The FCC eliminated the requirement for copper landlines, beginning in August 2022 and the shutoff has been underway since then.
In Britain, the solid shutdown date is 2025.
In the United States, while there is not a de jure shutdown date, 2025 is the de facto shutoff year. That is when AT&T has pledged to have completed its shutdown of its copper landlines and the removal of copper infrastructure and other infrastructure related to traditional copper landline search. While it is possible that isolated non-AT&T copper service might exist after 2025, for all intents and purposes, copper will be dead in 2025.
While there is pushback from people in remote areas and seniors, the FCC was correct in removing the mandate to retain legacy copper. It is a massive money loser, particularly with young folks who have never used a landline in their life and never will. And there are options available for seniors, including senior friendly big button cellphones with easy access to emergency services.
All things must die.
The time has arrived for the death of the copper landline.
Before landlines (and electric power) existed utility companies had not right to install power poles on sidewalks nor to command a right of way for utility lines.
The value of those rights of way is, I dunno, hundreds of billions of dollars in today’s terms.
Rightly or wrongly a mandate to provide utilities to rural customers was a condition of receiving those very valuable rights-of-way.
Love it or hate it, the mandates to provide rural service once made sense in a way.
Those mandates no longer make sense. It is good they are going away.
The electrification of the rural areas were done by the government, as private companies chose not to, due to the lack of acceptable profits. There were many local “battles” of what was more efficient, a public or private electricity system. Companies banded together to claim they were more efficient, and cheaper.
They created “studies” that made false claims, many times paying off credible experts to lie.
They were successful in their efforts, as today most electrical systems are for profit entities.
Broadband will only come to rural areas if there is money to be made, or if they are forced to, or ran by public entities.
I suppose one could argue that those who choose to live in rural areas know what amenities they are foregoing but personally I think the government needs to do more to get fiber to all rural areas.
I upgraded to fiber several months ago and that along with my bidet was life changing
If you build your home off grid, or buy one off grid,
you forgo all rights to complain about corporations and profits when they don’t
kow tow to you and hook you up for free.
Fortunately most rural folks are not spoiled brats that way, but a few still are.
I built way out in the boondocks. The only utility is electric, provided by a rural co-op. There is no landline service (copper or fiber) near my property. Cellphone service is good due to the particular location of my property. Satellite internet.
But I would never expect anybody to maintain an expensive and outdated infrastructure for my sake. And the copper that is tied up in that infrastructure is badly needed for other uses.
