Colorado’s landline era is ending in a specific, dated way this month, and it has a cause most customers were never told about: CenturyLink sold the fiber those calls travel over, and the new owner will not let it keep using them.
Why the letters are arriving now
The Denver Post reported on 06-Aug-2026 that CenturyLink is asking long-standing residential customers along the Front Range to move to a wireless product called Connected Voice with Air-Line. The reason is that CenturyLink sold its consumer fiber network to AT&T last year, and after a grace period AT&T will not let CenturyLink keep carrying voice service over lines it now owns. CenturyLink has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to discontinue voice service over fiber for customers from Fort Collins to Fountain, effective 24-Aug. The company did not disclose how many customers are affected.
The remaining copper network is on the same path, though no timeline has been given for shutting it down. CenturyLink spokesman Ron Boehmer said copper is fast becoming obsolete and encouraged customers to explore modern alternatives, including other providers’ fiber, cable, wireless or satellite service.
What Air-Line actually is
Air-Line is a small adapter that routes calls to a nearby cell tower instead of over a wire, switching to an alternate tower if one is overloaded. Your existing corded or cordless handsets plug into the box and keep working, your number stays the same, and you still get a dial tone and caller ID. A battery backup can be added so the line survives a power cut. Under federal rules the letters must give at least 90 days before service changes, so a letter is a deadline to plan against, not an immediate cut-off.
A new wired option in the south metro
Separately, BAM Broadband announced on 12-Aug-2026 that it is building fiber in Castle Pines, Castle Rock, The Pinery and the Cottonwood area of Parker and Douglas County, offering symmetrical speeds from 1 Gbps to 8 Gbps with no contracts or data caps. Construction started in Castle Pines that week, Cottonwood followed later in August, and Castle Rock and The Pinery were put at 30 to 60 days pending permits. The company expects service to be available in the fourth quarter of 2026.
What this means if you live in Colorado
If a CenturyLink letter arrived, the practical question is whether you need the line to work when the power and the towers do not. Air-Line depends on cellular coverage, so in canyon and foothill addresses it is worth confirming signal at the house before switching, and worth asking about battery backup either way. You also do not have to take the offered product — the 90-day window exists so you can shop.
In the south metro, BAM is a fourth-quarter promise rather than something you can order today; Xfinity and CenturyLink remain the incumbents until it lights up.