For what it's worth, here is my experience: Three years ago, I still had Verizon copper wire, but not their TV or internet. Every time it rained (!) or snowed, I would lose my phone service. Sometimes it would come back when it dried out, but usually I'd have to call Verizon from my cell phone. It would eventually be fixed, but it sometimes took several days. Several repairmen told me that the trouble was in a box half a mile away, that no other customers were using those wires, and that they were not being maintained. Several times, I reported that the door to one of the boxes on my road was standing open.
After about 10 times, you can imagine that I got sick of all this, and since I wasn't ready to give up having a landline phone, I decided that it was time to switch to something else. (I might as well add the part about how when I called and finally got through, they would always ask me to go outside in the rain - or snow - in the middle of the night with a flashlight and check the connection to my house to prove that it wasn't MY fault. Not to mention that I was supposed to unplug every extension phone in my house and then try to see if one of my phones was causing the problem.)
I resented that I was being forced to give up copper wire, and I had grave doubts about Verizon's service, but their triple play offer was better than that of other companies in my area, and none of those companies were so wonderful either.
So I guess my point is that it's noble to fight to keep your copper service, but I didn't have the stomach for it myself. Google "Verizon + copper" for discussions about the legality of what they are doing. There's a comprehensive article here: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Verizon-Fios-Phone-Copper-Customers-Say-They-Felt-Pressured-...
