AT&T's copper exit frees power for data centers while 911 systems fail on the wire it leaves behind
AT&T says just 1% of eligible customers still ride its copper network and the retirement frees power data centers want. The same week, Oakland's 911 died on cut wire, a Mississippi city demanded $1.3 million back from AT&T, and New York's regulator asked the FCC to hit pause.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
On October 20, AT&T−6.51% — AT&T, down 6.51 percent today reported that just 1% of eligible customers still use its legacy copper voice lines, down from 5% in December 2024 1. More than 100 wire centers, the buildings housing the old copper switches, are now powered off, and copper services have been retired in more than 500 communities covering 1.3 million locations across 18 states 1.
Susan Johnson, AT&T's senior executive vice president for transformation and global supply chain, said migration will "scale pretty materially from here on out" 1. FCC approval is in hand to shut more than 30% of wire centers by the end of 2026; half of them, outside California, no longer serving customers by end-2027 is AT&T's expectation, not yet an approval 1.
The stock already prices doubt. AT&T closed at $21.91 on October 21, 25% below its March high, and Bank of America still sees $34, a 55% gain 7.
The savings are money and electricity
AT&T expects to avoid about 600,000 kilowatt hours per wire center annually, up to 2.76 billion kWh a year, power Johnson explicitly linked to areas where data-center demand is arriving 1. Add the roughly 60 million pounds of copper already stripped out, and the $850 million in upfront cash from a sale-leaseback, in which AT&T sold 74 central offices and leased them back, and retirement looks like a cost lever inside the $19 billion-plus of 2027 free cash flow AT&T must defend to investors this winter 17.
AT&T draws more copper retirement complaints than Verizon and Lumen combined
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| AT&T | 1,078 |
| Verizon | 743 |
| CenturyLink/Lumen | 27 |
The week the wire bled
Oakland's 911 dispatch, its computer-aided dispatch system and internet went dark around 8:30 p.m. on October 21 after thieves cut fibre and copper lines 2. Calls were rerouted to the Alameda County Sheriff, and police Chief James Beere said he had never seen fibre and phones fail together in nearly 30 years 2. Santa Barbara's 911 went down for AT&T and T-Mobile customers for most of October 22, cause unknown 3. Three people were charged in North Carolina for cutting AT&T utility wire 5.
In Jackson, Mississippi, the city says AT&T kept charging it for phone lines during a five-year delay in "porting," the process of moving phone numbers to a new provider, and demands $1,346,816.21 back for services it says were never rendered 4. AT&T, meanwhile, was demanding $441,261.12 and, per the city's July letter, threatening the lines serving the 911 call center 4. AT&T disputes the claim and says 911 there stays active 4.
The brake comes from the states
New York's Public Service Commission has urged the FCC to pause AT&T's copper plan 6. A review of copper-retirement opposition filings in FCC dockets, provided by an industry source and reported by Light Reading, counts 1,078 confirmed complaints against AT&T, more than Verizon's−1.54% — Verizon, down 1.54 percent today 743 and Lumen's 27 combined 1.
The retirement decision reaches both ends of the network. This week's reporting also showed AT&T believes satellites can replace less-used macro sites at the edge of its network, the same exit from old infrastructure seen from the other side.
Watch the Q4 report, when AT&T lays out what supports the $19 billion of 2027 free cash flow 7. If states force pauses, the savings shift right; if the schedule runs while 911 keeps failing on cut wire, the risk lands on the states AT&T wants to move to fiber 7.
What happens next
TDoes the retirement stay on the approved schedule?
The case for
Retirement frees up to 2.76 billion kWh a year plus $850 million of upfront sale-leaseback cash inside a $19 billion 2027 free cash flow target
The case against
State regulators and FCC complaints (1,078 against AT&T) could slow the copper retirement schedule and push the savings out
- By end of 2026FCC-approved shutdowns cover more than 30% of AT&T's wire centers by end-2026.
- Winter 2027 (Q4 report)AT&T's Q4 report lays out what supports the $19 billion of 2027 free cash flow. Do state pauses push the copper savings into later years?
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