Consolidated Communications/Fidium Fiber Announces New Areas for Legacy Phone Service Discontinuation Where Fiber Service Is Available

On August 18th, 2026, Consolidated Communications of Vermont Company (CCVT), LLC, which does business as Fidium, filed another petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The petition requests permission to discontinue traditional landline phone service (also known as legacy voice service) in more areas of Vermont.

The Newly Affected Areas

The petition applies to the following exchanges:

Barre

Barton

Bennington

Bellows Falls

Enosburg Falls

Essex Junction

Fairfax

Greensboro

Guildhall

Jacksonville

Manchester

Middlebury

Montpelier

Morrisville

Readsboro

Rutland

Salisbury

Shelburne

South Londonderry

Stratton

Wardsboro

Waterbury

White River Jct.

Wilmington

What This Means

In these areas, Fidium has replaced much of its older copper phone network with fiber-optic infrastructure. The FCC webpage Tech Transitions: Network Upgrades That May Affect Your Service | Federal Communications Commission provides more information about this infrastructure and transition process.

Where fiber service is available, Fidium proposes to transition customers from traditional landline phone service to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service. VoIP phone service uses an internet connection instead of copper phone lines. Please visit the FCC webpage Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) | Federal Communications Commission for more information about VoIP services.

There are limitations to VoIP service in the event of a power outage. Visit the department's webpage Voice Services over Non-Powered Facilities | Department of Public Service for information and tips to stay informed and connected during power outages. The Department has also developed a webpage Copper-To-Fiber Phone Service Transitions in Vermont to better inform customers on how service providers are transitioning from copper to fiber phone services and tips on navigating this change safely.

Current Service Information

According to the petition: This impacts 77 customers in the above listed exchanges.

Proposed Timing

Fidium is seeking approval to discontinue legacy landline phone service on or after November 3, 2026, following FCC approval.

More Information

The FCC filing is available on the FCC'sElectronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).

Customers affected by this change should have received a letter or email from Fidium with more information and next steps.

For questions, please contact Consolidated Communications / Fidium Fiber at 866-573-1221 or visit FidiumFiber.com.