So many things can feel like magic living in the information age. But if you’re not paying attention, there are some things from the old world that still pose a threat to your business.

Plain Old Telephony Systems, or POTS, is one to be filed under “things you never thought you’d need to worry about today.”

In 2019, the FCC set an August 2022 date where telecom providers would no longer be required to support the traditional copper POTS lines the country’s telephone infrastructure was built on since 1877.

More important, they would not need to live up to the previous price caps in place for supporting these older infrastructure systems. Any mission-critical operations that rely on POTS lines could cost significantly more than ever before, or worse, just stop working altogether.

But I’m Prepared!

So many things are made possible, simple, and easy through fast, reliable connectivity to the Internet. You’ve solved Internet for your business. You’ve solved your office telephone and internal communications. But have you solved everything? Maybe not.

The overwhelming majority of your business communications is handled through the Internet connection you toiled over selecting and the VoIP phone service you tirelessly researched. But what about those other things you don’t think about so much? Those things that you may not think about as “communication” right away?

So many legacy systems are reliant on the POTS lines in your facilities. Some of these are mission-critical and it is imperative to think through it all so nothing exposes you to unexpected risk.

• Fax lines. Who still uses Fax, right? Well, healthcare businesses, insurance companies, law firms and numerous other industries are slow to adopt to technology. As VoIP solutions took over most offices, eFaxing became the go-to solution, but many of these businesses still have a backup POTS line for their fax machines.
  
  
• Alarm systems. Most commercial fire alarm control panels have two POTS lines connected to them set to send alarm signals to a monitoring center when smoke, heat, and other dangers are detected. When these POTS lines are replaced by VoIP, the monitoring center almost always stops receiving signals from the fire alarm panel – putting your building and employees at risk. Security systems work in very much the same way.
  
  
• Point of Sale (POS) systems. Whether your Point of Sale (POS) device is a credit card processing terminal, an automatic teller machine, or a prepay gas pump, it probably uses a POTS line to process transactions. Industry-standard for decades, these devices are some businesses direct connection to collecting revenue.
  
  
• Elevator call buttons. Elevators are required by law to provide an emergency phone and dedicated phone line in every elevator car. Elevators rely on POTS lines to transmit emergency calls to the proper monitoring locations. If you have an elevator in your building, this is not just a communications issue, it is a necessary safety requirement.
  
  

If a POTS replacement doesn't take all systems like these into account, you'll find apartment complexes without emergency elevator lines, medical facilities without functioning fax machines, and small businesses that don't have working alarms to safeguard their products.

A Better Way

At Tierzero, we believe the risk of relying on an old, unsupported, expensive POTS system is something you shouldn’t need to worry about. We believe any solution should be easy to implement, cost-effective, and transparent in terms of execution and functionality.

We start with installing an Analog Telephone Adaptor (ATA) or Integrated Access Device that converts SIP signals into analog formats that your existing analog systems can understand. This device is then connected to your internet service and existing POTS wiring and tested. Once your equipment responds perfectly to our POTS replacement, our work is done, and you can return to business as usual.

Our POTS replacement product provides all the benefits you need:

• An analog service that works with faxing, alarm, and elevator lines
• No complex programming changes to on-site equipment (in most cases)
• No major wiring changes
• Built-in power redundancy
• 4G LTE backup in case of an internet outage
• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) in case of a power outage

We believe any provider in our space should be able to solve a challenge like the POTS transition without any difficulty. We also believe that because we’ve been dedicated to keeping you connected since our founding, our solution is the best in the business.

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