Connecting California’s Future Together

California runs on connectivity. From our vibrant cities to our rural communities, the ability to communicate is central to the way we live, work, and stay in touch with loved ones.

However, the connectivity we use every day has fundamentally changed. Today, the vast majority of Californians rely on modern wireless and high-speed internet networks built for the 21st century. In California, only 3% of households within the service area of the state’s largest landline provider still subscribe to copper-based home phone service – a number that continues to decline.

 

The drawbacks of antiquated copper networks are clear—they are less reliable, less resilient, and more susceptible to theft than modern networks.

• Built for a different era, copper networks are more prone to failure — and when they do, repairs are slower because replacement parts are often no longer manufactured. 
• Copper networks are vulnerable to damage in storms and flooding.  In extreme weather events, modern networks can be restored more quickly meaning less downtime and more resilience.
• Thieves often target communities looking for high value copper that they can steal and sell as scrap metal — including from copper networks. Copper theft has caused thousands of service disruptions statewide. 

 

Californians for a Connected Future believes we should invest in modern communications networks that reflect where we are today, not obsolete technology that no longer meets consumer needs.     

Californians are demanding modern networks that support the ways that we live, work, and connect today—not outdated networks.

Modern networks are:

• Safer: Public safety and the communities they support increasingly depend on modern digital networks. Modern networks are also less prone to copper theft, which can leave Californians experiencing repeat outages, when copper cables are stolen again and again as soon as the network is repaired. 
• More Secure: Digital networks support stronger tools to detect suspicious activity and combat robocalls and caller ID spoofing.
• More Reliable: Modern digital networks can be monitored in real time, allowing faster detection of outages. In extreme weather events, modern networks can be restored more quickly meaning less downtime and more resilience.

 

Our mission is to build a stronger, safer, and more reliable digital future by modernizing California’s network today.