ICLE Report Cited in Muncie Journal on Copper-to-Fiber Network Transition
The Muncie Journal cited an ICLE report in a piece on the case for upgrading Indiana’s remaining copper telecommunications networks to fiber. The article referenced AT&T’s reported energy savings from its copper-to-fiber transition, drawing on a February 2026 ICLE report by Director of Economic Research Eric Fruits and Chief Economist Brian Albrecht examining the costs of maintaining legacy copper infrastructure.
Read the full piece here. Read the ICLE report here.
In areas of the country where we’ve transitioned copper lines to fiber, we have seen a 70% reduction in our own energy consumption. In 2024 alone, AT&T reported saving about 340,000 megawatt-hours of electricity by transitioning copper lines to fiber, as cited in a February 2026 report by the International Center for Law & Economics.