The FCC just handed channel partners a massive opportunity, and it’s on a strict deadline.
Legacy copper networks are disappearing faster than many realize. The FCC’s March 2025 rule changes cut the required direct notice for copper retirements to 90 days, and carriers like AT&T are already moving aggressively.
Thousands of your customers still rely on copper for elevator phones, alarm systems, point-of-sale connections, and fax lines. When those lines go dark, they’re facing compliance violations and service disruptions, and they’re looking for partners who can help them navigate this transition smoothly.
The window to own this opportunity is closing fast.
Why This Matters to Your Business
Compliance deadlines are firm. When copper lines shut down, businesses operating elevators, security systems, or emergency communications face immediate regulatory exposure. They need solutions now, not in six months.
Costs are rising and unpredictable. Many business POTS lines now exceed $100 per month. Trade reports show some grandfathered specialty lines billed at $1,000+ and, in isolated cases, more than $2,700 per line. Your customers are already feeling the pain, even if they haven’t called you yet.
Technical expertise may be vanishing. As carriers shift to IP infrastructure, fewer technicians can maintain copper systems. That means longer outages, higher repair costs, and frustrated customers looking for alternatives.
Where Partners Win
Partners who act now turn copper retirement into new revenue. They solve today’s issues and build long-term value.
Lead with compliance clarity. Your customers don’t need to become FCC experts. They need someone who understands the regulations and can translate them into simple, actionable steps. Position yourself as their compliance ally, and you’ll be the first call they make when the sunset notices arrive.
Bundle modernization into managed services. Every copper migration is an opportunity to add value. When you help customers transition to White Label Communications’ e-POTS solution or complete UCaaS platform, you replace a line and create a a foundation for monitoring, analytics, and ongoing management. That one-time migration becomes a multi-year contract with predictable monthly revenue.
Own the customer relationship under your brand. With WLC’s business model, these migrations happen under your brand, on your paper, and in your customer portal. Don’t build equity for a vendor. Build it for your firm. When you’re ready to exit, buyers see long-term contracts, predictable revenue, and customer relationships you control. That’s what drives premium valuations.
Four Actions to Take This Week
Do these this week to lock in quick wins.
- Audit your base and flag every customer still using copper for life-safety systems, alarms, fax, or point-of-sale.
- Prioritize customers in AT&T, Lumen and Verizon footprints, where retirement is happening fastest.
- Launch a compliance campaign using the FCC deadline and carrier sunset notices as urgency drivers. Frame your outreach around helping customers avoid violations, not selling them technology.
- Leverage our support team to design offers that work fast. You don’t need to become a copper retirement expert. You just need to know who to call.
Why WLC Partners Are Leading This Transition
We’ve been powering partner success since 2010. More than 650 partners, 250,000 endpoints, and 60 million minutes processed monthly. We know how to make complex infrastructure simple, so you can focus on growing your business.
The platform is open and API-driven, built on FreeSWITCH architecture. That means you can customize solutions for specific industries, integrate with existing systems, and innovate faster than competitors trapped in rigid vendor platforms. When a hospitality partner needed door phone integration, we delivered it in 45 days.
Our 99.999% uptime (only one outage in four years, during an industry-wide event) means when your brand is on the line, our infrastructure protects your reputation.
100% U.S.-based support. 24x7x365.
What This Means
Copper retirement is a catalyst, not a crisis. The partners who move now will lock in recurring revenue streams, expand their wallet share with existing customers, and position themselves as indispensable modernization advisors.
Partners who wait will face tougher competition and higher costs.
Want help turning deadlines into revenue?
Schedule a 30-minute planning session.
Sources:
- POTS Replacement Network (Sept 2025). “FCC Fast-Tracks Copper POTS Line Retirement in 2025.” https://potsreplacement.net/fcc-fast-tracks-copper-pots-line-retirement-in-2025/
- Channel Futures (Apr 2025). “POTS Retirement Quickens on Heels of FCC Copper Orders.” https://www.channelfutures.com/mobility-wireless/pots-retirement-quickens-heels-fcc-copper-orders
- Fierce Network (Mar 2025) “It’s official: Copper retirement reform has landed in the U.S.” (fierce-network.com
- MetTel (Oct 2025). “POTS Lines Going Away: The Final Sunset.” mettel.net
- Atlantech Online (Apr 2025). “POTS Line Replacement: What Businesses Need to Know About the Copper Sunset.” atlantech.net