June 18 (Reuters) – A California agency said Thursday it has asked a U.S. court and the Federal Communications Commission to reject the request of AT&T to stop offering traditional copper wire phone service to new customers.
The California Public Utilities Commission said AT&T’s was trying to get out of its obligations as a carrier of last resort. The state agency said in a court filing its rules “are explicitly technology-neutral; it does not matter whether the carrier uses copper wire, wireless, Voice over Internet Protocol, or any other type of technology, so long as it meets the standard for ‘basic service.'”
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul)