AT&T says 1% of eligible copper customers remain as retirement passes 500 communities

AT&T says 1% of eligible customers still use legacy copper voice service, down from roughly 5% at its last comparable update in December 2024, Data Center Dynamics reported, citing Light Reading.

The carrier says it has discontinued copper service in more than 500 communities, covering more than 1.3 million locations in 18 states. Its fiber network passes close to 40 million locations, about two-thirds of the 60 million it targets by 2030, and AT&T aims to retire most of its copper network by 2029.

California is the exception: AT&T is obliged by the California Public Utilities Commission to keep providing copper service there, and the carrier says retirement is harder in the state as a result.

Susan Johnson, senior executive vice president for transformation and supply chain, wrote in a blog post that wireless repair times are more than four times faster than copper and that modern networks are less exposed to damage and copper theft. She said temporary cell sites restored wireless coverage across most areas hit by last year's California wildfires within three days, while copper restoration took several months.

AT&T has previously signed a deal to sell more than 70 copper central offices in an $850 million sale-leaseback.