The FCC is extending its review of Verizon's application to discontinue legacy copper telephone service across nine states, a filing that covers a footprint capable of serving 12 million locations but which currently carries only 277,000 subscribers.

The delay, announced in Washington on September 29, 2026, follows objections from local governments and subscribers who raised concerns about the planned retirement of the legacy network.

Verizon filed the application last month, asking federal regulators for permission to exit copper-based telephone service in nine states. The company told the FCC in its filing that the network covered by the application could serve 12 million locations. Actual demand tells a different story: only 277,000 locations still subscribe to the legacy copper service.

That gap — fewer than 2.5 percent of passable locations still using the service — frames the commercial reality behind Verizon's request. The vast majority of the footprint has already migrated to wireless or fiber alternatives, leaving copper plant serving a shrinking base of customers, many of them in areas where alternatives may be limited.

The objections that prompted the extended review came from local governments and subscribers. State regulators have previously voiced concerns about Verizon copper retirements, including plans tied to its Fidium fiber buildout. Their worry centers on whether discontinuing copper service leaves sufficient, reliable alternatives for customers who have not yet switched — a question the FCC must resolve before it can approve a discontinuance.

Under federal rules, an incumbent carrier cannot simply switch off legacy service. It must apply to the FCC and demonstrate that customers will not lose access to communications, and that replacement services are available. Public safety considerations, including 911 reliability and backup power during outages, have historically complicated these applications. Copper lines carry their own power, which is one reason some subscribers and local officials resist retirement even as usage declines.

Verizon's copper exit is part of a broader industry shift. Carriers across the US have been retiring legacy telephone networks for years as customers migrate to wireless and fiber, and regulators have gradually accommodated that transition while attaching conditions. Each state-by-state application has become a negotiation over how quickly the remaining customer base can be moved and what protections apply to those who stay longest.

For Verizon, the nine-state application represents a significant step in winding down network it no longer wants to maintain. Maintaining copper plant for 277,000 subscribers across a 12-million-location footprint carries costs wildly out of proportion to revenue, which is the core economics driving the retirement.

The FCC has not set a new timeline for its decision. The review will continue as regulators weigh the objections from local governments and subscribers against Verizon's evidence that demand for the legacy service has all but disappeared.