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takyon writes:

Verizon Communications Inc.'s "VP of transformation" Sowmyanarayan Sampath has told the Genband Perspectives 2015 conference that migrating its central offices from copper to fiber enables huge savings:

Verizon has transformed only seven of its central offices from copper to fiber, but the benefits realized from the first seven have convinced it to do the same with its remaining 2,000-plus central offices. [...] The numbers, as Sampath broke them down, are pretty compelling. Verizon has 50 million square feet of CO real estate today, he said, 60% to 80% of which it does not need. It can take these locations down from 13 floors to only one or two, bringing about cost savings by paying less property tax and leasing the space for other usage.

And fiber has proven to be 70% to 90% more reliable than copper depending on the typology, he said. Verizon can pass some of the savings on to the customer. Overall, Verizon ends up realizing about 60% savings in dispatches and about 60% savings in energy and is able to create new revenues from upgrading its customers.

As to why Verizon is taking on this huge project now, at a time when no one is complaining about their copper networks, he said it's because copper revenue declines 8% to 10% every year and remains a fixed cost. The transition takes out a huge amount of cost for the carrier.

"The copper network today does not serve the need of our customers," Sampath said. "This is our way of truly transforming the network."

Verizon also plans to switch to fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) for all of its customers. The Register has this extra tidbit for Australians:

Regarding maintenance, Vulture South notes Australia's telecommunications minister Malcolm Turnbull has posted a "FTTN myth-busting" FAQ that states "No telecommunications company in the world has identified avoided copper maintenance costs as a compelling reason for deploying FTTP". That statement is no longer true. Turnbull's also often suggested to the Australian media that it consider overseas broadband rollouts as they represent useful experiences with which to consider development of Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN). The Reg has contacted Turnbull's office seeking comment on Verizon's experience.