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Most business owners we talk to say the same thing: we got rid of our landlines years ago. Then we look at the phone bill together and find three, four, sometimes ten copper lines still running. Nobody remembers what half of them do.
That matters now. The phone companies in our region are shutting off the old copper network, and new federal rules that took effect on October 15, 2026 make it faster for them to do it.
What is actually happening
Copper is the old wire that runs from the pole to your building. It has carried phone service for more than a century, and it is expensive to keep up. AT&T says it spends about $6 billion a year maintaining roughly 4,600 copper wire centers. It plans to retire the large majority of its copper outside California by the end of 2029.
Two things changed this year.
First, AT&T received federal approval to discontinue copper landline service in wire centers that serve about 90,000 customers across 18 states, including Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Its filing covers both residential lines and business access lines, and service can end on or after November 15, 2026. The Ohio wire centers on that list include Fairborn, Franklin, Cedarville, Jamestown, Piqua and Hillsboro.
Second, the FCC's new network modernization rules took effect on October 15, 2026. They make it simpler for carriers to retire copper. Under those rules, the 90-day direct notice of a copper retirement is owed to other carriers and 911 providers, not to business customers. A letter in your mailbox should not be your only warning.
Closer to home
Much of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is altafiber territory, the company that used to be Cincinnati Bell. altafiber posts its copper retirement notices on its carrier services page. It has posted 36 of them so far in 2026, including notices for Florence, Alexandria, Lakeside Park, Fort Thomas, Union and Covington in Kentucky, and for Loveland, Hamilton, Evendale, Montgomery, Milford, Colerain and Crescentville in Ohio. West Chester had notices in 2024 and 2025.
Many of these notices cover a set of streets or buildings, not a whole town. One February notice covered about 52 customers in parts of Blue Ash and Sharonville. That is the point. You cannot tell from the news whether your building is on a list. You have to check.
The lines nobody looks at
Your desk phones are probably not the problem. If you already moved to a hosted phone system or to cell phones, those calls run over the internet. The risk sits in the lines that quietly do one job and never ring:
- Fire alarm panels that dial the monitoring company
- Elevator emergency phones
- Security and burglar alarm panels
- Fax lines that a pharmacy, lab, court or county office still uses
- Gate, door entry and buzzer systems
- Older credit card terminals and postage meters
- A backup line at the front desk or in the server room
When the copper is shut off, these do not all fail the same way. A fire alarm panel may show a trouble signal that someone has to notice and act on. A fax line or a gate phone simply goes dead, and you find out when you need it.
How to tell if you are affected
- Look for a letter. AT&T notified affected customers in November 2025. altafiber notices go out by address. Ask whoever opens the mail.
- Pull your phone bill. Count every line and every number. If you pay for more lines than you can name, start there.
- Walk the building. Find the alarm panel, the elevator phone, the fax machine, the gate and the server room. Note which ones plug into a phone jack.
- Ask your carrier. Ask directly whether your address is on a copper retirement list, and on what date.
- Check the public notices. If altafiber serves you, look for your town on its carrier services page.
What to replace each line with
Everyday calling. A modern business phone system (VoIP) runs over your internet connection. You can usually keep your existing numbers, and you get features like call routing, voicemail to email and a mobile app.
Fire alarms and elevator phones. These have code and inspection rules. Talk to your alarm company, your elevator service company and your local fire marshal before you change anything. They will tell you which replacement is approved for your building.
Fax. Digital fax sends and receives through email or a web portal. In most cases you can keep the same fax number.
Card terminals and postage meters. Most current models connect over the internet. Older ones may need to be replaced, so check with the vendor.
Plan for power. Copper lines carried their own power from the phone company, so a basic phone kept working in a power outage. Internet and cellular equipment needs power at your building. Emergency lines need battery backup.
A 30-day checklist
- Week 1: List every line and label what it does.
- Week 2: Call your alarm company, your elevator company and anyone who still faxes you. Ask what each one needs.
- Week 3: Get quotes and confirm that your numbers can transfer.
- Week 4: Schedule each cutover before your carrier's date. Then cancel the old lines so you stop paying for them.
Do it before the carrier picks the date for you. A planned move is a scheduled afternoon. A surprise shutoff turns into an emergency.
Quick answers
Is AT&T shutting off landlines in Ohio?
In parts of Ohio, yes. AT&T has federal approval to discontinue copper landline service in certain wire centers, including several near Dayton, on or after November 15, 2026. It plans to retire most of its copper outside California by the end of 2029.
Is altafiber still supporting copper phone lines?
In many places, for now. altafiber is retiring copper area by area and posts each notice on its carrier services page. Check the page for your town.
Will my fire alarm still work if my copper line is retired?
Not if it reports over that line. Ask your alarm company how your panel reports and have it moved to an approved replacement before the line is shut off.
Do I need a new phone system?
Not always. If your desk phones already run over the internet, you may only need to move the special-purpose lines. The inventory tells you.
Where we fit
We do this work for businesses across Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Dayton. We find every line you pay for, sort out what each one does, and move your calling and fax to one business phone system that we set up and support alongside your network. One flat monthly plan covers your help desk, security, AI-powered monitoring and repair, and phones. Clients who switched to Networx save an average of 36% on their IT contracts.
If you want a second set of eyes on your phone bill before November 15, call us at (513) 393-9679. That is a conversation we are happy to have.