[Ed. note: Thomas Steed, chairman of the Association of BellTel Retirees (which represents thousands of retirees from Bell Systems and its legacy companies, including Verizon, AT&T and other providers throughout the nation), wrote this letter to FCC chair Brendan Carr, and FCC commissioners regarding the proposal to eliminate copper-wire landlines.] 

Dear Chairman Carr and Commissioners Gomez and Trusty: 

On behalf of tens of thousands of telecommunications retirees and active employees across the country, I write to express our adamant opposition to Verizon’s request to drop its copper POTS phone service in 18 U.S. states. Verizon’s petition to the FCC claimed that “copper infrastructure is too slow to meet modern needs, many decades old, costly to maintain” and that “these services have few customers, and discontinuing the services will serve as an important step toward meeting both Verizon’s and the commission’s goal of providing the next-generation technologies that American consumers want.” 

This ignores the needs of millions of older and vulnerable Americans, particularly those in rural areas, who rely on landlines in areas where cell service is inconsistent, potentially leaving millions of our fellow Americans entirely dependent on spotty or nonexistent cell service and at the mercy of price-gouging bottom-dweller providers. 

This will negatively impact Americans in the following states and territories: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. 

Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) pointed out serious concerns in his own letter of opposition to the FCC, noting that many alternatives are considerably less reliable during emergencies. Many older adults or those on fixed incomes may struggle to replace their medical alert or home alarm units linked to the copper system. Most importantly, “an [replacement] option that a carrier can point to on paper but that cannot function at a given address raises serious questions about whether it is a reasonable substitute for the service being withdrawn.” 

Our organization, the Association of BellTel Retirees Inc., believes that this petition is a cloaked attempt for the company to walk away from and eliminate the jobs of tens of thousands of union technicians that maintain the system and its critical infrastructure. 

Let me remind you that the build-out and maintenance of a connected phone and communications system, from coast to coast, was and remains a national security imperative. Landline communications provided and still provide critical connectivity for all. 

Those communities, homes or businesses that lack access are put at a severe disadvantage. 

Having worked for Ma Bell as a lineman and technical associate for over three decades, I can tell you that landline service, while less ubiquitous than it used to be, remains a critical lifeline to people across the United States. Across our nation, where the frequency of major storms has risen to an alarming degree, cell towers are highly vulnerable to electrical outages or other conditions, be they natural or man-made. Copper wire, fiber and other connected landlines remain a durable, 100-percent-reliable solution, especially during emergency situations. 

Just as the company ratepayers funded the investment in its wireless network, perhaps the FCC should advise the company that Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) would be a suitable option for all Americans. If a community or county loses power in a storm or natural disaster such as a wildfire, and citizens can’t charge their cell phones, they are left totally alone. With no electricity and no cell signal, there is no 911 operator or emergency responders to come to their aid, nor is there a way to connect with loved ones during a crisis. 

Millions of Americans regard landlines as vital lifelines, especially in areas regularly exposed to natural disasters like wildfires, earthquakes and floods. Many get zero cell service even on the best of days, leaving elderly citizens reliant on their trusted landlines during medical emergencies. Imagine the need to perform CPR on someone having cardiac arrest in an area with poor or non-existent cell service: Do you think you’d have time to drive miles towards the nearest cell tower to get a signal, just to call 911? 

Axing landline service is like building a passenger ship with no lifeboats and sending 1,000 people out to sea. What happens if the ship sinks? 

Another critical component rarely evaluated is that it is the ratepayers of the landline system funded the research, development and build-out of the satellites, cell towers and networks that both Verizon and AT&T now recognize as their cash cow. You cannot now abandon the people, communities and ratepayers that funded and enabled Verizon to have a business enterprise valued at $138 billion in revenues and for AT&T $146 billion in 2025. 

A public service corporation like Verizon or AT&T should be serving the public, not just shareholders. This is a naked ploy to increase profits by forcing customers into expensive bundle packages, an entirely unappealing prospect for elderly citizens, or poor or working-class families who don’t need or want more bells and whistles. It would also result in major job losses, since telecom employees—most of whom are union–represented—maintain the landline infrastructure. 

This is an attempt by the company to claim it no longer needs this loyal workforce. Please vote to maintain basic, connected landline phone services. Our ratepayers funded the build-out of this system, and access to it should be a public good for all, not another price-gouging profit machine for Verizon. 

Sincerely, 

Thomas Steed
Board chairman, Association of BellTel Retirees, Inc.