By Jeff Wetzell, President & CEO — Liquid Home Equity Inc. | Costa Mesa, CA

If you still use a landline telephone at home — and millions of California homeowners do — there is a change happening right now that deserves your immediate attention.

AT&T and other major carriers are actively retiring their copper wire telephone networks across California and replacing them with fiber optic cable or wireless alternatives. For most younger households this transition is largely invisible. For California homeowners over 60 the implications can be significant — and in some cases, serious.

This post is written to explain exactly what is changing, what it means for you, and what steps you should take right now to protect yourself.

What Is Actually Happening

For over a century, telephone service in the United States ran through a network of copper wires that connected homes directly to the telephone company’s central offices. This copper network — often called POTS, or Plain Old Telephone Service — was reliable, required no power at your home to operate, and worked during power outages.

That network is being retired.

The Federal Communications Commission has approved the transition away from copper infrastructure, and carriers like AT&T have been actively pursuing decommissioning approvals across California. When copper service is retired in your area, you will be transitioned to one of two alternatives — fiber optic service or a wireless home phone replacement unit.

Both alternatives work differently from copper in ways that matter significantly for older homeowners.

Why This Matters More For Homeowners Over 60

The copper telephone network had one critical advantage that its replacements do not automatically share — it worked without electricity at your home.

During a power outage, your copper landline telephone continued to function because it drew power directly from the telephone company’s lines. You could call for help, reach family members, or contact emergency services without batteries, without a charged device, and without internet connectivity.

Fiber optic and wireless replacements do not work this way by default. When your power goes out — so does your phone service, unless you have battery backup equipment properly installed and maintained.

For older California homeowners this creates real and specific risks across several areas:

Medical Alert and Emergency Response Systems Millions of older Americans rely on personal emergency response systems — the wearable devices that connect to a monitoring center when you press a button or fall. The majority of these systems were designed to communicate through copper telephone lines. When copper service is retired, these systems may stop working entirely without upgrades or replacements. If you or someone you love relies on one of these devices, verifying compatibility with your new service before the copper transition happens in your area is essential.

Home Security Systems Many home security systems — particularly older installations — communicate with their monitoring centers through copper telephone lines. A copper retirement in your area can silently disable your security system’s ability to contact the monitoring center during a break-in or fire, even if the alarm itself still sounds locally. Security system providers should be notified any time your telephone service changes.

Automatic Emergency Dialing Equipment Some older medical devices, elevator emergency phones, and other automatic dialing systems are hardwired to copper lines. These require evaluation and often replacement or reprogramming when copper service ends.

911 Access During Power Outages Under copper service, 911 was accessible even during extended power outages. Under fiber or wireless replacement service, your ability to reach 911 from a home landline during a power outage depends entirely on whether your service provider has installed battery backup equipment and whether that battery is charged and functioning. The FCC requires carriers to offer battery backup options, but the responsibility for maintaining those batteries typically falls on the homeowner.

Fax Machines Many older California homeowners and their medical providers still rely on fax machines for sharing medical records, prescription information, and insurance documents. Fax transmission over fiber or wireless replacement services can be unreliable without specific equipment adaptations.

What California Specifically Needs To Know

California has been an active battleground in the debate over copper retirement. The California Public Utilities Commission has been engaged in proceedings around how and when carriers can retire copper service, with specific attention to the impact on vulnerable populations including elderly residents.

AT&T has sought and in many areas received approval to retire copper service across significant portions of California. If you have not already been notified about a transition in your area, that does not mean one is not coming. Transitions are happening on a rolling basis across the state.

Rural and suburban areas — including parts of Orange County, Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and Northern California — have been among the areas where copper retirement has moved most aggressively.

Steps To Take Right Now

Whether your copper transition has already happened, is in progress, or has not yet been announced in your area — these steps are worth taking immediately:

Contact your telephone carrier and ask directly whether copper service has been or will be retired at your address. Get a specific answer in writing if possible.

Contact your medical alert system provider and ask whether your device is compatible with your current or upcoming telephone service. Many providers now offer cellular based units that do not depend on a landline at all — these are worth considering regardless of your telephone situation.

Contact your home security monitoring company and notify them of any telephone service changes. Ask them to verify that your system can still communicate with the monitoring center.

Confirm battery backup for any fiber or wireless replacement equipment installed at your home. Ask your carrier how long the battery lasts during a power outage and what the replacement schedule is. Consider purchasing additional battery backup capacity.

Evaluate cellular alternatives for 911 access during power outages. A fully charged mobile phone is often the most reliable backup.

Talk to your family about this transition. Adult children and caregivers should be aware of what systems are in place at their parents’ homes and whether those systems need to be updated.

Why We Are Writing About This

At Liquid Home Equity, our entire practice is built around serving California homeowners who are 55 and older. That means we pay attention to everything that affects this community — not just mortgage products.

The copper telephone transition is one of those changes that is happening quietly, without much public awareness, and with real potential consequences for older homeowners who rely on landline connected systems for their safety and peace of mind.

We believe informed homeowners make better decisions — about their safety, their finances, and their retirement. If this post helps even one family avoid a dangerous gap in their emergency coverage, it was worth writing.

And If You Have Questions About Your Home Equity

While we are on the subject of serving California homeowners well — if you are 62 or older and have significant equity in your home, we would welcome a conversation about what today’s modern reverse mortgage could do for your retirement.

Not a pitch. Not a sales call. Just a straight conversation from a local licensed professional who has spent 12 years exclusively in this space.

Jeff Wetzell President & CEO — Liquid Home Equity Inc. Costa Mesa, California (949) 637-8491 DRE #02114167 | NMLS #343709

Feel free to look up Liquid Home Equity, Inc. on Google before we speak. Our reviews speak for themselves.

Liquid Home Equity, Inc. is a licensed California mortgage broker serving Orange County and surrounding areas. This post is for informational and educational purposes only.