AT&T Hearing At CPUC Over Landlines Inundated With Telephone Comments

On Tuesday, over 200 phone comments were heard by the California Public Utilities Commission over their consideration to release AT&T from its obligation to serve as the state’s carrier of last resort.

The carrier of last resort designation, or COLR, is a cornerstone of utility regulation. It obligates a carrier to serve all customers within their territory no matter where they live, even in places with spotty cellphone service.

AT&T has been the state’s COLR since 1996. It is the only state telecommunications carrier that operates landlines. If AT&T’s designation is removed, so goes the physical infrastructure for landline service.

The potential loss of landlines has irked thousands of customers and spurred local governments to take a stance. Recent letters and resolutions urging the CPUC to deny the application have been written by the boards of supervisors in the counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, San Joaquin and San Francisco.

The company’s application to the CPUC says, “To satisfy its COLR obligation to provide basic telephone service, AT&T California still operates a legacy network composed of copper lines and antiquated circuit switches.”

AT&T is also asking the commission to release it of its designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier, or ETC. It authorizes the company to receive subsidies from federal and state Lifeline programs so it can provide reduced rates to lower-income customers. AT&T says it does not want the ETC designation because the Federal Communications Commission intends to discontinue its subsidies.

“AT&T California has committed to continue participating in the state LifeLine program (which does not require an ETC designation) so long as it offers basic service,” said the company in an email Tuesday.

According to Regina Costa with The Utility Reform Network, a nonprofit watchdog group that advocates for affordable power and phone service, the two designation requests are linked in a slight-of-hand to get out from regulations.

If AT&T is released as the COLR, then it is no longer obligated to provide basic service.

“There’s the catch,” said Costa, “They are saying they will provide California LifeLine, but only where it has an obligation. At the same time, they are asking for a release of the obligation as carrier of last resort.

So, it’s really a lot of smoke and mirrors.”

Around 190,000 AT&T California customers receive LifeLine service through Federal Lifeline and California Lifeline, according to the Public Advocates Office at the CPUC. Basic service includes elements such as Lifeline rates for eligible customers, free access to 911, operator services and Telephone Relay Service, which allows people with hearing or speech disabilities to place and receive phone calls.

Costa says that AT&T is allowed to offer LifeLine using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which is a digital service that can be transmitted on either copper or fiber optic wires, but she says the company chooses not to do that.

“So, it is being pitched as if they are getting rid of these old, antiquated lines,” Costa said.

AT&T also co-owns most of the utility poles with PG&E, said Costa. “So, if you want to use the pole, you have to negotiate with AT&T.”

The Public Advocates Office said that AT&T reported that over 579,000 residential AT&T customers subscribe to copper landlines. “However, there are over 29 million Californians in AT&T’s service territory that may be impacted if the COLR obligation is removed.”

“As we have pursued regulatory relief for more than a decade in other states, none of our traditional landline customers have lost service as a result,” AT&T said in an email Tuesday.

There have been a few back-and-forth revisions since the application was filed. In June, the Public Advocates Office filed a motion to dismiss an amended version. One reason, it said, was that AT&T has not named another carrier to be designated as a COLR.

“AT&T incorrectly assumes that the presence of a provider on a map is equivalent to actual availability of voice service for customers,” the filing said.

Finding a substitute that can provide phone service to California’s remote regions — through an infrastructure that can sustain wildfires, floods and earthquakes — is the challenge at hand for the company and policymakers.

In Tuesday’s meeting of the CPUC, supporters seemed to argue that if AT&T had to retain its COLR obligations, it would lessen the push for broadband access.

“Keeping up with modern technology is essential,” said one caller from Torrance. “The pandemic was an example of a dire need for broadband for remote learning and telehealth.”

Most callers urged the commission to deny AT&T’s request.

“Because of our statewide cost of living crisis, more older adults are having to live in rural and semi-rural areas of California,” said AARP’s David Azevedo on behalf of 3.2 million members. “These areas have some of the highest emergency risk factors in the state due to hazards such as wildfires and also have the highest risk of social isolation.”

Patricia Gutman said she worked in emergency communications in San Francisco during 1989’s Loma Prieta earthquake.

“We lost all cellular. We used call boxes and landlines,” Gutman said. “Conclusion — redundancy, redundancy, redundancy.”

The Public Advocates Office says the schedule for the CPUC to make its final decision has been postponed until at least April 30, which is the deadline for other providers to express interest in becoming the COLR for one or more census block groups currently covered by AT&T.