Verizon has filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to stop providing traditional copper landline service, often called Plain Old Telephone Service, in nine states. New York is one of them. Verizon says the copper network is too slow for modern needs and costs billions to maintain, and that replacement parts are getting harder to find. This page covers what the filing means, who it affects, and the cheapest ways to keep a home phone number.
Who still uses a landline
Fewer people every year. About 20% of U.S. households had a landline in 2025, down from 95% in 2003, and 6.5 million people dropped theirs in 2025 alone. In New York, the National Center for Health Statistics reports that 38.4% of residents use a landline and 3.1% use only a landline.
That 3.1% is the group this matters most to. Many are older people who rely on the landline because it works when cell signal at home doesn't. Residents in Putnam County, New York, told Mid-Hudson News that dropped calls on their mobile phones were the main reason they kept the landline. One called a landline an important backup "in case of an emergency."
What Verizon says would replace it
Verizon's filing says customers could move to mobile service or to a voice-over-internet phone line, as long as the replacement meets 911 availability requirements. In practice that means one of three options.
- A cell phone plan. The cheapest option if mobile signal is good at home.
- A home phone base station. A box that plugs into the wall and connects over a cellular network, so you keep using a regular corded or cordless phone. US Mobile's version is $9.99 a month.
- A phone line over home internet. If you already pay for internet, this keeps a fixed home number without relying on cell signal. It needs power and a working internet connection to make calls, including 911 calls.
The cheapest ways to keep a home phone
If all you need is calls, you don't need an expensive plan. Talk-and-text plans with no data start at about $5 to $10 a month on annual prepay, and some let you choose which network to use, which helps if one carrier is weak at your house.
- US Mobile Home Phone: $9.99 a month for a base station that works with your existing handset.
- Twigby Talk & Text: $10 a month on Verizon's network, with free calling to 80 countries.
- Red Pocket Basic: $5 to $10 a month on annual prepay, on whichever of the three networks covers your home best.
Talk-and-text plans for a landline replacement, a basic phone, or a line that only needs to make calls.
See talk and text plans →
Jean Gilles has researched personal finance, consumer technology, and wireless pricing for over a decade. He founded ShopCellPlans in 2019 and writes every review on the site.
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