Carrier retirement and elevator code, by date.
Two separate clocks run against the same buildings. Carriers are retiring the copper that emergency phones and fire panels sit on. States are adopting elevator code editions that change what those phones have to do. This page tracks both.
Reviewed 28 July 2026. Every row cites where the date comes from. Where a published figure is disputed between sources, both are shown rather than one being picked.
Carrier retirement
AT&T is the furthest along and the best documented. Verizon, Lumen and Frontier are running parallel programs on their own timelines; regional ILECs vary, and some have stopped taking new orders without announcing it.
| Date | What happens | Where | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct 2025 |
AT&T stops accepting new orders, moves and changes on copper POTS
Grandfathering, not disconnection. Existing lines keep working;
you cannot add one, move one to another suite, or change the
service on one. In practice this is the date a building stopped
being able to solve a problem by ordering another line.
Source: AT&T grandfathering notice. Published accounts differ on
scope — some report all wire centers across 18 states,
others approximately 1,711 wire centers across 19
states. Confirm against your own account's notice.
|
18–19 states | Passed |
| 26 Mar 2026 |
FCC adopts the Network and Services Modernization Order
Removes the federal approval step carriers previously needed
before retiring copper. Customer notice periods were kept:
at least 180 days for non-residential retail
customers and interconnecting entities, 90 days for residential.
Commercial buildings are non-residential, so the 180-day figure
is the one that applies to a managed property.
Source: FCC, Network and Services Modernization Order, adopted
26 March 2026.
|
Federal | Passed |
| From Jun 2026 |
AT&T begins decommissioning wire centers
Roughly 500 wire centers, about 10% of the copper
footprint, in the first tranche. Decommissioning is the step that
actually ends service: when a wire center goes, every copper line
it serves stops permanently. This is running now.
Source: AT&T stated program. Separately, AT&T has FCC
approval to discontinue copper at more than 30% of its wire
centers.
|
National | Underway |
| 15 Nov 2026 |
Earliest date in AT&T's TDM discontinuance filing
AT&T sought authority to discontinue legacy TDM-based voice
services on or after this date, affecting approximately
90,000 customers. This is a filing date, not a
guaranteed cut date for any specific address — your address is
governed by the notice you receive.
Source: AT&T FCC discontinuance filing.
|
18 states | Ahead |
| 2029 |
AT&T's stated full copper retirement target
The outer horizon, not a deadline to plan against. Individual wire
centers go dark years earlier, and the one serving your building
is the only date that matters to you.
Source: AT&T stated target.
|
National | Ahead |
When lines at a specific address are scheduled, the carrier sends a written notice by mail. It identifies the address, the lines and the effective date. It does not propose a replacement, and it does not mention NFPA 72 or ASME A17.1 — the compliance consequences of the line going away are not the carrier's to raise.
For a commercial building that notice runs at least 180 days. That sounds like a long time until you have to survey cellular signal in a basement fire-panel room, get an AHJ to sign off, and schedule an elevator contractor. Plan before the notice, not after it.
Elevator code — ASME A17.1
A17.1 is adopted state by state, and each state adopts a specific edition, sometimes with amendments. The edition number is what determines your obligation, so a state's adoption date matters far less than which edition it adopted.
A17.1-2019 section 2.27 requires two-way video communication in addition to voice, plus a text-based display so passengers who are deaf, hard of hearing or unable to speak can communicate — for elevators with a rise of 60 feet or greater.
That rise threshold is the single most useful number here. It is why we ask for rise height rather than floor count: a squat eight-storey building with high floor-to-floor may clear 60 feet where a ten-storey residential conversion does not, and floor count alone will not tell you which side of the line a car falls on. A voice-only emergency phone that was compliant under an older edition is not compliant under 2019 once you are over that rise.
| Jurisdiction | Position | Effective | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania |
Moved off A17.1-2000
Reported as transitioning to A17.1-2016, which
does not carry the 2019 video mandate. If your
Pennsylvania buildings were scoped on the assumption that this
adoption triggered a video requirement, that assumption needs
rechecking against the adopted edition.
Verify the adopted edition with the PA Department of Labor & Industry before scoping work.
|
Jul 2025 | Passed |
| Ohio |
Adopted A17.1-2019, with amendment
Sources place the adoption in July 2024 with an amendment, and an
effective date reported as November 2025. The amendment is the
part to read: a state amendment can defer or narrow exactly the
section you are relying on.
Verify edition, amendment text and effective date with the Ohio Board of Building Standards.
|
Nov 2025 | Passed |
| New York City |
Still on A17.1-2013; 2019 edition due
NYC has not yet adopted the 2019 edition, with an effective date
reported as January 2027. This is the one with real runway left,
and the one where the 60-foot rise threshold will touch the most
cars at once.
Verify with NYC DOB before committing a scope or a budget.
|
Jan 2027 | Ahead |
Do not use it as authority. Adoption details change, amendments are common, and the authority having jurisdiction can be a city rather than a state. Every row above says to verify with the relevant body, and that is meant literally — the value of the table is knowing which question to ask and by when, not being the answer.
If your buildings are outside these three jurisdictions, tell us the states and we will check the adopted edition for each.