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A Digital Solution for the Sunsetting of Plain Old Telephone Service

business woman holding a phone in front of a computer screen

Something big is happening in the world of IT communications. Over the past few years, quietly and discreetly, the world’s biggest telecom providers have been retiring their physical copper lines to fully digitalize their plain old telephone service (POTS).

This digital transformation is better for telecommunications carriers/network providers and businesses alike, as copper networks are expensive to maintain and unreliable with gradual deterioration over the past 100 years. Meanwhile, business customers have been paying a high price for this erosion with monthly rate increases to offset the rising costs of maintenance.

Based on my work in the industry, I can comfortably state that most out-of-contract POTS lines have tripled in cost just in the past year alone. As a result, these legacy phone services are being decommissioned, so steps need to be taken to find a more cost-effective, long-term alternative.

Telecommunications Is Going Digital

The Covid-19 pandemic rapidly accelerated the digitalization of many industries. Despite this transformation, one often overlooked yet critical area is the digital transformation of copper wire networks that are used for such crucial business components as elevators, cash registers and fire alarms.

According to the FCC, there are still approximately 41 million standard voice POTS lines in the U.S. alone. Such a large number makes perfect sense: Legacy telecommunications has long been a mission-critical tool in standard business operations.

For many companies, these lines play a vital role in the customer experience, both in-store and when customers wish to contact the company online or via telephone. However, many businesses overlook the impact of landlines on the balance sheet—unaware that legacy telephone lines could affect their financial bottom line. With POTS being phased out, these costs could continue to climb, which is why many telecommunication companies provide POTS replacement solutions.

Act Now, Not Later

There’s no avoiding the inevitable demise of POTS. It will affect every business, no matter how big or small. The change itself is out of a company’s hands, but what businesses can do is control how they approach this change—and that’s where POTS transformation comes into play. An organization’s decision to get the ball rolling immediately should serve as the go-to transformation model that can improve business operations and profit margins.

There are several steps you can do to determine if any part of your IT communications system is still reliant on copper wire. What follows are some questions you’ll want to ask your team to ensure the uninterrupted service of critical communications.

  • Does our business maintain elevators, alarm systems, fax machines or emergency call boxes? These are just some technologies that may rely on copper lines.
  • Do we have a way to monitor existing copper lines? Unlike many digitally enabled lines, often the only way to know if a POTS line isn’t functioning is when it simply stops working, which could be dangerous in terms of elevator and alarm systems.
  • How do we support nonfunctioning copper lines? All the major carriers have stopped providing support for copper wire. In fact, August 2022 was the deadline set by the Federal Communications Commission to phase out POTS lines. While getting service may not be impossible, support may be hard to find and costly.

There are several options that provide a POTS replacement solution. In addition to most major carriers offering a POTS replacement solution, companies like MetTel, Ooma and CNECT offer digital solutions to keep business systems connected. Whether you’re leading a small company or a large one, converting to a digital solution could save millions of dollars in telecom costs. More importantly, though, it can build resilience into landlines that serve as literal lifelines for millions of people and businesses.


This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.

Ready to upgrade POTS?

MetTel’s POTS Transformation is an industry-leading phone line replacement solution that upgrades your communication infrastructure quickly and provides ongoing support so that you can focus your attention back on your business.

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