Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) Rulemaking

In June 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) opened a proceeding to consider changes to the Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) rules. This proceeding is Rulemaking (R.) 24-06-012. 

This proceeding is different from AT&T California’s application requesting relief from its COLR obligations throughout its service territory. That application, A.23-03-003, was dismissed with prejudice by the CPUC at its June 20, 2024, voting meeting. For more information, please refer to the Commission’s Decision (D.) 24-06-024, closing that proceeding and rejecting AT&T’s application.

What is a COLR?

A COLR is a telecommunications service provider that stands ready to provide basic telephone service to any customer requesting such service within a specified area. At least one telecommunications service provider in a specified area is designated as a COLR and has the obligation to provide access to telephone service to anyone in its service territory who requests it. A COLR obligation ensures that everyone in California has access to safe, reliable, and affordable telephone service. There are 16 COLR-designated companies across California with distinct service territories. AT&T is the designated COLR in many parts of the State and is the largest COLR in California; Frontier is the second largest COLR in the State. The CPUC’s definition of basic telephone service is technology neutral, meaning basic telephone service may be provided using any technology or combination of technologies sufficient to meet the minimum service requirements.

How could changes to the COLR rules affect my telephone service?

The California COLR rules establish the legal obligation for at least one specific telecommunications service provider to offer basic service to any customer within its designated COLR territory. The CPUC’s current rules require that there be a COLR for every Californian and no telecommunications service provider may cease to act as a COLR unless another telecommunications service provider stands ready to assume the legal obligation to offer basic service in the designated COLR territory. Federal rules require any provider seeking to discontinue service to a particular customer or community to first obtain permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by filing a petition for Discontinuance of Service. A company cannot immediately discontinue service without obtaining such approvals. For more information on the FCC’s Section 214 Discontinuance of Service process, please refer to the FCC.

The CPUC has opened a proceeding to examine the COLR rules including the elements of the current legal obligation to serve customers, the definition of basic service, which company is obligated to offer basic service, and the conditions under which a company could seek to no longer serve as COLR for a particular community. 

Which telecommunications service providers serve as a COLR and where do they serve?

Below is a map of the telecommunications service providers currently serving as COLRs, and the territories where they serve as a COLR. A larger version of the map may be viewed here.  The COLRs operating in California are AT&T, Frontier, Consolidated Communications, Calaveras, Cal-Ore, Ducor, Foresthill, Happy Valley, Hornitos, Kerman, Pinnacles, Sierra, Ponderosa, Siskiyou, Volcano, and Winterhaven.

What is “basic service”?

The CPUC has defined “basic service” to ensure all residential telephone customers, no matter where they live in California, can expect a certain minimum standard of service. The CPUC most recently updated its basic service requirements in 2012 with D. 12-12-038, which requires the following elements be offered as part of basic service:

Additionally, Public Utilities Code § 876 requires telephone corporations that offer basic residential telephone service to offer California LifeLine service. Therefore, COLRs are required to offer LifeLine service. California LifeLine provides discounted landline phone and wireless phone services to qualified households. The program allows customers to choose landline or wireless or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, and it is a fundamental principle of the program that consumers can choose the service that best suits their needs. 

Can basic service be provided using technologies other than copper landlines?

As the CPUC stated in Decision (D.) 12-12-038, basic service requirements apply on a technology-neutral basis to all forms of communications technology that may be utilized, including wireline, wireless, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), or any other future technology that may be used in the provision of telephone service. This means that any technology or combination of technologies, not only copper landline technology, may be used by a telephone company to provide basic service as long as the service meets the minimum requirements. 

Public Participation Hearings

The CPUC has scheduled a series of Public Participation Hearings (PPHs) in this proceeding. The PPHs are an opportunity for the public to communicate directly with the Commission regarding the issues raised in this proceeding. Your thoughts will help inform the CPUC’s decision. You can attend the in-person forums or, for the remote forums, watch a livestream of the hearings or participate via telephone. You can also submit comments by mail or post them on the CPUC’s public comment portal.

Please visit apps.cpuc.ca.gov/p/R2406012 to submit a public comment about this rulemaking to the CPUC. You may also mail written comments to the CPUC’s Public Advisor’s address below. For more information on participating in the public hearing, submitting comments, to request special assistance, or to request a non-English or Spanish language interpreter, please contact the CPUC’s Public Advisor’s Office at least five days prior to the hearings.

CPUC Public Advisor’s Office
505 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 1-866-849-8390 (toll-free) or 1-415-703-2074
Email: Public.Advisor@cpuc.ca.gov
Please reference Rulemaking 24-06-12 in any communications you have with the CPUC regarding this matter.

The dates, times, and venues for the Public Participation Hearings are as follows:

Recent Activity in This Proceeding

On February 14, 2024, the assigned Administrative Law Judge in this proceeding issued a ruling scheduling Public Participation Hearings and directing certain carriers to provide notice of the Public Participation Hearings. For more information, scroll down to see the schedule information posted to this webpage or review the ruling here.

The Assigned Commissioner issued a Scoping Memo and Ruling on February 4, 2025, identifying the issues and schedule within the scope of this proceeding. Review the Scoping Memo and Ruling here. 

Parties to this proceeding submitted Initial Proposals responsive to the Order Instituting Rulemaking on September 30, 2024. Parties submitted Reply Comments to the Initial Proposals on October 30, 2024. Some parties submitted revised versions of their Initial Proposals on December 6, 2024. Initial Proposals, Reply Comments, and Revised Initial Proposals may be viewed at the links below.