According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), over a million Plain Old Telephone Service lines were retired in 2024. Why? Because the global transition to modern POTS alternatives is reaching its final stages.
And there are plenty of good reasons to leave POTS lines behind. They’re expensive to maintain, and the service they provide is often unreliable. Worse, sticking with POTS prevents an organization from adopting the cutting-edge technologies that would enhance their communications.
In a world with VoIP and cellular solutions, who needs copper wires? Not your customers, that’s for sure.
Below, we’ll describe the business value of POTS replacement – and explain how you can guide prospects and customers through this necessary transformation.
The Problem With POTS
Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) is just what it sounds like – standard analog phone service, with audio carried over twisted copper wires. When it was invented in the nineteenth century, this technology was a revelation. Now, it’s a relic.
Despite its age, POTS continues to serve as the central communications service for many organizations. This is a problem for 2 main reasons: Countless pieces of infrastructure rely on the POTS system, and the system is inherently unreliable. That means every failure has a devastating ripple effect on an organization’s internal operations.
The Many Functions That Rely on a POTS System
In today’s organizations, a POTS system usually supports much more than just telephone calls.
Here are some of the functions that typically rely on POTS:
- Telephones
- Alarms
- Fire Safety
- Elevator
- Point of Sale Solutions
- …and more
With so much depending on POTS, outages are devastating – hindering communication while compromising mobility and safety.
Why POTS Is So Unreliable
If POTS systems were reliable, the dependence on them wouldn’t be such an issue. But they’re not reliable, and for obvious reasons.
For one thing, these systems are usually old, and the infrastructure behind them is rapidly aging. As the technology grows older, younger technicians don’t even know how to repair it – leaving organizations with limited support.
Many carriers have expressed the need to eliminate their current POTS infrastructure altogether. For example, a major carrier announced in December that it will no longer provide copper-based services by 2029.
Then there’s the fact that POTS systems have no built-in backup. When the system is offline, the infrastructure it powers stops – with no recourse until the system is back up and running.
On top of these reliability issues, organizations often struggle with the variable cost of a POTS system. Monthly bills depend on usage, and the resulting unpredictability can be a budgeting nightmare. As a result of dwindling infrastructure and the need to migrate away from copper lines, carriers are passing the costs on to customers – who have seen their monthly bills skyrocket by 400% or more.
POTS Replacements: VoIP or Cellular Solutions
There are two main technology solutions for POTS replacement: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and cellular solutions. You can find both options among suppliers in the Intelisys catalog, and either of them will provide savings and enhanced performance for customers.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions allow people to place calls over the internet rather than through traditional phone lines.
That means no physical connection is made between the callers. Instead, the call is completed through a process called “packet switching” – with the voice date broken down into “packets” before being transmitted over the web.
Cellular Solutions
A cellular POTS replacement solution will create a cellular network, usually with some combination of LAN, WAN, LTE/ 5G technology. The network will then support the functions that once relied on the POTS lines – including calls, fax, alarms, and point of sale solutions.
Intelisys offers a solution that is the best of both words: Ooma AirDial. It has patented MultiPath technology that maintains simultaneous active/active connections over wired broadband and wireless cellular networks, automatically placing calls through whichever connection is stronger. This creates enhanced reliability for mission-critical devices such as fire alarm panels, elevator emergency phones, building entry systems, and industrial controls.
The Business Value of POTS Replacement
Replacing POTS lines with a VoIP or cellular solution isn’t a case of adopting a new technology “for the sake of it.” The change will produce real value for the organization, enhancing communications and other capabilities while optimizing costs.
When discussing POTS replacement with prospects and customers, make sure they understand these tangible benefits.
Reliability
When an organization replaces POTS lines with a modern alternative, they help ensure that their communications, alarms, and other systems actually stay online.
Why are VoIP and cellular solutions more reliable than POTS? Here are the three main reasons:
- Backup power. Unlike POTS systems, modern alternatives are designed to keep working even when power is lost.
- Network redundancy. Modern systems have multiple pathways for communication, ensuring continued operability when a pathway goes offline.
- Automatic patching. VoIP and cellular systems are often housed partly or entirely in the cloud. This allows them to update themselves automatically, providing constant access to the latest features while largely eradicating downtime.
Cost Savings
POTS replacements don’t just eliminate the issue of variable costs by replacing the usage-based POTS expenses with a predictable monthly bill. They also lower costs altogether.
Why? First of all, the price tag itself is likely to be lower. That’s right – VoIP and cellular solutions often cost less than the service fees for the POTS systems they replace.
Modern alternatives also require less maintenance-related expenses than old POTS lines – partly because they have less physical infrastructure to manage, and partly because it’s easier to find technicians who understand them.
Scalability
POTS systems are heavy on physical infrastructure, which makes them uniquely difficult to scale. Want to expand the system? You’ll have to install more wires to get it done.
VoIP and cellular solutions, on the other hand, make scaling easy. VoIP accommodates seasonal or growth-based adjustments. You can increase or reduce user accounts instantly via a web portal, often with minimal or no hardware changes.
Additional Features
Most VoIP and cellular solutions offer communications-enhancing features that would never be possible on an old POTS system. These upgrades help organizations optimize their communications – saving time and freeing up resources.
Common POTS replacement features include:
- Unified communications (UC). With a cloud-based system, organizations can communicate seamlessly in multiple modalities – including chat, voice, and video.
- Mobile integrations. Modern POTS alternatives integrate analog appliances (fax machines, fire alarms, etc.) with mobile devices, allowing for easier management and streamlined workflows.
- Enhanced call management. Tools like call queues, call recording, and automatic call distribution allow organizations to seamlessly handle large call volumes.
- Remote device management. Some POTS replacement providers offer web portals to manage all your devices in a single online location. These portals can provide notifications when specific numbers are dialed or power outages occur.
- Scalability. Modern POTS replacement solutions are easily scalable to various locations, and they work on a variety of devices that were once dependent on POTS lines.
- Compliance. Leading POTS replacement solutions are designed in accordance with the applicable guidelines of UL, NFPA 72, ASME, California Fire Marshal, New York City Fire Department, and more.
In conversations with customers, try to determine their main communications-related pain points – and then highlight the POTS replacement features that will be most useful to them.
Starting the POTS Replacement Process
As an Intelisys Sales Partner, you’re in a great position to guide organizations through the process of POTS replacement. The Intelisys catalog offers excellent VoIP and cellular solutions, and our Solutions Engineers (SEs) can provide support for you and your clients.
Start the conversation with prospects or customers by asking if they’re still using a POTS system. If they are, you can also ask to review a recent bill, and then provide a cost analysis.
This is an area where it’s especially clear how an upfront expense will ultimately bring savings and enhanced value for the organization. Your task: Explain these advantages to essential stakeholders.
“POTS replacement is a big opportunity to help your current customers save money and get ahead of the impending ‘copper sunset’ of legacy analog phone service,” said Kathy Mazza, Vice President of Indirect Sales at Ooma. “It’s also a great foot in the door with prospects, who are often willing to consider other ways to modernize their networks once they start working with you on switching out their POTS lines.”
Contact an Intelisys SE to Learn More
Help put POTS back where it belongs (in the past), and steer your customers towards the POTS replacement solutions that will transform their operations.
Ready to learn more about POTS replacement? Contact a Solutions Engineer (SE) with questions.
And download this brandable “Why POTS Replacement?” brochure – an excellent marketing tool you can share with prospects and customers. You can also visit our UCaaS iU Learning Course for more information.