The Price We’ll Pay for POTS

It’s mind blowing that soon, copper / POTS lines will be synonymous with the “horse and buggy.” Like the horse and buggy, POTS lines may still be around…but at exorbitant rates and with limited support, if any support at all.   

Over 20 years ago I embarked on my journey into the telecom industry; these days, we like to call it the communications industry, but back then it was just telecom. As a newbie, I was a little overwhelmed by all of the acronyms, and POTS was the first one that really stumped me. As I sat in my first training class, the term POTS was thrown around like everyone on earth knew what it meant… well, everyone but me. I remained silent when it was mentioned, and every now and then even shook my head up and down as if to acknowledge that I knew what they were talking about. Finally, someone (with less pride than me) raised their hand and asked. I gave a nonchalant nod when the answer was shared, grateful that someone was smart enough to admit they didn’t know, and (novel idea) had the guts to ask the question.  

POTS stands for Plain Old Telephone Service, aka copper lines, land lines, or analog voice… you get the picture. Throughout my career POTS lines have always, well, just been there. They’ve been a part of our vernacular and moreover, a staple in the telecom world for over a century.

Fast forward to today:

FCC Forbearance Order 19-72A1:

“This order officially grants telecommunications carriers permission to abandon outdated, degraded copper POTS lines. This order effectively severed the final ties that forced companies to maintain a specific standard of traditional POTS connectivity.”

Excuse me? All POTS lines are going away? No-not yet. Let’s not get crazy. As much as my “marketer teeth” would love to bite into that, it’s just not the case. The FCC forbearance order simply states that carriers have the choice to discontinue and stop servicing these lines and/or charge a premium for the lines they move to fiber or continue to service. The goal? For some carriers like AT&T, the goal is to have 50% less POTS lines by 2025.

So, contrary to what you may hear in the marketplace there’s no need to panic. All POTS lines are not going to disappear, evaporate, vanish, vamoose, vaporize, or disintegrate. However, you should be prepared to get your wallet out and turn your patience on if you plan to keep yours.

Not sure what to do? Enter another one of my favorite telecom acronyms. VoIP. Voice over Internet Protocol. An easy “fix” to your voice POTS line woes. Simple, feature rich (think voice anywhere, call forwarding), cost effective and easy to migrate.

But wait…there’s more. For alarm, fire, life and safety lines, there are cable company alternatives which, by the way, can also work for voice lines.

Here’s the skinny: You don’t have to be held hostage by the “what ifs” of POTS lines.  Spend a few minutes and future proof your business. I know just the company to help with that. www.bullseyetelecom.com.