California, in particular, has a serious problem. Its communications infrastructure is under assault. And high-value copper is the motivator. Fortunately, there is a solution: deregulatory policies that promote the transition to all-IP networks.
Earlier this week in California, Verizon "announced a $25,000 reward program for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals involved in vandalism that have cut off thousands of Verizon customers from critical wireless and wireline communications services." AT&T created a similar reward program last August specifically focused on copper-related crime in the Golden State.
As Verizon highlighted in its press release, "California is at particular risk for vandalism – when it comes to the economic impact of these outages, the state saw the largest losses at $252.6M." In the petition referenced above, AT&T wrote that in California alone it must "spend $1 billion a year to maintain a nearly-empty copper network that has become an easy mark for criminals" and reported roughly 2,000 outages attributable to copper theft in just the first five months of 2026.
No matter what the form, deregulatory actions that accelerate the migration to all-IP networks – forbearance pursuant to Section 10 in the context of a general rulemaking proceeding (regarding which the Free State Foundation filed comments) or a petition for specific relief, or preemption in response to the petition filed by AT&T in the wake of the FCC's March 2026 Network Modernization Order – help relieve carriers from the obligation to provide thieves with additional helpings of copper (among other pro-consumer benefits).
They also mitigate the need to enlist ordinary citizens in the fight against vandalism and theft through the offering of bounties.
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