California Challenges AT&T's Claims About Regulatory Barriers to Network Modernization

California's challenge to AT&T reveals a critical tension in telecom infrastructure modernization—whether incumbent carriers exploit regulatory ambiguity to avoid expensive network upgrades. California contends that AT&T misrepresented state regulations to the FCC, claiming copper network maintenance is mandated when upgrades are actually permitted. This dispute over 199,000 customer lines underscores growing state-level regulatory scrutiny of carriers' modernization incentives.