The small business owner guide to plain old telephone service (POTS) replacement options

Plain old telephone service lines (POTS) have long played a critical role in business communications, but their time could be running out. Small businesses that once depended on these analog phone lines may now look for POTS replacement options that are cost-effective, flexible and future-ready. Here's what to know about POTS lines, how small businesses use them and why it may be time to transition to a wireless service option.

What is a plain old telephone service (POTS) line?

If you're familiar with a landline phone, then you already know something about POTS lines. POTS, or Plain Old Telephone Service, is the original analog phone line system used to make and receive phone calls. Although many businesses and their customers have switched to modern voice over internet protocol (VoIP) solutions, a small business might still use POTS lines for certain purposes without even realizing it. For example, a car wash or a clothing boutique might still rely on a landline phone, a credit card processor, a fax machine or an alarm system that uses a POTS line. Though this arrangement worked well for many years, small businesses may now find it doesn't meet their needs as well as it once did.

Why small businesses are replacing their POTS lines

Although POTS lines once enabled business communications across the country, their era is coming to an end. POTS lines are costly and inflexible when compared with modern voice collaboration tools and wireless business internet solutions, which enable remote work and deliver a better customer experience.

Aging phone lines may not scale particularly well, which could inhibit small business growth during a critical window of opportunity. POTS lines may also not integrate with business software, such as a customer relationship management (CRM) solution or a business productivity suite. The business may miss out on further opportunities to modernize operations and stay relevant in a quickly changing market. When faced with the decision regarding this legacy technology, many small businesses are beginning to consider POTS line replacement options.

Cost-effective and flexible wireless POTS replacement options

Wireless technology can offer flexible and cost-effective POTS replacement options for businesses seeking to modernize. For example, a family-owned restaurant might use a landline to answer customer calls and operate a credit card processor for payments. At the same time, the restaurant likely also has a security alarm in place, as well as a broadband internet connection that provides essential Wi-Fi connectivity for staff and guests.

A wireless solution like LTE or 5G business internet could serve as a POTS line replacement and support all of the restaurant's connectivity requirements by providing a more affordable and flexible solution. Using a Simple Voice solution like Verizon Business Phone Connect, the restaurant could quickly connect its landline phone and credit card processor to a new wireless network using an analog telephone adapter.

With POTS line replacement solutions in place, restaurant owners would no longer have to worry about how much longer the POTS lines would be available or how much it might cost to keep them. They would also have a clear path to use modern voice collaboration and tools to keep their workforce connected and productive. For example, a POTS Feature Rich Phone System like One Talk delivers a mobile-first experience for employees using their preferred devices. That way, restaurant workers can stay in touch with one another, their vendors and their customers—wherever they are.

If your office is equipped with Verizon Fios internet services, you're probably already capitalizing on the speed and reliability it offers. But, for locations where Fios isn't available, wireless internet solutions offer simple, cost-effective POTS line replacement options. Wireless internet is easy to set up, and lets you take your internet virtually anywhere you need to do business.

Tips for choosing the right POTS line replacement option

When evaluating POTS line replacement options, it may be wise to first map out all of the business communication solutions already in place. A business may be relying on POTS lines without realizing it—as part of a security system, for example, or even a meter reader—so consider taking a comprehensive inventory to be sure all systems are accounted for.

Then, consider whether these solutions are integrated (or not integrated, as is likely in a POTS line scenario). Does the company have a POTS line it uses to field customer calls while also relying on employee mobile devices to stay in touch with them while they're working from home? If so, these disparate solutions could be combined in a single business communication solution, such as One Talk. Try to determine if there are opportunities to consolidate and modernize your communications technologies cost-effectively.

If the building or landlord offers limited choices when it comes to business internet, then wireless technology like LTE or 5G Business Internet, may be a great alternative. These plans are simple, flexible and affordable, and they can free your business from limitations that some cabled solutions and POTS lines can impose.

Modernize your business by replacing your POTS lines

For decades, POTS lines powered customer calls, fax machines, credit card processors, security systems, elevator emergency phones and more. However, small businesses that rely on these analog phone lines are looking for viable POTS replacement options that are affordable and can accommodate future technology enhancements. With LTE or 5G business internet voice collaboration tools, they can transform their connectivity, increase mobility, boost productivity and manage costs—while making dependence on POTS lines a thing of the past.

Discover how Verizon's voice and collaboration tools and business internet solutions can modernize your small business.

The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.