SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 20, 2026 — AT&T announced a $19 billion commitment to invest in California’s fiber and wireless networks through 2030 and disclosed plans to begin discontinuing traditional copper-based telephone service in parts of the state on or after June 1, 2027.

The commitment represents AT&T’s largest-ever infrastructure investment in California. The $19 billion planned for 2026 through 2030 exceeds AT&T’s previous five-year California investment period by $3 billion, bringing the company’s total California network investment from 2021 through 2030 to $35 billion.

POTS Replacement Timeline and Customer Transition

AT&T stated that only 3 percent of the California households it serves still use traditional copper-based telephone service. The company described its approach to POTS replacement as phased and year-long, committing that no customer will lose access to voice or 911 service during the transition.

For residential customers, AT&T is offering AT&T Phone – Advanced as its primary POTS replacement product. The product is compatible with customers’ existing phones, fax machines, home alarm systems, and medical monitoring devices, and customers may retain their existing telephone numbers. For existing California LifeLine customers, AT&T is offering an additional discount to upgrade.

For business and government customers, AT&T Phone – Advanced is also available as a direct option. In addition, AT&T works through a network of authorized channel partners for business and government POTS replacement deployments. AT&T POTS Transformation Partners, such as RCN Technologies and its POTS Link solution, provide copper-to-wireless transition services for commercial and public sector accounts, including solution deployment, ongoing service management, and support.

AT&T’s copper service discontinuation announcement follows the FCC’s March 2026 adoption of the Network and Services Modernization Order (FCC-26-19A1), which streamlined the federal regulatory process governing POTS replacement. Susan Santana, state president of AT&T California, cited the updated federal policies directly: “With recent, forward-looking federal network modernization policies, we’re able to make our largest-ever California investment commitment ($19 billion) as we transition away from copper networks.”

Network Deployment Commitments

AT&T’s $19 billion commitment includes the following specific deployment targets through 2030:

• Fiber service to an additional 4 million or more California households and businesses, reaching a total of 9 million or more fiber locations statewide
• Addition of more than 1,200 cell sites across rural, suburban, and urban California
• A projected reduction of 300 million kilowatt-hours in annual energy consumption by 2030 as a result of the copper-to-fiber and wireless transition

AT&T also announced plans to open six additional Connected Learning Centers in California in 2026 and to host more than 30 digital literacy workshops statewide.

Workforce

AT&T stated it is hiring hundreds of technicians across California to support fiber expansion and copper decommissioning.

Source

This article is based on AT&T’s official announcement, published May 20, 2026. The full announcement is available at about.att.com/story/2026/att-makes-ca-commitment.html.

Talk to a POTS Replacement Specialist | (865) 293-0350 | rcntechnologies.com

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