09/10/2026
Discussing this at the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meeting on Sept. 16.
CHEROKEE COUNTY RECEIVES VERIZON RESPONSE REGARDING COPPER-BASED LANDLINE SERVICE
Cherokee County recently contacted Verizon seeking clarification regarding the future of copper-based landline service in our area, including potential service retirement, customer notification, replacement options, and protections for residents and critical services.
Below is Verizon’s response to the County’s questions. We are sharing the response in full so residents can review the information provided directly by Verizon regarding the proposed transition and what it may mean for customers in Cherokee County.
“Thank you for your two separate letters dated August 19, 2026, inquiring about our plans for copper-based landline services in Cherokee County, North Carolina. We appreciate the opportunity to provide information regarding the transition away from legacy copper to more modern networks.
On July 7, 2026, Frontier Communications of the Carolinas LLC, a Verizon company that is an incumbent local exchange carrier in areas of North Carolina including Cherokee County, filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) an application under Section 214(a) of the Communications Act and Section 63.71 of the FCC’s rules to discontinue residential and business legacy voice service provided over copper facilities in certain areas in North Carolina. The FCC approved the application on August 21, 2026, with an effective discontinuance date of November 16, 2026.
This filing was part of a multi-state Verizon initiative to transition services away from legacy copper lines to more modern technologies, a necessary step driven by a fundamental shift in the market and consumer demand. Copper networks are obsolete, and most customers have already chosen to move to modern fiber, wireless, and other alternatives to meet their voice needs. Today, the copper network operates at a fraction of its peak capacity. Nationally, almost four out of five US adults use only wireless services for voice and over 83% of US voice telephone connections are wireless. The FCC reports that only 5% of North Carolina households use legacy voice services. In 2000, the FCC reported 5.1 million copper lines in the state of North Carolina, but that number has declined by over 94% during the past 25 years and is likely less than 300,000 today (and Frontier’s share is much smaller, as it covers only a portion of the state).
Copper infrastructure is too slow to meet modern needs, many decades old, costly to maintain, and vulnerable to damage and theft. Maintaining obsolete copper infrastructure diverts crucial resources away from building the robust fiber and wireless networks that the modern market demands. Where customers have more modern technologies available it doesn’t make sense to continue to serve them over copper.
The “discontinuance area” in the application consists of all locations in Verizon’s North Carolina territory where existing copper voice customers can obtain an adequate replacement service over Verizon fiber or service over Verizon’s wireless network (either a fixed wireless home phone replacement service using Verizon’s wireless network or Verizon’s mobile wireless service). While many other providers also offer mobile, cable and fiber services throughout North Carolina, this application relies only on Verizon service availability to define the discontinuance area.
For Cherokee County, this means that there are many locations within the county that have modern alternative Verizon services available and are in the discontinuance area, but there will also be other locations that do not yet have those services. Verizon will not discontinue copper voice service to any location unless at least one of the above Verizon services is available. Customers at those locations will be able to retain service on copper until an FCC-approved replacement service is available.
You are likely aware that Verizon sent a notice letter to all copper served customers in North Carolina as part of its 214 filing. This letter was an informational advance notice required by the FCC. It specifically stated that “You don’t need to take action right now. There’s no change or interruption to your service today.” Verizon will contact each customer again directly when and if it is time to transition their specific line off of copper. While all copper customers were sent the initial notice letter, not all of them will be migrated off of copper because they must have an adequate alternative, as discussed above.
Below are the responses to the specific questions you raised on behalf of Cherokee County:
1. Does Frontier/Verizon currently plan to retire copper facilities, discontinue copper-based services, or grandfather any legacy landline services in our county or surrounding exchanges?
Yes. Verizon plans to discontinue service over copper facilities as set forth in our Application filed on July 7, 2026 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under Section 214(a) of the Communications Act and Section 63.71 of the FCC’s rules. The FCC approved the application on August 21, 2026 with an effective discontinuance date of November 16, 2026. Verizon therefore has authority to discontinue service over copper after that date, but does not expect to do so immediately.
2. If so, what wire centers, exchanges, communities, or customer classes may be affected, and what are the anticipated timelines?
At this time, copper will only be discontinued to customers and locations that have an adequate alternative, as discussed above, and we are still identifying the wire centers, exchanges, communities, and customers that will be impacted in the immediate future. We expect to begin communicating with impacted customers in phases beginning sometime after November 16, 2026.
3. Have any locations in our county or nearby service areas already experienced discontinuance, retirement, or grandfathering of copper-based service?
Not from Frontier or Verizon. We are generally aware that other incumbent providers such as AT&T are also discontinuing services over copper but we do not have specific information.
4. What notice will be provided to residential, business, governmental, and public safety customers before any retirement or discontinuance occurs?
Verizon will send all customers whose copper services will be discontinued a letter with specific dates, deadlines, instructions, and contact information. If business, government, and/or public safety customers have negotiated contracts with Frontier/Verizon, the terms of those contracts will be honored. We do not expect to start contacting customers until late 2026 or early 2027. When we begin, we are likely to contact customers in groups or phases rather than all at once and it is likely we will begin with customers who have Verizon fiber available. We will keep you informed when we have firmer timing on sending letters to customers in Cherokee County.
5. What replacement services will be offered, including fiber, VoIP, wireless, or other alternatives, and what limitations should customers understand regarding backup power, outages, alarm compatibility, fax capability, and 911 access?
Verizon will offer the following replacement services to customers who wish to stay with Verizon. Customers, of course, are also free to select another provider in the many locations where competitive service is available and they are not required to stay with Verizon.
Voice service over broadband in locations where Verizon has deployed fiber. Voice service over broadband replacement options include:
Fios Home Phone, an advanced home phone service that works on Verizon’s 100% fiber-optic network and uses traditional corded or cordless landline phones connected to existing phone jacks; Frontier Digital Voice, built with digital technology to deliver excellent
call quality and reliability; and Business Digital Voice, a professional communications solution that operates over a secure, cloud-based VoIP connection.
See
Verizon,
Fios Home Phone,
https://www.verizon.com/home/phone/
;Frontier, a Verizon Company, Frontier Digital Voice features and support,https://frontier.com/helpcenter/phone/frontier-digital-voice
; Verizon, Business Digital Voice,
https://www.verizon.com/business/products/voice-collaboration/voip/business-digital-voice/.
Verizon’s fixed wireless voice replacement services that enable legacy copper landline handsets to operate over Verizon’s wireless network,
where wireless service is available. Fixed wireless voice replacement services include Verizon Voice Gateway (formerly known as Wireless Home Phone) and Voice Connect, solutions that connect an existing landline phone to the Verizon 5G and 4G LTE network respectively
for reliable, high-quality voice service. See
Verizon,
Verizon Wireless Home Phone LVP2,
https://www.verizon.com/homeoffice-solutions/wireless-home-phone-lvp2/
; Verizon, Voice Connect,
https://www.verizon.com/support/residential/homephone/voice-connect
Verizon’s mobile wireless service. Verizon’s 5G mobile network is available nationwide and continues to expand. Our 4G LTE network covers
more than 99% of the U.S. population. Verizon has received numerous awards for our 5G network reliability and quality.
All of these Verizon options provide access to 911 calling. Verizon’s mobile wireless and fixed wireless POTS voice replacement services comply with all applicable federal requirements and industry standards for 911 services, communications security, and services for individuals with disabilities.
Regarding back up power for the wireless options:
The customer premises equipment for Verizon’s fixed wireless POTS voice replacement service includes battery backup using commercially
available rechargeable batteries. Both the Voice Connect and Verizon Voice Gateway devices use widely available “AA” batteries. When fully charged, Voice Connect batteries will provide up to three talk hours, or up to 23 standby hours of backup power and Verizon
Voice Gateway batteries provide up to 4 talk hours and 24 standby hours, both enabling voice services, including 911 service, when the power goes out. The customer can extend these times by having fresh “AA” batteries on hand in the event of a longer power
outage.
Verizon’s mobile wireless service does not require a backup battery to remain operational during electric power outages of several hours
or less, and modern cell phones can go without a charge for more than 24 hours when kept in standby mode. For longer outages, modern cell phones can be recharged in a car, with a laptop, or with a power bank, which is inexpensive and available online and at
various retail stores.
Voice Connect and Verizon Voice Gateway are compatible with most monitored home security systems, fax machines, and medical alert services (e.g. Life Alert).
6. What migration support is available for local governments and customers with fire alarms, security alarms, elevator phones, medical monitoring devices, fax lines, and other specialized services?
Verizon is committed to ensuring that no customer is left behind, but it is particularly sensitive to the unique needs of local government and elderly, disabled, low-income, and technology-limited customers. Verizon will of course provide ample notice to all customers and identify a replacement service available to them, and we will work directly with customers to ensure they find alternatives and stay connected, as the long history of our very successful copper-to-fiber network transformation program demonstrates.
Contact information for these issues will be provided in the letters that will be sent when it is time for the customers to transition their services.
7. Who should serve as the primary Frontier contact for county coordination regarding critical lines and transition planning?
We will provide you with a local contact when we get closer to the date of contacting customers for the transition. In the meantime, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
8. Please provide a copy of your plan of action ensuring all impacted customers will not be left without landline phone service.
As described above, we will determine which customers have a modern FCC-approved replacement service available to them. For customers with access to such a service, we will guide them through the transition process. Customers who do not have current access to such a service will be able to retain their legacy voice service until such time as a replacement service becomes available. For further information, see Verizon’s Section 214 Application, available at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings/filing/26109998545
Please let me know if you have any additional questions regarding this transition.
Thank you.
Bob Davis
State and Local Government Affairs”
