AT&T is retiring copper: what DSL customers can do

What AT&T is doing, with dates

New DSL orders

AT&T no longer sells DSL; existing DSL lines continue only until AT&T retires the copper in that area.

Approved so far

AT&T has FCC approval to discontinue legacy services in more than 30% of its wire centers, taking effect by late 2026.

Already switched off

AT&T says copper service has ended in more than 500 communities (more than 1.3 million locations) in 18 states, as of October 19, 2026.

Next date

Press reports put the next round on or after November 15, 2026, in the parts of about 1,060 wire centers in 18 states covered by AT&T's January 2026 FCC approval (about 90,000 customers in AL, AR, FL, GA, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MO, MS, NC, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX and WI); the letter at each address gives that address's date. That date comes from news reports (Broadband Breakfast and KCTV); we couldn’t find it on an AT&T or FCC page. AT&T’s own words are “by late 2026”.

Over the next year

AT&T says it will move customers off copper in about 1,500 more communities over the next year.

2027 and 2029 targets

AT&T plans to end copper-based services in half of its wire centers outside California by the end of 2027 and in substantially all of them by the end of 2029.

California

On its own track: in California, on or after June 1, 2027, in parts of 360 wire centers (about 184,000 residential and 15,000 business landline customers, per AT&T).

Is DSL included?

Yes. AT&T's shutdown covers DSL as well as phone lines: where copper service is discontinued, it stops working and is disconnected.

AT&T retires copper one local exchange area (a “wire center”) at a time, so two homes a few miles apart can get different dates. The date in your own letter is the one that counts.

What the letter from AT&T means

• You get more than one notice. AT&T says it contacts affected customers several times over about a year by letter, email, text and phone, and gives a clear end date.
• The date is “on or after”. From that date AT&T can switch off the copper at your address. Phone service and DSL on that line stop together.
• Some letters only stop new sales. If yours says AT&T will stop selling a copper service to new customers, your own service keeps working until a later notice gives an end date.
• Not sure a letter is real? Call the number printed on your AT&T bill, not a number from an unexpected text or call, and ask what is planned for your address.

What AT&T offers instead

AT&T offers AT&T Phone - Advanced, wireless, AT&T Fiber or AT&T Internet Air instead; customers can also choose any other provider.

• AT&T Internet Air is AT&T’s 5G home internet: a hub in your home picks up AT&T’s cell signal. Internet Air compared with Starlink
  • Price: from $55 a month plus taxes and fees with AutoPay and paperless billing; the price shown depends on the address and current offers, and an eligible AT&T phone plan can lower it (AT&T doesn't publish by how much).
  • Where: address-based: AT&T checks the 5G signal at each address, so not every home in a covered area can get Internet Air.
  • Data: unlimited data with no caps or overage fees, but AT&T will greatly reduce the speed for at least 30 minutes if your use is adding to congestion, and may slow speeds when the network is busy.
• For the landline: AT&T Phone - Advanced is AT&T's replacement home phone: it runs over AT&T's cellular network (with broadband as a backup), keeps your number and supports up to six devices such as alarms and medical monitors; it needs home power, with a 24-hour battery backup supplied. AT&T’s page doesn’t show a price; ask for it in writing.
• AT&T Fiber, where AT&T has built it. If fiber reaches your address, it is usually the best option there is.
• A mobile phone line, if you’d rather have your home number on a cell phone.

The FCC rule change, in plain words

Phone companies still need the FCC’s permission to stop serving existing customers, but in 2026 the FCC made that permission much quicker to get.

• What changed: since 2026, phone companies may stop selling copper phone service, DSL slower than 25/3 Mbps and copper VoIP to new customers without asking the FCC, and every application to end a service is approved automatically after 31 days unless the FCC acts; existing customers keep service until an application to end it is approved, and they must be told and can object.
• When: most of the rule took effect May 20, 2026; the changes to copper-retirement notices and discontinuance procedures took effect October 15, 2026.
• Where notices are posted now: phone companies no longer file copper retirement notices with the FCC; they post them on their own websites or in industry publications, so the FCC site is no longer a complete list.
• State rules: the FCC says state or local rules that conflict with its discontinuance framework are preempted.

What it means for you: the date in your letter is likely to hold. You can still comment or object through the process your notice describes, but plan as if the line will end on that date.

Your options, side by side

Any provider that serves your address is open to you. Look up your address on the FCC National Broadband Map to see who says they serve it, then check each one’s own address checker.

Switch without a gap: the order of steps

1. Read the letter and list what uses the line

   10 minutes

   Write down the date, which services it covers (phone, DSL or both) and any reference number. Then list everything plugged into a phone jack: phones, the DSL modem, an alarm panel, a medical alert base unit, a fax machine, a satellite TV receiver.

2. Call your alarm and medical-alert companies first

   15 minutes

   Tell them your copper line is ending and the date. Ask what they need: many offer a cellular unit that doesn’t use a phone line at all. Do this first, because new equipment can take time to arrive.

3. Find out what works at your address

   30 minutes

   Check AT&T Internet Air, T-Mobile and Verizon with their own address checkers, look for cable or fiber on the FCC map, and if you’re considering Starlink, check your sky with the Starlink app. “Available in your area” isn’t enough: you want a yes for your address.

4. Ask AT&T your questions in writing

   20 minutes

   Use the list in what to ask AT&T below. The most important one: AT&T's pages don't say whether ordering or activating Internet Air automatically ends a DSL line; ask AT&T in writing before ordering and keep the DSL modem until Internet Air works.

5. Set up the new internet while the DSL still works

   a week or two

   Install it, then test it at busy times (around 8 p.m.) on several evenings. If you try Internet Air and it doesn’t work well, AT&T’s equipment return window is 21 days, and an unreturned hub costs $200.

6. Move your phone number before the cut-off

   a few days

   Either take AT&T Phone - Advanced (it keeps your number), or move the number to another company: start the port with the new phone company and give it your 10-digit number. Keep your old phone service until the new company has started moving your number. Per the FCC, once you've asked a new company for service, the old company can't refuse to port your number, even if you owe a balance or a termination fee. Keeping your number, step by step

7. Test the phone and every device

   30 minutes

   Make and receive a call on the number. Ask your alarm company to confirm its center gets your test signal, and press the test button on a medical alert device. If your new phone service runs over the internet: for 911 to work, give your VoIP provider your exact street address and update it if you move.

8. Close the old account and keep proof

   20 minutes

   If anything is left on the copper account, cancel it. AT&T’s cancellation page says: call AT&T at 800.288.2020 to cancel (some Illinois, Massachusetts and New York online orders can cancel online); service stays on until the end of the bill period. Note the date, the rep’s name and a confirmation number, and check your next two bills. AT&T's fee schedule lists no unreturned-equipment fee for AT&T DSL, because DSL modems were bought rather than leased; check your bill if AT&T sent you a leased gateway.

Alarms, medical alert devices and power cuts

A copper landline gets its power from the phone company, so a corded phone keeps working when the lights go out. The replacements don’t:

• AT&T Phone - Advanced needs home power; AT&T supplies a backup battery with it (see what AT&T offers).
• Internet phone service (VoIP): VoIP phone service may not work in a power outage or when the internet is down.
• Any home internet, wireless or satellite, needs power for its router and box.

Keep a charged cell phone in the house, and consider a battery backup (a small UPS) for the router and phone adapter.

What to ask AT&T (put it in writing)

Ask in a chat you can save, or ask the rep to send the answer by email or letter. Note the date and the rep’s name either way.

1. What is the exact date copper service ends at my address, and does it cover my phone, my DSL or both?
2. Is AT&T Internet Air available at my address with a confirmed signal? What will I pay each month once any offer ends?
3. Will ordering or activating Internet Air end my DSL before that date?
4. If Internet Air doesn’t work well here, how and by when do I return it, and what does that cost?
5. What does AT&T Phone - Advanced cost? Will it keep my number, and does it work with my alarm or medical alert device?
6. If I move my phone number to another company, what happens to my DSL?
7. Will I owe anything, or have to return anything, when the copper service ends? When will my final bill come?

Checking method: each price, fee and rule here links to the provider’s or regulator’s own page, dated the day we read it. No internet provider pays for a place on this site; the only income is the Starlink referral explained on our money page. Our fact-checking · How we make money · Corrections