FCC Delays Verizon’s Plan to Shut Down Copper Landlines in Nine States
Verizon’s proposal to discontinue legacy copper phone service in parts of nine states will not receive automatic FCC approval. The agency says it needs more time to review the plan.
The Federal Communications Commission has delayed automatic approval of Verizon’s request to discontinue copper-based legacy voice service in portions of nine states. The application had been scheduled to become automatically effective on September 26, 2026, but the FCC removed it from that streamlined process because it needs additional time for review.
The FCC has not rejected Verizon’s request. It can still approve the application later, potentially with conditions.
Which nine states are affected?
WC Docket No. 26-227 covers residential and business legacy TDM voice service delivered over copper in portions of the following states:
This is not a blanket shutdown of every landline in those states. The application concerns specified Verizon and former Frontier service areas and is tied to the availability of replacement voice services.
What exactly did the FCC do?
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau had initially placed Verizon’s application on a streamlined timetable. Under that process, it would have been automatically granted on September 26 unless the FCC intervened.
The Commission intervened before that deadline. Its notice said it requires additional time to complete its review and therefore the application will not be automatically granted.
Importantly, the FCC also said removing the filing from the automatic-grant process is not a final decision on the merits. Verizon’s request remains pending.
Why are state and local officials concerned?
The dispute is less about preserving copper for its own sake and more about whether every affected customer has a reliable replacement. That distinction matters because fiber, cable and fixed-wireless broadband work very differently, especially in rural areas where coverage can vary address by address.
Virginia counties told the FCC that some residents live in areas where cellular coverage remains weak or unavailable, making a wireless replacement less dependable.
Local officials raised concerns about households that rely on copper during prolonged electrical outages, when broadband equipment or wireless sites may have limited backup power.
Some rural areas still do not have fiber-to-the-home, so officials want replacement availability checked carefully before copper is removed.
Rappahannock County, Virginia, told regulators that 48.5% of the county lacked qualifying wireless coverage under FCC data. The county also reported 154 emergency calls to 911 from Verizon copper lines during a six-month period and cited repeated long-duration electric outages.
What does Verizon say?
Verizon says it is modernizing its network by replacing aging copper facilities with fiber and wireless alternatives. If you are comparing the technologies themselves, our guide to fiber, full fiber and copper-backed connections explains what physically changes at the home. The company argues that maintaining a parallel copper network diverts resources from newer infrastructure and that copper is increasingly vulnerable to severe weather, theft and vandalism.
Where Verizon fiber is available, voice service can move from the copper loop to fiber-based infrastructure.
Verizon offers equipment that allows a traditional home telephone to operate over its wireless network at qualifying locations.
Depending on the address, another provider’s qualifying fiber, cable or wireless voice service may satisfy the replacement requirement.
Verizon says it will not discontinue an existing customer’s copper voice service if an FCC-approved replacement service is unavailable at that location. It also says customers will receive written notice before any service change. Verizon is not alone in moving away from legacy copper: AT&T is also shifting customers toward fiber and fixed wireless as it reduces its own copper footprint.
There is a second Verizon copper filing — and it is different
Two large Verizon copper-retirement proceedings are moving through the FCC at roughly the same time, which has caused confusion in some coverage.
| Filing | States | Approx. remaining copper POTS locations | Status / proposed date |
|---|---|---|---|
| WC Docket 26-227 | AZ, DE, NJ, NM, OH, RI, SC, UT, VA | About 277,000 | Automatic approval stopped; FCC review continues. Verizon had proposed discontinuance on or after Oct. 23. |
| Separate Sept. 9 filing | CA, CT, DC, IL, MD, MA, MI, NY, PA, WV | About 750,000 | Separate application seeking discontinuance on or after Nov. 30, subject to FCC and state approvals. |
The FCC delay discussed in this article applies to WC Docket No. 26-227, the first group of nine states. The approximately 750,000-line figure belongs to the separate September 9 filing covering a different set of states plus Washington, D.C.
What should Verizon copper customers do now?
For now, customers do not need to assume their service is ending. The FCC has not approved the nine-state voice-service discontinuance request, and Verizon says copper will remain where a qualifying replacement is not available.
If you received a Verizon notice, check which replacement services are actually available at your address. Customers who rely on a landline for medical equipment, alarm systems, fax equipment or emergency communications should also confirm compatibility and backup-power requirements before changing technologies.
The practical takeaway: a notice about copper retirement is not the same as an immediate disconnection notice. Verizon says affected customers will receive additional notice before an actual service change.
The bottom line
The FCC has delayed automatic approval of Verizon’s plan to discontinue copper-based legacy voice service in portions of nine states. The application is still alive, but regulators want more time to examine whether replacement services are adequate, particularly in rural areas.
The delayed filing covers about 277,000 remaining copper POTS customers or locations in Arizona, Delaware, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia. It should not be confused with Verizon’s separate filing covering roughly 750,000 lines in another nine states plus Washington, D.C.
Verizon copper landline FAQs
Did the FCC reject Verizon’s copper shutdown plan?
No. The FCC removed Verizon’s application from the automatic approval process because it needs more time to review it. The agency said this is not a final decision on whether Verizon may discontinue the service.
Which nine states are covered by Verizon’s delayed copper retirement request?
The application covers portions of Arizona, Delaware, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.
How many customers are covered by the nine-state Verizon filing?
Verizon’s filing covers roughly 277,000 remaining copper POTS customers or locations in the affected service areas. It does not mean every household in the nine states would lose landline service.
Will Verizon disconnect copper service where there is no replacement?
Verizon says it will not discontinue a customer’s existing copper voice service unless an FCC-approved replacement option is available at that location.
Sources
- FCC Wireline Competition Bureau: Verizon application will not be automatically granted, WC Docket No. 26-227
- FCC: Comments invited on Verizon Section 214 legacy voice discontinuance application, August 26, 2026
- Verizon: Section 63.71 application, WC Docket No. 26-227
- Verizon: Network modernization and copper transition information
- Fierce Network: Verizon copper retirement plan and state/local objections, September 28, 2026
- DataRemote: Comparison of Verizon’s two 2026 copper POTS discontinuance proceedings