We’ve known it was coming for years, inevitably creeping closer and closer. The sun is just starting to cross the horizon on the original communications network that we have known for decades as POTS Lines or Plain Old Telephony Service. The analog service is being primed for retirement, so why are we hanging on for dear life?
Why are businesses hesitant to change?
Change is hard. Change that occurs after decades is even harder. Many of us have complicated POTS lines PBX installations and the idea of overhauling a network of that scope can be daunting and may be stopping us from attacking the problem. But we are at a crossroads…we can’t stay where we are, and nor can we go forward in the same way we have been. Change is inevitable. And change is here now.
Another reason change has been slow is there is a very real perception that POTS lines are more reliable than VoIP. This opinion was formed in the early days of VoIP solutions and while that may have been true at the time, the technology has made significant progress and can even be more reliable than POTS in many situations. Especially as the physical infrastructure of POTS lines has degraded – the copper wires are literally falling apart.
And there are statutory requirements governing many aspects of the POTS lines that make transitioning difficult. Legacy systems, such as fire and burglar alarms, elevator emergency boxes, fax lines, and emergency lines are still reliant on the analog technology. All of this creates an understandable and valid hesitation.
Just how expensive are business POTS lines anyway?
The hesitancy of many businesses to actually switch may have you asking yourself if they really are that expensive. While the actual price varies depending on your region, there is a definite trend upward in the range of over 450%. As we shared in a previous blog, How to Lower Your Telecom Bill with POTS Line Replacement, in California, the price of a POTS line was $75 a month in January 2016 and as of Jan 2021 the price had risen to $419 a month!
So yes, POTS Lines are very expensive, especially compared to VoIP, which goes for an average of $66 a month including the needed internet access.
Why are POTS Lines so Expensive?
We all understand the dynamics of cost vs. demand when it comes to the pricing of goods and services. Well, the problem for POTS Lines is twofold. Declining usage as more and more users transfer to VoIP technology for their business phone combined with aging infrastructure that is increasingly more expensive to maintain. On top of this, many carriers are wanting to encourage users to switch to their VoIP offerings and as a result are raising the prices of POTS lines to encourage users to switch.
What can I do?
The easiest option is to just hang on by our fingernails and hope the change doesn’t happen. But as that is extremely unlikely, you will need to consider how you will communicate once your POTS lines are retired. Thankfully, technology has come a long way and key challenges for businesses with using VoIP and some of our legacy technological needs have been resolved. Fax and alarm solutions have traditionally not worked reliably over VoIP but thanks to POTS Replacement devices, like the POTS IN A BOX© by DataRemote, these challenges are overcome.
How? Well, the POTS IN A BOX© in simple terms converts the analog device language to digital, enabling it to reliably be transferred from your analog system to digital connections. This includes devices such as ATM, Fax Machines, Alarm monitoring, vending machines, elevator alarms, E-911 and voice lines. The built-in battery backup and Dual-Sim cellular failover keeps your phones running even in the unlikely event of a power outage or natural disaster taking down your network connection and power.
Even better – your amount of downtime during the switchover will be reduced to seconds.
Don’t wait any longer – explore your options with POTS IN A BOX© replacement devices or even consider a full rip and replace. The choice is yours – and we can help regardless of which way you choose to go.
