Dear Friends and Neighbors, Please take this easy action today, Sunday, or Monday (max 10 mins).
Corrected Deadline: Monday 9pm Pacific time / Midnight Eastern time.
If you miss the June 15 deadline, please submit your comments ahead of the June 22 deadline.
You are needed and appreciated. Information and instructions follow: Critical Action Needed by Monday, June 15
9pm Pacific / Midnight Eastern, then June 22, same timePlease help protect landlines from reckless Federal Communications Commission actionAT&T has petitioned the FCC to discontinue landline service. We must oppose this move to override long-established California state provisions that protect customer safety and well-being. We face a critical JUNE 15 deadline for filing comments to the FCC. Two docket filings are due now (June 15) and two related docket filings are due June 22. You may submit the same comments by June 15 for all four dockets. If you miss the Monday deadline, you may submit the same comments ahead of the INSTRUCTIONS below. Yes, the following could happen: The FCC will authorize discontinuance of service "unless it is shown that customers would be unable to receive service or a reasonable substitute from another carrier or that public convenience and needs are otherwise adversely affected.... "
If preemption of state regulations is FCC authorized, AT&T plans to end landline service to existing customers by July 2027. Some customers have already received notices from AT&T saying this discontinuance of service will take effect pending FCC approval! Action Needed by MONDAY 9pm PT / Midnight ETPlease submit simultaneous comments to all four FCC dockets.
Hundreds of comments are needed. INSTRUCTIONS below on how to file.Comments should include specific information about the impact of this proposed discontinuance (or reduction or impairment) upon you or your business, including any inability to acquire reasonable substitute service. Over one million Californians depend on the reliability, safety, and voice quality of landlines because cell service is inadequate in their area or they are unable to tolerate wireless emissions. To date, copper landline connectivity remains the superior technology in homes, businesses, schools, government, etc. Talking points / ideas (or give your own story / circumstances): - Copper landlines work in emergencies when power is out. They supply their own power.
- Cell phone networks didn't work in CA fire disasters but landlines did.
- Battery back-ups for modems and routers (needed for cable and fiber-optic connections) are unreliable and only last for brief periods, 24 hours, when sometimes needed for days and weeks.
- Cell phone connections have cyber security risks.
- Many human bodies are not compatible with wireless technology. People get headaches, ear ringing, vertigo, arrhythmias, nerve disruptions, cancers, and more.
- Customers have been paying extra fees in their phone bill for years to maintain copper landlines.
- Landlines are lifelines!
- AT&T claims people are abandoning landlines, but many AT&T service reps are telling customers AT&T no longer services copper and they won't install landlines anymore. This is in defiance of their obligation.
- Some customers have given up landlines because AT&T was not maintaining them for months and years.
- The alternatives to copper landline that AT&T proposes do not fulfill the bill for available, reliable, and affordable, which copper has been doing for decades.
No matter what type of phone one prefers, this action is about preserving needed protections and choice. AT&T hopes to completely skirt regulation. HOW TO FILE FCC COMMENTS:Go here: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/express to complete the simple form.
Instructions to complete this Express Filing form: - Proceeding(s): Type 26-120, Press 'Enter' on your keyboard, Docket number and name will appear in box below, click on that, 26-120 will then be highlighted in orange. Then type 26-121, press 'Enter' on keyboard, click again on Docket # and Name below for the orange highlight. Continue the same: Type 26-123, then 26-125.
(Note: If the website doesn't display the docket name right away, wait a moment and try again. You might have to refresh the page.) - Name of filer: your name.
- Primary contact email: your email address (not required).
- Address: (required) Four-digit ZIP code extension means the four digits that sometimes follow your ZIP.
- Brief comments: Either type in your comments or paste your previously-prepared comments into the box.
- Press Continue to review screen.
- If okay, Submit your comments.
Print confirmation page for your records if you choose. Thank you for spending a few minutes with this message, and for taking this critical action to preserve landlines.
Note: the optional Standard Filing is good for organizations, groups, or to preserve a document's format.
Go here: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/standard To learn more and to Sign an Easy Action Petition:Check out TURN’s (The Utility Reform Network’s) Landline Defense Team ALERT:
https://www.turn.org/landline-defense-team We suggest signing TURN’s petitions because it adds an extra push, but it doesn’t take the place of filing your own comments to FCC dockets 26-120, 26-121, 26-123, and 26-125.
Your docket-filing submissions are most important right now. Big Thanks and Appreciation to Vicki for pulling this together for all of us!
And thank you to all for taking needed actions to preserve what works! Sincerely, Julie, Charlene, Kathleen, and the entire 5G Free California team
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