The FCC stalled Verizon's copper cutoff, and Community Phone is hiring Karachi sales reps at $10,200 a year
Verizon's copper retirement is stalled at the FCC. Community Phone, a landline replacement paying Karachi closers $10,200 a year, is hiring for the seniors and small businesses the copper exit would displace.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
A pause in Washington, a job ad in Karachi
On September 25, one day before Verizon's−9.77% — Verizon, down 9.77 percent today application to retire copper phone service in nine states, including Virginia, would have won automatic approval, the Federal Communications Commission pulled it from the fast track, saying it "requires additional time to complete its review" 1. The disconnections a grant would have allowed from October 23 now have no start date 2. Three days later, on September 28, a Y Combinator-backed landline company posted a job ad for B2C sales representatives in Karachi: inbound calls only, "ALWAYS BE CLOSING" 3.
The list Verizon wants to drop
Verizon has filed to discontinue copper service across 18 states, saying just over 2% of the affected networks are still in use 2. A second application covering nine more states plus the District of Columbia is already in, and a companion application for legacy business lines appears to have been granted 1. Tazewell County, Virginia, one of the localities formally objecting, counts almost a quarter of its residents over 65 4.
The company's numbers disagree with each other
Community Phone's homepage claims more than 30,000 customers and a Forbes "best home phone service" badge for 2026 5. Its own job ads tell a looser story: more than 20,000 customers and roughly 80 staff in the Karachi posting, roughly 120 in the New York posting 36. All unaudited, self-reported. The careers page adds "healthy cashflow" and backing from Y Combinator and its Continuity Fund 7; the New York ad also names SNR.vc 6.
The payroll is the moat
The Karachi closer starts at $10,200 a year, plus an $850 monthly bonus at quota, commission uncapped 3. The same company offers a US social media manager $85,000 to $105,000 plus equity, hired to work the Facebook groups and Reddit+2.06% — Reddit, up 2.06 percent today threads where adult children research phones for aging parents 6. Its careers board lists closers remote in Pakistan, Egypt, Jamaica, North Macedonia and the Dominican Republic 7.
A Karachi closer at quota costs under a quarter of a US social media hire
- Estimate
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Karachi closer, base | $10,200 |
| Karachi closer, at quota (estimate) | $20,400 |
| US social media manager, posted low | $85,000 |
| US social media manager, posted high | $105,000 |
The customers no network can reach
The Association of BellTel Retirees likened the cuts to "building a passenger ship with no lifeboats" 2. Representative Ben Cline told the FCC that large portions of his Virginia district are cellular dead zones where the mobile devices offered as a substitute "do not work at all" 1. That cuts at Community Phone too: its box rides cellular antennas with a 26-hour backup battery, and where there is no signal, the promise is a refund 5.
Stalled, not canceled
Watch the FCC's final ruling on the nine states, Verizon's October town hall in Virginia, and whether the commission holds Verizon to its written pledge not to cut a line without a working alternative at that address 82. Verizon, the listed name here, calls each day without approval "a missed opportunity to unleash resources for investment" 8. The bet for Community Phone's backers: carrier retreat turns the FCC's alternative test into a customer-acquisition funnel, with offshore labor as the margin. The copper is going away; the question is who answers when it rings.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
