles for Universal Service Fund reform.

Telecom providers and cable companies are ditching areas where they no longer want to serve customers. Nebraska Technology and Telecommunications just filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to discontinue all its voice and data services in the states of Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The discontinuance will affect approximately 3,756 customers.

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.

Verizon announced results for the second quarter of 2026. Highlights include:

AT&T reported results for the second quarter of 2026. Highlights include:

• Added over 1 million Advanced Connectivity customers, driven by year-over-year increases in net adds across fiber, fixed wireless, and postpaid phone subscribers
• Advanced Connectivity service revenue of $23.5 billion, up 5.1% year over year
• 646,000 total consumer and business Advanced Connectivity internet net adds, including 367,000 fiber and 279,000 fixed wireless
• 42.5% of households with AT&T's advanced home internet services also chose AT&T wireless

California can keep enforcing rules that require AT&T to offer basic phone service to new customers in its wireline territory, following a federal judge’s ruling. AT&T sued California in May in a bid to end the state’s Carrier of Last Resort rules that require it to offer telephone service to any potential customer in its territory.

California regulators are challenging how AT&T is retiring its legacy business data services, warning that the carrier’s handling of the shift could jeopardize critical infrastructure that public utilities depend on. In a July 14 letter, California Public Utilities Commission President John Reynolds urged AT&T to address a growing list of customer complaints.

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.