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September 20, 2026
The Honorable Brendan Carr
Chairman Federal Communications Commission 45 L Street NE Washington, DC 20554 The Honorable Anna M. Gomez
Commissioner The Honorable Olivia Trusty
Commissioner RE: WC Docket No. 26-227 & Docket No. 26-252 Dear Chairman Carr, Commissioners Gomez, and Trusty: On behalf of tens of thousands of telecommunications retirees and active employees across the country, I write to express our adamant opposition to Verizon’s request to drop its copper POTS phone service in 18 U.S. States. Verizon’s petition to the FCC claimed that “copper infrastructure is too slow to meet modern needs, many decades old, costly to maintain” and that “these services have few customers, and discontinuing the services will serve as an important step toward meeting both Verizon’s and the commission’s goal of providing the next-generation technologies that American consumers want.” This ignores the needs of millions of older and vulnerable Americans, particularly those in rural areas, who rely on landlines in areas where cell service is inconsistent, potentially leaving millions of our fellow Americans entirely dependent on spotty or nonexistent cell service and at the mercy of price-gouging bottom dweller-providers. This will negatively impact Americans in the following states and territories: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) pointed out serious concerns in his own letter of opposition to the FCC, noting that many alternatives are considerably less reliable during emergencies. Many older adults or those on fixed income may struggle to replace their medical alert or home alarm units linked to the copper system. Most importantly, “an [replacement] option that a carrier can point to on paper but that cannot function at a given address raises serious questions about whether it is a reasonable substitute for the service being withdrawn.” Our organization, the Association of BellTel Retirees Inc., believes that this petition is a cloaked attempt for the company to walk away from and eliminate the jobs of tens of thousands of union technicians that maintain the system and its critical infrastructure. Let me remind you that the build-out and maintenance of a connected phone and communications system, from coast to coast was and remains a national security imperative. Land line communications provided and still provides critical connectivity for all. Those communities, homes or businesses that lack access, are put at a severe disadvantage. Having worked for Ma Bell as a lineman and technical associate for over three decades, I can tell you that landline service, while less ubiquitous than it used to be, remains a critical lifeline to people across the United States. Across our nation, where the frequency of major storms has risen to an alarming degree, cell towers are highly vulnerable to electrical outage or other conditions, be those natural or man-made. Copper-wire, fiber and other connected-landline, remain a durable, 100-percent reliable solution, especially during emergency situations. Just as the company ratepayers funded the investment of its wireless network, perhaps the FCC should advise the company that Fiber To The Premise (FTTP) would be a suitable option for all Americans. If a community or county loses power in a storm or natural disaster such as wildfire, and citizens can’t charge their cell phone, they are left totally alone in isolation. With no electricity, and no cell signal, there is no 911 operator and emergency responders to come to their aid, nor is there a way to connect with loved ones during a crisis. Millions of Americans regard landlines as vital lifelines, especially in areas regularly exposed to natural disasters like wildfires, earthquakes, and floods. Many get zero cell service even on the best of days, leaving elderly citizens reliant on their trusted landlines during medical emergencies. Imagine the need to perform CPR on someone having cardiac arrest in an area with poor or non-existent cell service: Do you think you’d have time to drive miles towards the nearest cell tower to get a signal, just to call 911? Axing landline service is like building a passenger ship with no lifeboats and sending 1,000 people out to sea. What happens if the ship sinks? Another critical component rarely evaluated is that it is the ratepayers of the land line system funded the research, development and build-out of the satellites, cell towers and networks that both Verizon and AT&T now recognize as their cash cow. You cannot now abandon the people, communities, and ratepayers that funded and enabled Verizon to have a business enterprise valued at $138 billion in revenues and for AT&T $146 billion in 2025. A public service corporation like Verizon and AT&T should be serving the public, not just shareholders. This is a naked ploy to increase profits by forcing customers into expensive bundle packages, an entirely unappealing prospect for elderly citizens, poor or working-class families who don’t need or want more bells and whistles. It would also result in major job losses, since telecom employees – most of whom are union represented – maintain the landline infrastructure. This is an attempt by the company to claim it no longer needs this loyal workforce. Please vote to maintain basic, connected land line phone services. Our rate payers funded the build out of this system and access to it should be a public good for all, not another price-gouging profit machine for Verizon.
Thomas Steed CC: Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chair, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Telecommunications & Media
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