Network Services, Voice
POTS End of Life
If you don’t know already, your POTS (plain old telephone service) and coppers lines that plug into your phone system, fax machine, security system, fire alarm, etc., are in the process of being phased out. This process started back in 2014 and was finalized in 2015 by the FCC. The Big Carriers like AT&T and Verizon have likely notified you of this in the past in some way, shape, or form. No fear, they are obligated to give you at least some sort of notice (3-6 months) if they do turn off your service. So what’s the deal? The carriers are taking a “slow roll” approach to phasing out their copper lines. Instead of cutting everyone off immediately, over the next 5-10 years they will increase maintenance, surcharges and other fees to help pay for the upkeep of the lines that are either rotting in the ground or hanging on the telephone pole that have been beaten by the conditions for 60 + years.
Your carrier invoices will only continue to rise from here on out. We are seeing bills for a handful of POTS lines that normally are a few hundred to close to several thousand dollars, particularly when you include the usage on them. Our goal with clients (current and new) is to be proactive. It begins with where you are contractually and what is being used/what isn’t. We will quote alternatives that are more cost effective (perhaps peeling of a few POTS lines on your newly sourced fiber circuit through us, or combining with other services), or look at cloud based alternatives to completely eliminate any legacy and antiquated tech lines you still may be leveraging on the premise. Beyond saving money, eliminating your copper lines will help reduce “RoBo” and spam calls, increase redundancy via SIP failover and call forwarding, and enable you to consume better technology that will have a positive impact on your business.
Solution Alternatives
– Source POTS lines for alternative carrier. There are a few out there that can still deliver POTS lines at cost effective rates
– Sourcing a new ISP that can deliver a POTS line handoff from either their fiber or cable transport
– Deploy an ATA (analog telephone adapter) through a UCaaS or SIP provider
All of these solution alternatives can be sourced and contracted through your leading local technology partner, ATI.
Contact us here to learn more…
