AT&T is pushing to get rid of its legacy copper landline services and instead replace them with advanced fiber optic networks. But not everyone is on board with getting rid of their landline.

If Assembly Bill 470 passes, the company said it will implement a phased, multi-year approach to eliminate the old copper network, which a spokesperson said less than 5% of customers are currently on. 

AT&T is the designated carrier of last resort in many parts of the state, which means it must provide traditional landline phone service to any customer in the service territory. AB 470 would allow AT&T to request relief from its COLR obligations in certain eligible areas, where there is no population or areas served by multiple fiber optic or wireless providers with comparable service prices.

"No customer will be left without access to voice or 911 service. We're committed to working with state leaders and community members on policies that create a thoughtful transition to bring more reliable, modern communications to all Californians," Susan Santana, president of AT&T California, said in an email to CBS News Bay Area. "We're the largest and fastest growing fiber provider in the nation and continue to invest to bring reliable, high-speed connectivity to our customers across the state. This bill also includes a requirement to build fiber to additional residential locations across California."

For at least one Berkeley woman, however, there is more at stake in this landline battle. 

"This landline phone is my lifeline," author Cynthia Larson told CBS News Bay Area. "I absolutely need it. This is the way I would get notification, whether it's time to evacuate or if it's just high winds and we're okay, there's a big difference."

Larson, who does not own a cellphone, says she needs her landline to inform her of fire danger in her area. 

"Rolling power shutoff, because they sometimes do those shutoffs for the utilities to be fire safe in high wind situations," she said. "And so whenever that is happening, I rely upon my landline to find out what's going on outside of my area."

Larson said having a beeper at her IT several years ago put her off from ever purchasing a cellphone for herself. 

"There's no way that I wanted to be on call to anyone, answering anything that rings," Larson said. "Because it just makes me jump out of my skin. They would be calling at all the worst times."

And so she would use her landline or the internet to communicate with her loved ones. 

"I'm not against technology, but I recognize it should be a partner and a friend," Larson said. "Not something we should give our brains and minds away to."

But now, her lifeline, the AT&T copper services landline, is in jeopardy. 

State Assemblymember Tina McKinnor penned the carriers of last resort bill. The Public Utilities Commission rejected a similar proposal last year, but this year the legislation is now headed to the Senate Appropriations Committee for a vote on August 29. 

"Nobody will be without phone service, 99.9% of Californians will have phone service," McKinnor told CBS News Bay Area. "They have to have three other services. Two wireless and one hardline service, which is a [Voice over Internet Protocol]. If you don't have that in your area, they can't pull out, and you'll just keep your copper lines. But if you have that, we'll be able to go into certain areas, pull out those copper lines and put in fiber optics."

She added, "In the next 10 to 15 years, copper will be obsolete. No one will have a home phone anymore. So we'll still need to do those upgrades in those areas that we didn't do in this round." 

Utility watchdog groups say, however, the bill would impact about 1.5 million Californians who rely on copper services, especially when cell service is down.

"It wants to be able to turn out the lights and walk away from serving areas that it thinks that are not as profitable as others," Regina Costa, the telecommunications policy director of The Utility Reform Network, told CBS News Bay Area. "In a major power outage that happens during a disaster like an earthquake or when the power's shut off during the fire, those lines continue to work. They do not need electricity from PG&E in order to keep functioning."

"If you only have a wireless phone, you're not going to have service. You will not be able to call 911, you will not be able to get emergency alerts," Costa added. "Because if you're in a place where the power is out and there's a wildfire and people are not getting the information because the networks are down, that house might be the only one getting those alerts."

Meanwhile, the Californians for a Connected Future coalition fully supports the legislation. 

"Assembly Bill 470 includes a careful, phased-in, multi-year approach that protects all Californians during the transition to a next-generation communications network. Importantly, AB 470 includes a number of consumer protections to ensure that no one is left without reliable communications service and is an infrastructure investment bill that includes an aggressive buildout requirement that is unmatched in scale," a spokesperson told CBS News Bay Area. "That's why such a broad and diverse coalition of Tribal leaders, social justice advocates, veterans, ethnic businesses, education, youth, community and non-profit organizations supports AB 470. The bill outlines a responsible, balanced approach to expanding California's broadband network and accelerating investments in communication technologies that will strengthen connectivity and prepare California for the future. 

Larson, however, said she is concerned about the reliability of these new services in areas that already have spotty connections. 

"The issue with the cell service is that it's not that reliable inside the house, and not even outside the house," Larson said. "So, for example, sometimes my family or friends, they need to go outside on the porch to use the phone." 

She said she hopes that AT&T will answer their call to continue offering copper services to longtime customers like her. 

"They know what they're doing and they're maintaining the copper wires for landline networks and giving us reliable phone services that so many of us depend upon," Larson said. "Do we really have something that's equal or better than copper landlines in these emergency situations?"