Why copper lines are going away
POTS means Plain Old Telephone Service — the analog copper lines that carried business dial tone for decades. Every copper phone provider is retiring its copper network. The FCC allows them to discontinue legacy voice in defined areas once they file and customers are notified.
In Florida, that is already underway. AT&T, one of the largest, has authority to discontinue residential and business copper POTS in portions of certain wire centers on or after November 15, 2026 (FCC WC Docket 25-335). Lumen (CenturyLink) has asked to discontinue legacy voice in portions of many Florida cities on or after November 30, 2026. More filings cover additional areas and later dates.
Where copper stays for a while, prices often rise and repair gets slower. Waiting until a hard cutoff date leaves little room to test fire panels, elevators, and other life-safety lines.
Discontinuance covers portions of wire centers or named cities — not every address in Florida. We check your specific lines against current notices.

