A federal judge has left California’s basic phone service rules in place, blocking AT&T’s attempt to stop taking new customers for traditional carrier-of-last-resort service while its lawsuit against the state continues.
US District Judge Linda Lopez denied AT&T’s request for a preliminary injunction at a Thursday hearing in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, according to a court docket entry. The ruling means California can keep enforcing rules that require AT&T to offer telephone service to potential customers in its wireline service area.
AT&T sued California in May over the state’s Carrier of Last Resort, or COLR, obligations. Those rules require the company to make basic phone service available to any customer in its designated territory. AT&T asked Lopez to pause enforcement while the case proceeds, arguing that a Federal Communications Commission order preempts California’s requirements.
For a preliminary injunction, AT&T had to show that it was likely to win on the merits of that preemption claim. Lopez did not grant that relief. AT&T can still pursue the underlying case, and it could appeal the injunction ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
What AT&T wants to drop
AT&T wants to stop offering basic phone service to new customers immediately. The company also has sought to discontinue service for 184,000 residential customers and 15,000 business customers on June 1, 2027, according to filings and California Public Utilities Commission materials.
The fight is about more than copper nostalgia. AT&T wants to retire Plain Old Telephone Service over copper lines, but California says the company must still provide basic service using copper or a modern equivalent, including fiber. AT&T says it has been released from similar COLR obligations in 20 of the 21 states in its wireline footprint, with California as the holdout.
AT&T has argued that California forces it to spend $1 billion a year maintaining what it describes as a century-old telephone network that few people use. It also told the court that continued enforcement would cause irreparable harm to its business interests and constitutional rights.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Public Utilities Commission disputed AT&T’s reading of federal law. In their opposition to the injunction, they said the FCC’s Network Modernization Order allows carriers to grandfather services provided over copper, but does not require states to release carriers from basic service obligations altogether.
State officials said California’s rules do not force AT&T to keep selling copper-line POTS to new customers. They said AT&T can meet its obligations with fiber, and that the company already provides basic service over fiber in some places.
Wireless replacement remains disputed
AT&T also argued that the CPUC would not let it substitute alternatives such as mobile wireless or AT&T Phone-Advanced, a wireless-based service that lets customers use analog phones. California responded that its rules are technology-neutral and can be satisfied through wired, wireless, and VoIP service.
The state said AT&T has not formally asked to replace POTS with AT&T Phone-Advanced and has not committed in the lawsuit to offering that service, or any other service, as a substitute for its COLR duties. California also said AT&T has not promised that the wireless product would meet state basic-service requirements, including flat-rate unlimited voice options, Lifeline discounts for eligible low-income customers, and relay service for deaf and hard-of-hearing users.
AT&T is also asking the FCC for an order that would preempt California’s COLR mandates and related rules, including tariffing and Lifeline participation requirements. The FCC has automatically granted AT&T’s petitions to discontinue copper-based service after a comment period, but it has not acted on the company’s broader preemption request.
The Utility Reform Network, a California advocacy group, told the FCC that AT&T’s wireless home phone service would be a poor replacement in parts of California with mountains, valleys, forests, and extreme weather. The group also said outages from wildfires and earthquakes can last days or weeks, while AT&T Phone-Advanced includes a 24-hour backup battery.
If the FCC grants AT&T’s request to override California’s rules, the state could challenge that decision in court. For now, AT&T remains stuck with the state’s order to keep offering basic phone service to new customers in its California wireline territory.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.
