--- title: "The FCC stalled Verizon's copper cutoff, and Community Phone is hiring Karachi sales reps at $10,200 a year" description: "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." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Policy" published: 2026-10-11T01:11:41.107Z modified: 2026-10-11T01:11:41.107Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/the-fcc-stalled-verizon-s-copper-cutoff-and-community-phone-is-hiring-karachi-sales-reps-at-10-200-a-year language: en keywords: "FCC, Verizon, Telecom, Labor, Jobs, Community Phone" --- # 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. ## A pause in Washington, a job ad in Karachi On September 25, one day before [Verizon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/verizon)'s 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](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/fcc-hits-pause-on-verizons-copper-landline-retirement-plan-for-now/ar-AA2d2U8E)" [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](https://pk.jobs-search.org/technology_karachi-c356521/2026-09-community-phone-careers_i4219245325): inbound calls only, "ALWAYS BE CLOSING" [3]. ## The list Verizon wants to drop Verizon has [filed to discontinue copper service across 18 states](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/verizon-copper-landlines-wont-removed-184430326.html), 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](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/tazewell-county-opposes-verizon-landline-035900237.html) [4]. ![Copper telephone pairs terminating on rows of screw terminals inside a weathered wall-mounted distribution box](https://storage.googleapis.com/theinference-public/img/17eb72a71f806e15.jpg) *The plant at issue: copper telephone pairs terminate in a wall-mounted distribution box. Verizon says just over 2% of the affected networks are still in use. (Mjyasini)* ## The company's numbers disagree with each other [Community Phone](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/community-phone-company)'s [homepage claims more than 30,000 customers](https://www.communityphone.org/) 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](https://www.mediabistro.com/jobs/3543003965-social-media-manager) [3][6]. 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](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/reddit) 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]. *Chart: **A Karachi closer at quota costs under a quarter of a US social media hire** Bar chart of annual pay at Community Phone: Karachi closer base $10,200, Karachi closer at quota $20,400, US social media manager posted range $85,000 to $105,000* *Annual pay stated in Community Phone job postings, 2026. The at-quota bar assumes the $850 monthly bonus is earned in all 12 months and excludes uncapped commission; the US figures are the posted base range, before equity. [3][6]* ## 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](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/fcc-halts-verizon-copper-landline-service-cuts-for-now/ar-AA2dEly8) [8][2]. 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. ## Takeaway The FCC's pause delays but does not stop Verizon's copper retirement, and Community Phone's $10,200-a-year Karachi closers are positioned to catch the seniors and small businesses the cutoff shakes loose. ## Sources 1. [PCMag (via MSN), FCC hits pause on Verizon's copper landline retirement plan for now, 26 September 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/fcc-hits-pause-on-verizons-copper-landline-retirement-plan-for-now/ar-AA2d2U8E) 2. [PCMag (via Yahoo News), Verizon: Copper Landlines Won't Be Removed Without Working Alternative, 25 September 2026](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/verizon-copper-landlines-wont-removed-184430326.html) 3. [jobs-search.org (Pakistan), B2C Sales Representative, Community Phone, Karachi, published 28 September 2026](https://pk.jobs-search.org/technology_karachi-c356521/2026-09-community-phone-careers_i4219245325) 4. [Bluefield Daily Telegraph (via Yahoo News), Tazewell County opposes Verizon landline plan, 7 October 2026](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/tazewell-county-opposes-verizon-landline-035900237.html) 5. [Community Phone, Simple & Reliable Home and Business Phone Service (homepage), accessed 10 October 2026](https://www.communityphone.org/) 6. [Mediabistro, Social Media Manager, Community Phone, New York, remote, posted late September 2026](https://www.mediabistro.com/jobs/3543003965-social-media-manager) 7. [Community Phone, Join the Team: Careers at Community Phone, accessed 10 October 2026](https://www.communityphone.org/about/careers) 8. [InsideNoVa / Rappahannock News (via MSN), FCC halts Verizon copper landline service cuts for now, 5 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/fcc-halts-verizon-copper-landline-service-cuts-for-now/ar-AA2dEly8) --- The FCC stalled Verizon's copper cutoff, and Community Phone is hiring Karachi sales reps at $10,200 a year — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/the-fcc-stalled-verizon-s-copper-cutoff-and-community-phone-is-hiring-karachi-sales-reps-at-10-200-a-year