POTS Replacement: What Every Building Manager Should Know

Congratulations, your organization is expanding to a bigger office space or renovating and upgrading your existing space! Crews are going through the plans and lining up essential services, taking the opportunity to modernize your IT infrastructure.

But wait, what’s this? Turns out your new location requires you to maintain Plain-Old-Telephone-Service, or POTS, to comply with building codes around elevator safety. Or, the building’s security system still relies on analog copper landlines to connect to emergency services. Or, access keypads, safety phones, and the gate to the parking garage simply don’t work without a copper wire connection.

“We see all kinds of old cabling behind the walls in commercial buildings, even in relatively newer construction,” said Hubert Ellwein, a commercial property manager and builder in the greater Seattle area. “There are systems with no existing documentation. You might find panels buried in sheetrock, wires that don’t seem to connect to anything, or even phone closets that have been walled up in previous renovations. Many of those systems are obsolete and can safely be decommissioned, but unless you know what you’re looking at, you could end up getting rid of something that’s required by the fire code. And you definitely don’t want to get on the wrong side of the Fire Marshall.”

Suddenly, your IT team needs to become experts in arcane telecommunication systems they may not have seen in years (if ever). Your facilities team has to conduct some serious archeology to track down old wires, junctions, and service closets that might have been untouched for decades. And, your business managers need to cover an additional unanticipated service cost. What seemed like a simple upgrade can become a costly, complicated nightmare of a project to manage. If you have many facilities, this becomes a big job.

Very few mid-sized businesses have the expertise in telecommunications infrastructure, IP networking, and facilities management needed for success.

If it’s not broken, why fix it?

Everything is working, but why mess with the status quo, given all of this complexity? The simple answer is cost.

The cost of POTS lines has been skyrocketing. We commonly see customers paying $350 a month or more, and prices are going up yearly! (If you haven't looked at it recently, take a look at what you are paying today. You might be in for an unpleasant surprise.)

The reason behind this rapid increase is simple: The companies that built and ran POTS infrastructure for the better part of a century have shifted their focus to building wireless mobile networks. In 2019, the FCC removed some of those carriers' obligations to maintain the POTS network. Since that order was published, prices have gone through the roof.

While POTS lines are necessary, paying hundreds of dollars monthly for one is not. At Fusion Connect, our replacement solutions can cut those high monthly rates by 75% or more. The more facilities you run, the more these savings will add up.

Matthew Smith, IT Director at Ken Ganley Automotive Group, recently told us:

“We have 54 rooftops, and the telecom services can be a headache, but Fusion Connect helps us stay on top of everything. By using their service, we have been able to eliminate most of our costly POTS lines. Getting rid of our costly POTS lines has saved us thousands of dollars per month.”

This is just one example of a Fusion Connect customer who is saving thousands of dollars a month by modernizing their POTS lines, and those savings go straight to your bottom line.

Fusion Connect Can Bridge the Gap

At Fusion Connect, managing communications infrastructure for the benefit of our customers is our only job. We have seen a lot of old wires and phone closets. We’ve sleuthed out which of a hundred unlabeled cables are still in use. We know how to design solutions that help you meet the standards of building inspectors and fire marshals. The result is if you want to save money by migrating your POTS lines to a fully integrated wireless cellular system, we can provide a single solution that satisfies all of your requirements.

One Device, One Contract, One Low Price, Guaranteed

Imagine you are stuck in an elevator and your cell phone is dead. You would immediately and deeply understand why building codes require that the phone inside the elevator car connect you to someone who can send help, no matter what.

Fusion Connect offers a compact solution that provides redundant wireless cellular connections, battery backups that last days, and support the latest UL and NFPA standards—while also integrating with modern IP-based networking infrastructure. On the business side, we provide an industry-leading guarantee of 100% uptime with no excuses. We can even help you navigate unexpected situations, like when it turns out the phone lines are in a space managed by a neighboring tenant in a commercial building (no wonder you couldn’t find them!). Situations that seem weird or unique are just part of a day’s work for us.

Ready to take the next step?

Whether you’re moving or staying put, ready to cut the cord, or just looking for more value from your existing POTS service, Fusion Connect is here to help you iron out the complexities of communication infrastructure and start saving every month.

Connect with us. We’ll do a brief needs assessment in person or over email to determine whether our services are a good match for your needs. We look forward to working with you.