A judge has issued a stinging opinion recommending that the California Public Utilities Commission reject AT&T’s request to end landline service in California—a move that would leave thousands of West Marin customers without reliable service.

“It’s not clear why AT&T filed this application under existing rules and then attempted to convince the commission that it should ignore its rules based on flawed and erroneous assertions regarding the law and regulatory policy,” wrote Thomas J. Glegola, an administrative law judge for the C.P.U.C. whose opinions only take effect if commissioners approve them.

The commission could take up his recommendation—known as a “proposed decision”—as soon as its next meeting, scheduled for June 20. 

AT&T began notifying customers in January that it hoped to abandon its responsibilities as a so-called carrier of last resort, typically the sole or largest telecommunications provider in a region. The C.P.U.C. requires carriers of last resort to provide traditional landline service to any customer in their service territory as well as basic services such as 911 calls and directory assistance. 

The company’s announcement alarmed residents in West Marin and other rural regions at risk of wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis or flooding. They inundated the C.P.U.C. with more than 5,000 letters, urging the board to reject the company’s request. In his ruling, Judge Glegola included excerpts from those letters and quotes from concerned citizens who spoke at a series of public hearings on AT&T’s proposal this winter.

Longtime Inverness resident Susan Brayton wrote two letters to the board. She told the Light that she worked to keep her tone civil even though she lives next door to an AT&T switching station that spews diesel fumes during the village’s frequent power outages, stinking up the neighborhood.

“It is essential that we keep the option for landlines open,” she wrote. “My only connection to cell service is through Wi-Fi because there is no cell service available in my neighborhood. Wi-Fi does not work during power outages. I live in West Marin with frequent power outages, especially during the winter storms and in summer months when electric circuits are overloaded.”

Priscilla Stephens of Point Reyes Station echoed her concerns. “My husband and I live in rural West Marin County and would be in danger if our A.T.T. phone landline use was discontinued,” she wrote. “We have very unreliable cell phone reception here and rely on our landline phone for communication during storms and other emergencies.”

A man from Ukiah told the board that his aunt had exhausted every possible alternative without success. “She can’t get cell service out where she’s at because of the trees,” he said. “So, there is no help for her. She’s tried T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, US Cellular, none of them work.”

In his opinion, the administrative law judge wrote that the commission’s rules clearly state that a company cannot withdraw from its carrier-of-last-resort obligations unless another qualified carrier is willing to replace them. C.P.U.C. staff surveyed all eligible carriers in the state, but none agreed to do so.

Consumer advocates welcomed the judge’s proposed decision and predicted that the commissioners would adopt it.

“What AT&T really wants is to stop providing essential telecom service to 99 percent of its service area, without providing a shred of evidence that there are real alternatives,” said Regina Costa of The Utility Reform Network, an Oakland-based consumer group. “If AT&T gets its wish, it would significantly jeopardize public safety.”

In its application to the C.P.U.C., the company argued that money it spends on maintaining its copper phone lines could be put to better use investing in more modern technology. It also asserted that nearly all its customers across the state have viable access to alternative service, including cell phones and broadband internet.

In rejecting the company’s assertion, Judge Glegola cited a state law and a C.P.U.C. policy that require carriers of last resort to provide universal service at affordable prices to all Californians—“regardless of linguistic, cultural, ethnic, physical, geographic, or income considerations.”

In a statement sent to the Light on Tuesday, AT&T said the state’s carrier-of-last-resort regulations were outmoded and reasserted that other viable alternatives could fill the gap if its copper-based landline service is eliminated.

“We remain committed to keeping our customers connected to voice service and will continue working with state leaders on policies that allow us to bring modern communications to California,” the statement said. “Today, competition is robust, and the monopoly rationale behind COLR no longer holds.”