POTS Line Replacement

POTS lines are the old copper telephone lines that have provided residential and business telephone service since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876.

POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) is an acronym used by telecommunication carriers to refer to these traditional telephone lines. POTS lines are used for more than just regular voice calls. They also service analog devices like security alarms, fire alarm panels, FAX lines, building and gate entry systems, public safety emergency phones on campuses, elevator lines, point-of-sale systems and more.

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The short answer is that copper telephone lines are becoming too expensive to maintain. Telecommunication companies are migrating to newer technologies, like VoIP solutions and fiber-optic cables. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recognized this in an August 2019 FCC order that removed obligations for certain local telephone companies to offer legacy services at regulated rates.

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There is no magical date when all POTS lines will vanish and traditional landlines will become obsolete. AT&T did announce a plan in March 2022 to reduce its copper footprint by 50 percent by 2025. And there was a rumor that POTS lines would stop working on August 2, 2022. Read our blog post to see how this myth got started.

The bottom line is that POTS lines, which form the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), are headed toward an inevitable sunset and becoming more expensive as carriers struggle to continue providing service to an ever-shrinking subscriber base. All of this is driving both residential and business customers to switch to alternative phone options.

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It depends on where you live, but chances are good that you can still find telecom providers who offer you traditional landline phone service over copper POTS lines. But be prepared for the high costs for both installation and monthly service. Also keep in mind that the aging infrastructure of analog lines make them difficult to maintain, so service may become less reliable over time.

Alternative services such as Ooma’s Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system and LTE cell phone service may be a more cost-effective solution and offer more functions than you can get with a traditional landline phone service.

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You can rip out and replace all of your legacy devices, which is often impractically difficult or expensive. Instead, you can get an affordable digital solution like Ooma AirDial that provides a digital connection that looks like a traditional POTS line to the legacy device. AirDial is a single package that combines hardware, a wireless data connection on a nationwide network and phone service. Sensitive information is encrypted and doesn’t touch the public internet, so AirDial offers privacy for devices like analog fax machines and point-of-sale payment systems. AirDial also meets many regulatory requirements for devices, such as fire alarm panels and elevator phones.

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