Today, copper telephone lines that support POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) are an aging infrastructure that’s getting more and more expensive to maintain. Major telephone providers have already started phasing out their support of analog POTS lines – promising for a full phase-out, nationwide. These adjustments are pushing customers to look at other options to replace copper telephone connections. Many big broadband providers are driving customers to wireless and fiber lines, so what’s the problem? In short, many ‘analog era’ office applications – security alarms, gate systems, FAX lines – weren’t built for digital connections and they run inherently better on analog lines! Not only that, fiber connections are expensive!
- Fire alarms, gates, elevators, and emergency systems – As we mentioned earlier, functions like fire alarms, security systems, and elevators require POTS-like reliability, meaning they need to work no matter what and meet all code mandates. These must-have requirements are exactly in harmony with LTE digital solutions. Because VoIP lines are dependent on running power and the internet, they’re not 100% dependable. What happens if a VoIP line has distortions or ‘echoes’ during an emergency phone call? Or what about if the power goes out or there’s a natural disaster, how can you sound alarms? 4G LTE connectivity is more suited for always-on business applications like gates, alarms, elevators, etc. because it delivers stability and reliability at a reasonable price.
- Faxing – Many companies still depend heavily on faxing to send and receive orders with customers, vendors, and partners. In particular, those companies in verticals like healthcare, financial, and the legal industry also rely on faxing to comply with industry and government regulations. Making the switch to running fax lines over 4G LTE provides a reliable replacement solution that costs much less than other internet-based solutions that are, in many cases, overkill for these functions.
- Point of Sale – A company’s Point of Sale system is the lifeline of the business. If it goes down, companies can lose thousands of dollars in sales in a matter of minutes, or worse, they can hurt their reputation with customers. Companies need a high-performance and cost-effective alternative to traditional telephone lines that include built-in redundancy and doesn’t require power or the internet. Making a move away from POTS and fiber for running Point of Sale applications means businesses can have greater peace of mind knowing they can serve customers.
- Business resiliency – As we’ve highlighted, power and internet outages can happen at any time. If your company relies 100% on digital communication, what’s your backup plan? A 4G LTE POTS replacement solution provides business resiliency and is self-contained, preparing you for anything.
Make a plan and act on it
Regardless of the timeline for phase-out of POTS lines, it’s safe to say that over the next few years, conventional analog telephone services will only get more expensive and offer fewer options. As telcos begin retiring all copper-based communication, you need to help customers come up with a game plan for replacement. At Broad Sky Networks, we can convert all of your customers’ legacy landlines to a next-gen 4G LTE POTS Replacement solution. They’ll thank you, and you’ll have recurring revenue for keeping must-have business applications running smoothly.
