AT&T to Retire Copper

AT&T has made it official that it plans to shut down copper networks everywhere except California by the end of 2029. This is not exactly news since the company has been quietly shutting down copper all over the country. California is a special situation because the California Public Service Commission has never deregulated AT&T as a local telephone company and the state is going to make AT&T prove to it that customers will not be stranded when the copper comes down. AT&T says it will offer an alternate technology to customers—either fiber or wireless. AT&T announced in early December that it plans to build fiber to 45 million additional passings by the end of 2029. That will certainly cover a lot of remaining DSL neighborhoods in cities and towns. But I have to wonder if AT&T is really planning on building fiber everywhere in cities.