CenturyLink has asked the FCC for permission to retire copper facilities in multiple markets within its Qwest territories, marking the telco’s ongoing transition to IP-based fiber services.
Specifically, the service provider asked to retire copper facilities across Qwest facilities in the East, South, Midwest and Western United States regions.
In the East, Midwest, and South regions, the telco asked to retire copper facilities in Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. Over in the West, CenturyLink wants to retire copper in five states, including Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, and North Dakota.
The telco said in a FCC filing that “these retirements will have no impact on the copper facilities that will be retired.”
While the telco did not cite any protests to the copper retirement, it’s not unlikely that the transition could face protests from local CLECs or landline customers who still use copper-based POTS (plain old telephone service).
Fellow telco Verizon has faced opposition in various states over copper retirement. In March, Verizon locked horns with the New Jersey Rate Counsel over its opposition to retiring copper in the area.