POTS Replacement: What It Is and How It Works

For a long time, businesses have relied on old-fashioned copper phone lines, the kind that have been around since the telephone was invented. Phone carriers are phasing that technology out, and if your business still uses it, it's worth understanding what's changing.

What "POTS" Actually Means

POTS stands for Plain Old Telephone Service: it's the traditional copper-wire phone line that's been the standard for decades. It's reliable, but it's old, expensive to maintain, and carriers are retiring it.

Why It's Going Away

Maintaining old copper lines is expensive for phone companies, and the technology can't keep up with what modern businesses need. Carriers across the country are shutting these lines down and pushing customers toward newer options.

What Replaces It

The most common replacement is VoIP: phone service that runs over the internet instead of a copper wire. It's usually more affordable, comes with more features like call forwarding, voicemail-to-email, and mobile apps, and doesn't require any special wiring.

What This Means for Your Business

If you still have old-style phone lines for your main number, fax machine, alarm system, or elevator phone, now's the time to start planning your move before your carrier forces the switch on their timeline instead of yours.

Not sure what kind of phone lines you currently have or what to switch to? We can take a look and walk you through your options.