California鈥檚 Public Utilities Commission has rejected AT&T鈥檚 application to stop providing landlines and other services in areas where there is no other option.
Its 4-0 vote came after a judge determined the application by AT&T California was 鈥渇atally flawed.鈥�
AT&T is the 鈥渃arrier of last resort鈥� for California, an that means it covers most major cities, rural communities, and the land of more than 100 tribal governments. To find out if your home is in that area . The commission first labeled AT&T a carrier of last resort nearly three decades ago.
More than a dozen speakers during the public comment period at Thursday鈥檚 meeting supported keeping AT&T鈥檚 carrier-of-last resort designation and landlines. Previously, more than 5,000 public comments were written in response to AT&T鈥檚 application and nearly 6,000 people attended eight public forums held earlier this year. Numerous commenters said that, due to inconsistent cell coverage in their area, their landline is their primary means of communication with family, medical providers, and the outside world in the event of an emergency. Those concerns are particularly important for senior citizens, people with disabilities, and people who say they are sensitive to electromagnetic activity.
AT&T has argued that the people its landlines are now serving in the areas in question can turn to voice over internet service offered by cable providers or to mobile phone service offered by wireless providers like Verizon.
Steve Hogle lives in rural Sonoma County and told the commission Thursday that spotty cell phone coverage was a danger to his family during the .
鈥淚f we didn鈥檛 have a copper landline we would鈥檝e not known about the evacuation and the extremely serious fire that went through here and most of our property,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want (voice over internet service) because if there鈥檚 no power, there鈥檚 no internet, and all these things are of extreme importance to the safety of this community.鈥�
The company has attempted to end carrier-of-last-resort designation obligations in but those efforts don鈥檛 always stay within the confines of the law, according to federal prosecutors. In 2022, AT&T Illinois to resolve charges it attempted to influence former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
鈥�If we didn鈥檛 have a copper landline we would鈥檝e not known about the extremely serious fire."STEVE HOGLE, SONOMA COUNTY
The commission鈥檚 decision does not bring an end to the carrier-of-last-resort debates in California. AT&T and roughly a dozen members of the California Legislature have publicly expressed support for , which would effectively bring an end to some carrier-of-last-resort obligations. The California State Association of Counties, Rural County Representatives of California, and Urban Counties of California , adding in a letter to the bill鈥檚 author that it would 鈥渓eave large swaths of the most vulnerable Californians without reliable and affordable access to basic telephone service.鈥�
The Public Utilities Commission also voted 5-0 today to begin proceedings to change rules for companies that are designated a carrier of last resort. It鈥檚 time to modernize those rules, said commission president Alice Reynolds, because a lot has changed in the past 30 years, including a shift toward cell phones and away from landlines, and it鈥檚 now part of the commission鈥檚 mandate to make high-speed internet access universally available.
鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful that through this new rulemaking, we can really modernize these programs and move towards the future to meet our broadband for all objectives,鈥� she said ahead of the vote.
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