Updated 8-17-26
On June 29, 2026, the FCC automatically granted AT&T’s applications to discontinue residential and business landlines in many California communities, despite many public comments opposing this move from AT&T customers and local officials. The proceedings are 26-120 and 26-121. Comments can be viewed by typing in the proceeding numbers on this page, clicking on the proceeding name that comes up, and clicking “search” at the bottom of the page.
The automatic approval was by the FCC Wireline Competition Bureau.
Three documents have been filed to the FCC, protesting the Bureau’s decision.
On July 28, Nina Beety filed a Petition for Reconsideration (Petition, Exhibit A, Exhibit B).
On August 7, AT&T filed an Opposition to her Petition for Reconsideration.
On August 14, she filed a Reply to AT&T’s Opposition.
On July 29, the California Public Utilities Commission filed an Application for Review.
From the CPUC’s Application for Review (p. 2):
That we seek review not of the Bureau’s words but of its silence demonstrates both the unusual nature of this proceeding and the harm that the Bureau’s non-action has worked on the many commenters who opposed AT&T’s applications. As a policy matter, the Bureau has left the CPUC, California, and the hundreds of thousands of affected customers with no explanation of why these applications were granted despite the critical public health and safety questions that discontinuance poses. And as a legal matter, the Bureau’s silence prejudices our attempt to seek review. The Commission’s rules specify, for example, that applications for review should refer to the Bureau’s “findings of fact or conclusions of law,” and “shall state with particularity the respects in which the action taken by the designated authority should be changed.” Without something—anything—from the Bureau, how could anyone do so? As another example, applications for review shall “specify with particularity” the grounds for review, including where the Bureau made “[a]n erroneous finding as to an important or material question of fact.” How could we know? We are left arguing with a ghost.
In a separate filing July 29, the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), the Utility Reform Network (TURN), and the Communication Workers of America (CWA) filed a joint Application for Review.
On August 14, AT&T filed a joint Opposition to the AFRs.
To be continued….
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