AT&T can begin shutting off its traditional copper-wire home and business phone lines on Nov. 15 in parts of North Texas and southern Oklahoma, under a federal application the company filed last December and the Federal Communications Commission allowed to take effect in January.
AT&T told KXII that "no customer will be left without access to voice or 911 service" and that it is moving customers to newer options such as AT&T Phone - Advanced.
Which areas are on the Nov. 15 list
AT&T's Dec. 1, 2025 filing with the FCC covers parts of wire centers, the local switching areas behind each exchange, in 18 states, and about 90,000 customers in all. Traditional residential and business lines there can be shut off on or after Nov. 15, 2026. Broadband Breakfast reported it was granted automatically on Jan. 12.
The Texas list includes nearby exchanges in Celina, Gainesville, Farmersville, Wolfe City, Bowie and Paris North. The Oklahoma list includes Atoka, Coalgate, Madill, Marietta, Tishomingo and Hugo. Only certain areas within each are affected.
Sherman and Denison do not appear on that list, or on the two smaller AT&T discontinuance lists the FCC processed this summer for areas with planned road construction. In October, though, AT&T told KTEN that copper service "will be discontinued in Sherman," without giving a date. AT&T has said it plans to retire most of its copper network by the end of 2029.
What customers can do
AT&T's notice to affected residential customers, mailed in November 2025, said they can keep their phone number by switching to AT&T Phone - Advanced or to an AT&T wireless plan, and it listed 800-288-2020 for questions. KXII said current landline customers can call AT&T to learn whether their own line is affected.
The company's filing says AT&T Phone - Advanced does not draw power from the phone line the way copper service does. It runs on a built-in battery for up to 24 hours on standby during an outage, but the battery does not power medical or security monitoring equipment, and if the device has no power, calls including 911 will not go through.
An extra battery costs $89, the filing says.
KXII reported that a Coalgate, Oklahoma, funeral home lost its fax line and card reader when its AT&T landline was disconnected, so customers with alarms, medical alert devices or fax machines on a copper line may want to check with those providers too.
Concerns raised
The consumer group Public Knowledge and the Communications Workers of America opposed the FCC's moves to make copper retirement easier, arguing that wireless service can be less dependable in rural areas, especially during emergencies, Broadband Breakfast reported. AT&T has said fewer than 2% of its eligible customers still use traditional copper service, according to KTEN.
