AT&T is planning to get rid of traditional landlines in Illinois in the near future.
The company plans to move exclusively to a digital home phone service by 2027, abandoning the traditional copper-based service in the state, WMAQ reported.
The changes should not be a surprise, as the company announced the plan to retire copper-based service during its investor day in 2024. The Hill reported at the time that it would end most of the traditional service by 2029.
AT&T said it is working with customers to “upgrade their copper-based service to newer, less expensive options like AT&T Phone – Advanced.” The service will allow customers to use their existing landline phones, keep their numbers and can be used with fax machines, alarms, elevators, and medical devices, WMAQ reported. The cost is about $45 a month, according to AARP. It does use AT&T’s wireless network, and in times of a wireless outage, will use broadband backup.
No new customers could get landlines as of Oct. 15, but existing customers can keep their copper-based service until it is phased out in two years.
The company said that no one will be without voice or 911 service.
In Illinois alone, about 3 million people still had landlines as of last year, but not all are AT&T accounts. While that seems like a large number, AT&T said that traditional landline use has decreased 96% since 2014 and that only 2% of eligible customers still use it.
However, Citizens Utility Board Communications Director Jim Chilsen said “there are still a significant number of people--many of them AT&T’s longest-standing and most loyal customers--who could benefit from the reliability and affordability of traditional phone service,” WMAQ reported.
The Federal Communications Commission has produced a consumer guide that helps people understand the change.
The company’s service is concentrated in 21 states, including North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia and and Florida
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