Your landline is going digital: what the copper switch-off means when the power goes out

What is actually happening

The old copper phone network is being retired. The FCC said on March 26, 2026 that it had "adopted rules that will get communities off of old and slow copper lines and onto new, high-speed networks," and that the actions "will allow providers to retire their decades-old and increasingly expensive copper line networks." It also granted blanket authority for carriers to "grandfather legacy voice services, lower-speed data telecommunications services, and interconnected Voice over IP (VoIP) service provisioned over copper wire," which means no new customers on those services.

The FCC says it is "retaining or adopting safeguards to protect public safety and ensure continuity of 911 services." For you, the change arrives as a letter or a call from your phone company saying your service is moving to fiber, to cable, or to a wireless home phone box. The phone on the wall usually keeps working; what changes is how it gets its power.

The big change: your phone needs electricity

A copper landline carries its own low-voltage power from the phone company's building, which is why an old corded phone kept ringing through blackouts. The FCC put it this way when it adopted its backup power rules: "While traditional, copper-based landline home phone service typically works during electric outages because they carry their own power, new services, often delivered over fiber or using IP-based technologies, usually require an independent source of power. This means they need backup power to keep operating in the event of a power outage."

In practice your phone now runs through a box in your home, a fiber terminal, a cable modem or a wireless unit, and that box needs power. Cordless handsets have always needed power too; the Red Cross's outage list includes "a non-cordless home phone" among the devices that work without home power, and that advice still holds for a corded handset plugged into a box with a battery.

What the FCC's backup power rules require

The rules date from 2015. In the FCC's words: "The new rules will require providers to offer consumers the option to buy backup power so they can use their phones during power outages. These providers would be required to ensure that a technical solution for 8 hours of standby backup power is available for consumers to purchase, either directly or from a third-party retailer, at the point of sale. And, within three years, providers will also be required to offer an option for 24 hours of standby backup power."

Providers must also "inform both current and new customers about service limitations during electric outages and the steps they can take to address those risks through backup power, including how to keep their service operational during a multi-day power outage." Note the word "purchase": the battery is offered, not always free, and the standby figures are for the phone box, not for a cordless handset that has its own base station.

If you rely on the landline for 911 or a medical alert

This is the group the rules were written for. If someone in your home uses a medical alert pendant, a monitored alarm, or simply cannot use a cell phone, ask your provider three questions: does my home phone work in a power outage, how long does the battery last, and how do I get the 24-hour option. Ready.gov's advice is the same: "Determine whether your home phone will work in a power outage and how long battery backup will last."

Then test it. Pull the power to the phone box and see whether the corded handset still has a dial tone. If the medical alert or alarm panel uses the phone line, ask that company whether it has its own cellular backup. Our medical devices in a power outage guide covers oxygen, CPAP and powered equipment, and older adults covers the wider plan.

What most households actually need

For most people the cell phone is the outage phone, and the job is keeping it charged. Ready.gov says to "plan for batteries and other alternative power sources to meet your needs when the power goes out, such as a portable charger or power bank." A power bank that is kept charged covers a day or two of calls and texts. Keep a car charger too.

If you want your home phone and internet to carry on, a router battery backup or a small power station keeps the fiber terminal, modem and router up for hours. Check the box's power draw first: these units pull a few watts, so even a small battery lasts a long time. For alerts that do not depend on either network, a NOAA weather radio is the backstop; see our emergency alerts on your phone guide for the rest.

A corded phone costs little and is worth keeping in a drawer. Plugged into a phone box with a charged backup battery, it is the closest thing to the old copper behavior you can get.