Nevada County board opposes AT&T plan to abandon copper landlines, cites public-safety risks

The Nevada County Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 27, 2024, to send a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission opposing AT&T's request to withdraw its designation as the carrier of last resort and as an eligible telecommunications carrier for large areas of the county.

County staff and rural-county advocates warned the board that approval would remove regulated obligations requiring a provider to serve all customers on request, and could leave remote residents without reliable phone service during wildfires, winter storms and public-safety power shutoffs. Chief of staff Jeffrey Thorsby summarized AT&T's filing and a county-generated map showing areas the company proposes to drop.

Tracy Rhine, a legislative advocate with the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), told the board the company's application treats a census block as "served" when only half of that block has cell coverage; that threshold, Rhine said, understates how many rural customers lack a dependable alternative to copper landlines. "There is no requirement in this application that the new technologies be deployed to the affected communities before the copper lines are removed," Rhine said.

Public comment at the meeting was extensive and emotional. Melissa Funk, a North San Juan resident, said she tried to call 911 on a cellular phone when her sister collapsed and that emergency responders took 45 minutes to arrive; she said a functioning landline could have saved 15 minutes. "Don't let them take our landlines away," Funk said.

Board members and residents cited specific operational uses of landlines: CodeRED emergency notifications; automatic fire alarms and business monitoring that rely on line-based connections; medical devices for home monitoring; and the fact that many rural residents lack broadband or reliable cellular coverage. Board members also said AT&T's communications to customers, which said only a small percentage would be affected and that no one would be left behind, understates the local impact.

Supervisor Hall and Supervisor Hook led the board discussion; the board directed staff to finalize and send a letter opposing AT&T's application and asked staff to expand the list of named communities in the letter to include other clearly affected localities. The motion to send the amended letter passed on a recorded roll call with the board voting in favor.

The CPUC has scheduled public participation hearings and a virtual opportunity for comment; the county urged residents to submit written comments and to participate in CPUC public forums before the commission acts.