The traditional copper-based telephone network was the backbone of American communication for over a century. However, with the advent of high-speed internet and modern network protocols, the limitations of copper infrastructure, including its susceptibility to degradation, limited bandwidth, and high maintenance costs, soon became apparent.
Fiberoptic technology, in contrast, transmits data at the speed of light, provides virtually unlimited bandwidth, and boasts exceptional durability. And so, after numerous delays and a century of inertia behind them, America's venerable copper telephone networks—the state of the art in 19th-century telecommunications—are slowly and finally transforming from public utilities to archeological curiosities.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set numerous dates and guidelines for the transition of the United States telephone infrastructure from copper-based networks to fiberoptic systems. In parallel, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is replacing legacy time-division multiplexing (TDM) systems as the core switching mechanism for the public switched telephone network (PSTN)
While the FCC did not directly mandate the shutdown of copper phone systems, it plays a significant role in overseeing the transition. Its responsibilities include ensuring that carriers comply with regulatory requirements, maintain service reliability, and notify affected customers well before decommissioning their legacy infrastructure. The FCC's role is crucial in maintaining the integrity of the transition process and ensuring that all parties involved are informed and involved.
The changeover, targeted for completion by 2028, is already redefining telecommunications, delivering much greater speed, reliability, and scalability to meet increasing consumer demand for broadband and the proliferation of related services like media streaming, telemedicine, and cloud computing. And replacing legacy time-division multiplexing (TDM) systems with VoIP enables more efficient data and voice integration, paving the way for innovations like smart cities and 5G wireless networks.
How Far Along Are We?
As of 2025, Tier One service providers—such as AT&T, Verizon, Lumen and Comcast—have made significant strides in expanding their fiberoptic networks, replacing aging copper infrastructure across vast areas of the country's urban and suburban regions. Verizon reported upgrading over 800,000 customer locations from copper to fiber in 2022 alone.
New York City's entire legacy copper network has been entirely replaced with fiber optics. Meanwhile, AT&T is investing $24 billion annually in its fiber and 5G networks with the goal of reaching 30 million customer locations by the end of this year. These efforts have already delivered gigabit-speed internet to millions of homes and businesses, effectively ensuring that densely populated regions in America no longer rely on antiquated copper infrastructure.
Challenges to the Transition
However, the nation’s more remote rural areas present unique and significant challenges in this transition. Replacing existing copper networks can represent substantial economic and technical hurdles for rural Local Exchange Carriers (LECs).
Deploying fiber in sparsely populated regions is often prohibitively expensive due to the vast distances and lower customer densities involved.
Federal and state governments have intervened with several grant programs to address these challenges. The FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) was designed to bridge the digital divide by subsidizing broadband deployment in underserved areas, yet its effectiveness has proven less than impressive. LTD Broadband, for example, won over $1.3 billion in RDOF funding but then failed to meet its delivery deadlines, leading to a forfeiture of the subsidy. Misallocations and failures like this have left many rural areas still struggling with inadequate broadband access, highlighting the need to ensure that any taxpayer funds allocated through these government programs be awarded to service providers capable of delivering reliable, high-speed connectivity.
Among the factors that have frustrated attempts at transforming distant, rural communities to modern, non-copper-based, fiberoptic telecommunications networks are:
Cost-Prohibitive Infrastructure Upgrades: Rural LECs like West Virginia’s Windstream and New Mexico’s Frontier Communications faced significant financial strain when upgrading copper networks to fiberoptic systems. “It’s not just about running fiber to a single location; the cost per mile for sparsely populated regions can exceed $30,000—an unsustainable burden without federal assistance,” said a Windstream official in 2021.
Difficulty in Navigating Terrian: Geography often adds complexity to fiber deployment. For example, the rugged terrain in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee frequently requires specialized, expensive installation techniques. “The geography makes traditional fiber installation a logistical nightmare. We’re forced to invest heavily in micro-trenching and aerial cabling to even approach feasibility,” said the CEO of Appalachian Wireless in 2022.
Sudden Disruptions in Service After Copper Shutdown: As some service providers decommissioned their copper networks, the regions they served experienced sudden, unforeseen service disruptions. In 2020, AT&T’s retirement of a section of its copper network in Alabama forced small businesses in Montgomery and surrounding towns to transition on very short notice to VoIP or wireless services. “We were left scrambling for a replacement,” said one local business owner. “It felt like we were being abandoned just because we’re in a smaller town.”
Limited Expertise and Workforce Shortages: A lack of skilled technicians is hindering the transition to fiber, especially for smaller carriers in regions like Montana and the Dakotas. In 2021, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative reported:
Many rural ISPs are struggling to find technicians with the expertise to manage complex fiber infrastructure—a problem compounded by competition from larger carriers offering higher wages.
Interoperability with Tier One Providers: Smaller carriers still reliant on legacy copper networks often face challenges integrating their systems with modern IP cores. For example, a 2022 report noted that Consolidated Communications in New England was struggling to maintain compatibility with the top providers:
Interfacing legacy systems with modern IP networks requires significant investment in gateway equipment, driving up costs for carriers already operating on razor-thin margins.
5G as an Alternative to Optical Fiber
In areas where deploying optical fiber is economically or logistically unfeasible, 5G wireless technology may be an effective alternative. Utilizing millimeter-wave frequencies and advanced network slicing, 5G can deliver high-speed internet and VoIP services to rural communities lacking fiberoptic infrastructure. Providers like T-Mobile and Verizon have launched 5G-based fixed wireless access (FWA) services capable of delivering speeds comparable to fiber, offering a promising alternative for rural connectivity.
However, deploying 5G-based systems in rural areas can be problematic. The dense, small-cell infrastructure required for millimeter-wave 5G is impractical in sparsely populated regions. Lower-frequency systems, while providing broader coverage, do so at the cost of reduced speeds. Moreover, reliable 5G service still requires robust backhaul connections, often necessitating fiber to the tower—a dependency that underscores the complementary nature of fiber and wireless technologies.
Finally, in some areas, proposed 5G-based alternatives to fiber have faced resistance among the populace. In 2021, rural communities in Vermont protested T-Mobile's introduction of fixed wireless 5G, citing concerns about reliability and health risks.
One resident remarked, “We need long-term solutions, not quick fixes. Fiber is the future, but they’re trying to give us 5G as a band-aid.
This last issue ought not be underestimated: Similar sentiments and corresponding legislation banning 5G implementation are proliferating in communities across Western Europe, indicating the need for the larger service providers to invest more in public outreach and education.
Toward a Connected Future
The FCC’s role in overseeing the transition to an all-fiberoptic telecommunications infrastructure has proven crucial in ensuring regulatory compliance, service continuity, and consumer protection. While the industry has made substantial progress, the mass of remaining logistical, financial, and community challenges represents a daunting series of challenges.
Nonetheless, the future is already written region by region, town by town, the United States is well on its way toward achieving a more fully connected future, with every community a participant in the dawning digital age.
Comentarios