People who don’t live in rural California often assume cell phones have replaced landlines. If only that were true.
Here in Nevada County, there are countless places where your cell phone simply doesn’t work. On my drive to work, my calls drop multiple times. Along Highways 20, 49 and 174, there are stretches where you have to drive until you find a signal just to make a phone call. Even in parts of Grass Valley and some of our largest neighborhoods, there are persistent dead zones.
That isn’t just inconvenient. It’s a public safety issue.
As wildfires become larger, faster and more unpredictable, reliable communications can mean the difference between safety and tragedy. Residents depend on phones to receive evacuation warnings, report emergencies and stay connected with loved ones. During disasters, cellular networks can become overloaded or lose power when people need them most.
I recently spoke with a retired fire chief who arrived first at the scene of a serious traffic accident. He couldn’t call for help because there was no cell service. He had to drive away from the accident to get service before emergency responders could be contacted.
That story isn’t unusual in rural California.
AT&T has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to discontinue traditional copper-based landline service and to override California’s Carrier of Last Resort requirements. The FCC is accepting public comments through July 7, giving rural residents an opportunity to share how these changes could affect their communities.
This is not an arbitrary government mandate. For decades, AT&T and its predecessor companies benefited from being the only telephone provider, serving exclusive territories with access to public rights-of-way and an established customer base. In exchange, they accepted the responsibility of providing basic telephone service throughout those service areas, including rural communities where service is more difficult and expensive to provide.
That commitment still matters.
This debate is not about resisting new technology. Nevada County strongly supports expanding broadband, fiber-optic networks and reliable wireless service. We want those investments and we welcome innovation.
The problem is that the infrastructure has not caught up with the promises.
Many rural residents still cannot depend on a wireless connection. Some neighborhoods with thousands of residents continue to experience unreliable coverage despite nearby cell towers. Visitors come to enjoy our forests, lakes and trails only to discover they have no service when they need directions or emergency assistance. Small businesses struggle to process electronic payments because connections fail. In a small community, every sale matters.
Reliable landline service also remains essential for many residents with medical monitoring devices and emergency alert systems. During winter storms, wildfires and extended power outages, landlines have long provided a dependable connection when other systems fail.
We should not eliminate a proven communications system until the replacement provides equal or better service for everyone who depends on it. Just because something is newer doesn’t mean it’s better and if the new system doesn’t work when people need it most, there’s no backup.
If California wants to transition away from copper landlines, then providers should first demonstrate that every affected customer has reliable alternatives—not just in cities, but in rural neighborhoods, mountain communities and wildfire-prone areas where communications are often a matter of life and death.
We ask our residents to prepare for emergencies. We invest hundreds of millions of dollars in wildfire prevention, emergency response and disaster preparedness. Reliable communications are one of the most critical parts of that preparation.
California’s rural communities deserve the same level of safety and connectivity as everyone else. We should not ask residents to give up a dependable service before an equally dependable replacement exists.
Technology should move us forward—not leave rural communities behind.
Residents who wish to comment can file online at FCC.gov/ecfs/filings/express using proceeding number 26-125.
Sue Hoek is Nevada County’s District 4 Supervisor. District 4 includes the communities of Lake Wildwood, North San Juan, Penn Valley, Rough and Ready, Spenceville, unincorporated areas along Highway 20, south down to the Perimeter Road area, and the McCourtney Road / Retrac Way area.
Helpful Links
Federal Communications Commission: FAQ on Filing a Public Comment