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Your wish is granted FCC chairman Brendan Carr starts granting telecom lobbys wish list Rule eliminations make it easier to replace copper networks with wireless. Jon Brodkin Mar 20, 2025 5:44 pm | 9 FCC Chairman Brendan Carr delivers a speech at the MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona on March 3, 2025. Credit: Getty Images | Lluis Gene FCC Chairman Brendan Carr delivers a speech at the MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona on March 3, 2025. Credit: Getty Images | Lluis Gene Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe Federal Communications Commission is making it easier for telcos to turn off old copper phone and DSL networks with four changes that relax requirements related to copper shutoffs. FCC Chairman Brendan Carrwho is also pushing a "Delete, Delete, Delete" initiative to get rid of as many rules as possiblesaid in an announcement today that agency rules have prevented providers from upgrading to faster networks."Outdated FCC rules have left Americans sitting in the slow lane for far too long," Carr said. "Those FCC rules have forced providers to pour resources into maintaining aging and expensive copper line networks instead of investing in the modern, high-speed infrastructure that Americans want and deserve."The key question for people using old copper service is whether they will ever get a big upgrade to fiber lines for phone and Internet access or if they'll have to make do with wireless replacements that vary greatly in quality and speed. As we previously reported, AT&T is aiming to eliminate copper phone and DSL lines from its 21-state wireline network but will not deploy fiber in the more sparsely populated half of that territory.An AT&T executive said in December that a Republican-led FCC will help the carrier "make even more progress in simplifying our networks and migrating our customers over the next several years." The FCC changes touted by Carr today can help AT&T replace copper with wireless in most states, but not necessarily in California, where the state Public Utilities Commission rejected AT&T's request to end its landline phone obligations in a June 2024 ruling. AT&T has obtained its requested deregulation in the other 20 states.Hoping for fiber? Expect more wirelessCarr did not say whether he expects today's actions to spur more deployment of fiber, and it's clear the FCC is making it easier for carriers to use only wireless in areas where they don't want to spend the money needed for fiber. Carr's press release said "the FCC is keeping consumer protections in place, including requiring interoperability and guarding against price hikes by ensuring that consumers transitioning to new networks get access to services at similar or lower price points."The four changes were adopted by the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau on its own authority, so there was no vote by the commissioners. The FCC has a 2-2 split between Democrats and Republicans but will gain a Republican majority soon as one of the Democratic commissioners is resigning. When the FCC is at its five-member maximum, the party controlling the White House maintains a 3-2 advantage.One order clarifies how telcos can turn off copper lines without conducting performance tests as part of the "adequate replacement test" designed to prove that replacement services offer equivalent network performance, service availability, and geographic coverage.The order said:We clarify that a technology transition discontinuance applicant that elects to "show[], based on the totality of the circumstances," that a replacement service has substantially similar network performance and availability as the service being discontinued need not conduct the performance testing described in the 2016 Technology Transitions Order and its Technical Appendix. By contrast, an applicant that elects to "certify[]"rather than "show[]"that a replacement service has substantially similar network performance and availability must follow the testing described in the 2016 Technology Transitions Order and its Technical Appendix.Today's order said this should have already been an option under the old rules but that a "clarification is necessary in light of apparent confusion regarding the specific testing methodology and parameters permitted by the two separate options that carriers may use to satisfy the Adequate Replacement Test's first prong. We believe that confusion, in turn, has prevented carriers from pursuing technology transition discontinuances under the Adequate Replacement Test."In July 2024, AT&T became the first carrier to apply for a technology transition discontinuance "under the Adequate Replacement Test relying on the applicant's own replacement service," the order said. "AT&T indicated in this application that it was relying on a totality of the circumstances showing to establish the adequacy of its replacement service, but also committed to the performance testing methodology and parameters established in the 2016 Technology Transitions Order Technical Appendix." This "delay[ed] the filing of its discontinuance application for several months," the FCC said.Harold Feld, senior VP of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, said the FCC clarification that carriers don't need to perform testing, "combined with elimination of most of the remaining notice requirements, means that you don't have to worry about actually proving anything. Just say 'totality of the circumstances' and by the time anyone who cares finds out, the application will be granted.""The one positive thing is that some states (such as California) still have carrier of last resort rules to protect consumers," Feld told Ars. "In some states, at least, consumers will not suddenly find themselves cut off from 911 or other important services."Telco lobby loves FCC movesThe bureau separately approved a petition for a waiver filed last month by USTelecom, a lobby group that represents telcos such as AT&T, Verizon, and CenturyLink (aka Lumen). The group sought a waiver of a requirement that replacement voice services be offered on a stand-alone basis instead of only in a bundle with broadband.While bundles cost more than single services for consumers who only want phone access, USTelecom said that "inefficiencies of offering stand-alone voice can raise costs for consumers and reduce capital available for investment and innovation."The FCC said granting the waiver will allow providers "to retire copper networks, not only in cases where replacement voice services are available on a stand-alone basis, but in cases where those services are available on a bundled basis." The waiver is approved for two years and can be extended.USTelecom President and CEO Jonathan Spalter praised the FCC actions in a statement. "Broadband providers appreciate Chairman Carr's laser focus on cutting through red tape and outdated mindsets to accelerate the work of connecting all Americans," Spalter said.Just like Carr's statement, Spalter did not use the word "fiber" when discussing replacements for copper service. He said vaguely that "today's decision marks a significant step forward in transitioning outdated copper telephone lines to next-generation networks that better meet the needs of American consumers," and "will help turbocharge investment in advanced broadband infrastructure, sustain and grow a skilled broadband workforce, bring countless new choices and services to more families and communities, and fuel our innovation economy."Carr promises to ditch many more rulesA third action today waives what Carr's office called "unnecessary requirements that kicked in whenever a provider 'grandfathered' a legacy servicemeaning, they stopped offering it to new customers." The waiver means carriers will be allowed to grandfather a legacy service without "the associated requirement to file an application with the Commission under our discontinuance rules," the order said.Another order issued today gives a two-year waiver of filing requirements in the FCC's network change disclosure rules. This action also "eliminates the associated Bureau public notice process, along with the objection process for interconnected service providers," the FCC said. The bureau said the change is "consistent with the Commission's goal of eliminating unnecessary and burdensome regulations... particularly in light of the extraordinary developments in the communications marketplace and the lack of oppositions to the more than 1,100 network change disclosures filed with the Commission since 2021."Carr said today's changes will be followed by many more that ease requirements imposed on telcos. "There is much more work ahead for the FCC, and our goal through additional actions is to ultimately free up billions of dollars for new networks that otherwise would have been diverted into costly and outdated copper lines," he said. "This initial set of actions gets things moving in the right direction and creates the right incentives for providers to invest and build new networks in communities across the country."Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 9 Comments
