AT&T Looking to Discontinue Landline Service

Pasadena residents who still have a landline, listen up.

Last week, AT&T applied for a waiver that would allow it to stop servicing traditional landlines in California.

The move would replace older copper wire-based telephone systems lines with faster and more advanced technology that is not compatible with landlines.

As part of the change, U.S. service providers are required to offer customers an alternative to landlines and use devices to convert analog signals to digital, either through fiber optic cables or wireless technology, like LTE/5G.

The shift away from copper landlines will most likely impact people over age 65 and small business owners.

Small businesses, analog fax machines, including hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices would also be impacted.

Conversions, which will cost customers anywhere between $200 to $400, will also need to be done with any analog alarms and emergency call boxes inside elevators.

AT&T reached out to Pasadena Now with the following statement:

“We are not cancelling landline service in California, and none of our California customers will lose access to voice service. There’s been a dramatic, and continuing, decline in the number of customers who subscribe to our traditional landline voice service over the last two decades, and less than 7% of households we serve in California use a copper based landline. We are focused on enhancing our network with more advanced, higher speed technologies like fiber and wireless, which consumers are demanding.” 

The California Public Utilities Commission will hold three in-person meetings and one virtual public forum in the next few weeks for AT&T customers to discuss the potential discontinuation of copper landline phone service across the state.