FCC Invites Comment on AT&T Application to Discontinue PrimePath and Other CLEC Business Phone Lines in 34 States and D.C.

On October 5, 2026, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau released public notice DA 26-1075, accepting for filing an AT&T application to discontinue business landline phone service sold by AT&T’s competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) affiliates throughout 34 states and the District of Columbia. The notice, issued in WC Docket No. 26-276, set comments due October 20, 2026, and stated that the application will be deemed granted automatically on November 5, 2026 unless the Commission notifies AT&T otherwise.

What AT&T filed

On September 16, 2026, AT&T Services, Inc. filed the application under Section 214(a) of the Communications Act and Section 63.71 of the FCC’s rules, on behalf of AT&T Enterprises, LLC; AT&T Communications of Indiana, LLC; AT&T Communications of New York, Inc.; AT&T Communications of Texas, LLC; AT&T Communications of Virginia, LLC; Teleport Communications America, LLC; and TC Systems, Inc.

The public notice describes the affected service as business landline phone service “(sometimes known as ‘POTS’)” sold by AT&T as PrimePath Service or as Business Local Exchange Service associated with AT&T Business Network, OneNet Option, or ACC Business. The application describes these as “TDM-based access lines that allow the customer to place and receive local, intrastate, and interstate voice phone calls.” AT&T states that it previously grandfathered the services in the covered states in WC Docket No. 21-452, filed November 17, 2021.

The application covers the services throughout Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. AT&T’s incumbent-carrier applications cover portions of named wire centers. This one is filed by AT&T’s CLEC affiliates and does not list wire centers.

AT&T states that it is discontinuing the services “due to declining customer demand and out of a desire to simplify and modernize its product portfolio,” and that it offers them as a CLEC and “in many instances the underlying network elements required to provide the service have become difficult or expensive to obtain.” It also states that in some locations, including within AT&T’s own incumbent footprint, “the relevant ILEC may no longer offer POTS service to new customers.” The application does not describe the affected lines as copper.

Dates and process

• October 2025. AT&T states that it sent affected customers written notice of the planned discontinuance, one year before the proposed date.
• August 28, 2026. Section 63.71 customer notices were mailed. Examples are attached to the application as Exhibit 1.
• September 16, 2026. Application filed. It requests discontinuance “effective on or after October 30, 2026, pending regulatory approval,” “except as provided for in any existing contracts.” Copies went to the public utility commissions, governors, and federally recognized tribes in the affected states, and to the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer.
• October 5, 2026. Public notice DA 26-1075 released, finding the application acceptable for filing under Comp. Pol. File No. 2210.
• October 20, 2026. Comments due. As of October 19, 2026, the docket contains only the application and the public notice.
• November 5, 2026. The application will be deemed granted automatically, the 31st day after the public notice, under 47 C.F.R. § 63.71(f), unless the Commission notifies AT&T otherwise. The authorized discontinuance date is on or after November 5, 2026.

Replacement services cited

AT&T’s request for streamlined treatment rests on AT&T Phone for Business – Advanced, including the renamed AT&T Business Voice, which the application says the FCC previously found to be an adequate replacement for business POTS in earlier AT&T dockets. The application states that the service uses AT&T’s LTE network for connectivity, that the network covers all affected customers, and that it includes an AT&T-owned and managed device installed at the customer’s premises. It also names AT&T Office@Hand and AT&T IP Flexible Reach as replacements, and mobile wireless service from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile as alternatives.

The service disclosures attached to the customer notices state that the device includes a 24-hour battery backup at no additional cost, and that AT&T will replace the device if it or its battery becomes inoperable for as long as the customer keeps the service.

Relevance to DataRemote customers

The affected services are business lines. Fire alarm panels, elevator emergency phones, fax machines, and other analog endpoints connected to a PrimePath line or to a Business Local Exchange Service line associated with AT&T Business Network, OneNet Option, or ACC Business in the listed states are within the scope of the application. DataRemote’s POTS line replacement appliances are designed to keep such equipment operating over managed cellular service, and the 90X1, 90X2, VAB-1, CDS-9010, and CDS-9090 hold AT&T network certification. Planning guidance for AT&T’s retirements is covered separately in AT&T Copper Retirement: What It Means for You.

Scope

• Grant is pending. Before November 5, 2026, the Commission may notify AT&T that the grant will not be automatically effective. This record reflects the docket as of October 19, 2026.
• The application covers only the named service arrangements, and AT&T excepts any existing contracts from the requested date. It does not cover AT&T’s incumbent-carrier POTS, which is the subject of separate applications, including the November 15, 2026 discontinuances deemed granted on January 12, 2026.
• This record summarizes AT&T’s filed representations and the FCC’s public notice as published. The FCC network modernization rules page describes the underlying framework.

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