The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has approved a proposal from supervisors Joe Simitian and Cindy Chavez to formally engage the California Public Utilities Commission about AT&T’s application to withdraw as California’s “Carrier of Last Resort.”
County Administration and County Counsel have been directed to report back to the board with additional options to address this issue, including potential legal recourse, legislative, and regulatory advocacy.
The Board’s action comes after AT&T submitted a request to the CPUC to relieve itself of its obligations as a COLR.
Being a COLR is intended to ensure that everyone in California has access to safe, reliable, and affordable telephone service—meaning landline.
‘This voice services is crucial for folks who live in areas where mobile phone and internet service is non-existent or spotty’
—Supervisor Joe Simitian
“There are communities across our county where a landline is the only reliable form of communication,” Simitian said in a release. “This voice service is crucial for folks who live in areas where mobile phone and internet service is non-existent or spotty.”
If the CPUC approves AT&T’s application, the telecom giant would no longer be required to provide landline telephone service.
And if another carrier doesn’t volunteer to become the next COLR, affected County residents could have no other options.
“The ‘Carrier of Last Resort’ legal obligation has served our community and the entire State of California for decades,” Chavez said. “It ensures residents, businesses, and government are able to conduct essential communications during emergency situations. It can literally be a lifeline. I wholeheartedly support preserving the ‘Carrier of Last Resort’ legal obligation.”
Simitian says, in many cases, wireless is an imperfect replacement for physical landlines.
“In communities throughout the county, wireless communication is spotty at best, and susceptible to downtime,” he said. “Copper landlines do not suffer from such issues.”
County staff will be exploring options such as weighing-in at the final CPUC public forum on Tuesday and engaging as a formal party to the proceeding to help preserve and keep this communication infrastructure in-place.
Santa Clara County is already engaged in another CPUC proceeding: advocating for the CPUC to ensure compliance with its rule that wireless carriers maintain a 72-hour battery backup for communication equipment located in Tier 2 and Tier 3 High Fire Threat Districts.
