POTS lines and analog phone lines are going away soon and need to be replaced with newer technologies.
POTS lines are being decommissioned soon and most companies still have critical services that have not been moved to other technologies yet.
AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen are increasing the rates dramatically on these services to “force” clients to make these changes…. which can be stressful and time-consuming.
The Federal Government officially granted US telecom firms permission to decommission outdated copper POTS lines (plain old telephone services) which took effect August 2nd of 2022, so this directive is already a year old. There are some 35 million POTS lines that exist today which often are used for critical location services including Fire and Security Alarm systems. Carriers are no longer required to support these lines in an effort to sunset this service.
This poses Three (3) risks to your business:
- Significant rate increases. Standard phone lines plus many overlooked POTS lines such as elevator, fire alarm, burglar alarm, and fax lines are not currently under contract with your carrier, and rates are expected to increase by up to 150% by year-end and pricing increases will grow to 200%-300% from there until you are forced to replace those lines.
- Risk of Service Disruption. As the FCC is not mandating the maintenance of these lines any longer, this poses a risk of increased and unexpected service interruptions, and with no required support of these lines where the potential cost of repair could be substantial.
- Risk of Falling Out of National Fire Safety Standards. If the carriers decommission the POTS lines for fire panels and elevators, that could render you non-compliant with those standards. The larger carriers will rely on the “mostly overlooked” notices that they sent regarding this change, leaving you unprotected.
These changes are looming and in addition to cost savings, the risk of the cost increases must be mitigated. The first step to help is:
- Do a contract review to determine the level of exposure and where you are in your contract cycle.
- Get access to a current, detailed invoice to determine the best savings/provider options.
- High-level recommendation and savings estimates in one week.
- We can also look at other wireline and wireless costs in the same exercise to make sure you have the best rates possible in that area.
C3 can review your billing details, understand the needs you have for your remaining phone lines, and implement these service changes for you.
Let us assist with the significant changes that are happening in the industry right now.
