Executive Commentary
ICBA's Independent Banker Quotes DataRemote on Community Banks and Copper Retirement
On November 1, 2026, ICBA's Independent Banker magazine reported that community banks in older buildings and rural locations may still depend on copper landlines, quoting DataRemote Chief Operating Officer Timor Brik. The feature ties the issue to the FCC's March 2026 Network and Services Modernization Order.
Summarized from ICBA Independent Banker on .
- Is Your Community Bank Ready for Copper Landline Discontinuation? — ICBA Independent Banker
Key facts
- DataRemote COO Timor Brik is quoted in ICBA's Independent Banker, published November 1, 2026, on community banks that still depend on copper landlines.
- Brik says established banks in older buildings and banks in rural locations may still rely on copper, often without IT staff or auditors tracking it.
- The article frames the issue around the FCC's March 2026 Network and Services Modernization Order.
- Bank systems the article lists as copper-connected include fax lines, burglar and fire alarms, elevator phones, security cameras, and ATMs.
- Also quoted: Cal Roberson of Integris, Jeff Slade of Legend Bank, and Jacob Hengel of YourSix.
On November 1, 2026, ICBA’s Independent Banker magazine published “Is Your Community Bank Ready for Copper Landline Discontinuation?”, a feature by Judith Sears on community banks that still rely on copper telephone lines. The article quotes DataRemote Chief Operating Officer Timor Brik, alongside Cal Roberson of managed IT provider Integris, Jeff Slade of Legend Bank in Bowie, Texas, and Jacob Hengel of physical security provider YourSix.
What the article reports
Independent Banker frames the issue around the FCC’s March 2026 Network and Services Modernization Order, which it describes as removing multi-month pre-filing review steps for carriers seeking to discontinue copper landlines. The site’s FCC network modernization rules page covers that framework.
The article lists fax lines, burglar and fire alarms, life-safety alarms, elevator phones, security cameras, and ATMs as bank systems that copper landlines have historically connected and powered. It also reports:
- Legend Bank moved off copper as part of a broader modernization effort to improve communications and reduce recurring telecommunications costs, according to Slade.
- Roberson recommends a four-step process for banks still on copper: identify where copper is in use, assess the risk if it were discontinued, decide on a replacement technology, then test and implement it.
- Hengel places alarm panels at the top of the list, saying banks need to update panels and add cellular communicators, and warns that backup power is often under-specified when a UPS replaces a panel’s dedicated battery.
- Roberson also advises equipping some workstations at each location with backup power so staff can still make calls during an outage.
DataRemote’s comments
Brik told Independent Banker that established banks in older buildings, and banks in rural locations, may still depend on copper landlines, and that the dependence often goes unnoticed: “many IT staff or auditors don’t have this on their radar.” He noted that the copper sunset has been underway for a decade and that new buildings are usually all-digital, so the exposure sits mainly in older branches.
He said the priority for banks is to get ahead of identifying what still uses copper at each location, including legacy connections that survive after most infrastructure has moved off landlines. On power, he said banks should keep the power sources for non-critical and emergency systems separate, citing the example of an ATM drawing power and signal from the same source as a connected fire alarm during a fire.
Related records
Brik commented on the same FCC order in Health Data Management’s August 2026 report on rural hospitals, and presented with MetTel’s Sean Sullivan on “Your Business ZIP Code Is on the Clock,” MetTel’s October 20, 2026 webinar on AT&T’s November 15 copper shutdown. MetTel has posted the webinar recording on its site. The copper-connected systems the article names map to DataRemote’s POTS line replacement, fire and burglar alarm communication, and elevator emergency communication pages, and to the legacy analog line migration topic hub for ATMs and fax lines.
This article is about
Copper RetirementCopper retirement is the withdrawal of a carrier's copper network facilities from service, together with the analog telephone services delivered over them, under the FCC's notice and service-discontinuance framework.
Entities mentioned
Frequently asked questions
In a November 1, 2026 feature, Independent Banker reported that some community banks, particularly established banks in older buildings and banks in rural locations, may still depend on copper landlines for systems such as alarms, fax lines, elevator phones, and ATMs. It ties the issue to the FCC's March 2026 Network and Services Modernization Order.
Brik, DataRemote's Chief Operating Officer, said many bank IT staff and auditors are not tracking copper dependence even though the copper sunset has been underway for a decade, that newer buildings are usually all-digital, and that banks need to identify what still uses copper at each location. He also said banks should keep power for non-critical and emergency systems separate.
The article lists fax lines, burglar and fire alarms, life-safety alarms, elevator phones, security cameras, and ATMs as bank systems that copper landlines have historically connected and powered.
The FCC's Network and Services Modernization Order, adopted in March 2026. The article describes it as removing multi-month pre-filing review steps for carriers seeking to discontinue copper landlines.