PHONE Act of 2023

The PHONE Act of 2023 creates a temporary freeze on phone number reassignment for fixed wireline voice service subscribers in areas affected by major disasters. It prevents phone companies from reassigning landline numbers during a 1-year "covered period" (starting from a presidential disaster declaration) unless the subscriber requests it, and prohibits early termination fees if service is canceled due to disaster-related inaccessibility of a home. Subscribers can later resubscribe to the same number without connection fees, and states must identify affected areas for the FCC to track. This directly affects landline users in disaster zones who might otherwise lose their numbers during recovery.