The days of plain old telephone service (POTS), connecting millions of homes through telephone wires, are numbered. With the increasing reliance upon cell phones and VoIP, only 10 percent of Americans are left using old school telephone services. Most of those who are refusing to change over are older, around 80 and 90, unable to change with the times.
Maintaining POTS equipment isn’t cheap. Telecommunications companies have to maintain telephone wires, often made with expensive copper wiring. Phone (News - Alert) companies, not wanting to spend so much to maintain lines that are rarely used, are trying to get out of the business. Some phone carriers, like AT&T (News - Alert) and Verizon are even trying to change legislation that requires POTS to be available as a “carrier of last resort.”
For most, the death of POTS would not seem like a crisis. Internet based telephone services abound, usually bundled with Internet and cable television services. VoIP and cell phones are much more accessible and able to perform better than POTS. It would seem that the death of POTS is just another step forward for new technology while the old, outdated phones that few use are being left behind. However, an article by Larry M. Elkin posted on the Palisades Hudson Financial Group LLC’s website, reveals that perhaps the death of POTS should not be celebrated just yet.
The first concern raised is the reliability of a telephone’s service. POTS are known for operating on a “five nines” standard, working as expected 99.999 percent of the time. Most POTS have achieved this standard. Meanwhile, cell phones are known for dropping calls, “can you hear me now?”, and Internet connections often come and go in quality. Of course, who isn’t willing to trade a few dropped calls for mobility, faster speeds, and cheaper phones that can do so much more?
There is just one problem; a lot of devices meant to handle emergencies might rely heavily upon POTS and its ultra-reliability. A vast majority of medical devices and alarm systems were developed with POTS. For example, ADT, one of the largest home security companies in America, advises clients to contact the company when switching from POTS to a VoIP service. The company does allow VoIP services to work with its equipment, but will only certify a service that is professionally installed and has disaster plans in place. Vonage (News - Alert), a popular choice for home VoIP services, does not qualify for ADT.
What is it that makes emergency services hesitant to incorporate VoIP? The issue seems to be based on how easily a VoIP connection can be disabled. POTS are given power through the phone company, rather than a home’s usual power source. If the electricity were to go out, a phone was likely to remain functioning so long as the phone wires were not also damaged, making them useful in the case of emergencies that lead to blackouts. VoIP phones and the modems they connect to are usually powered through wall outlets. If the power goes out, so does the phone.
Of course, these concerns are really only for services that are stationary and must be plugged in. Cell phones don’t require constant connection to power sources, and when the power goes out people are still able to use them. Additionally, the time and cost to repair a cell phone tower is much smaller than that of telephone wires. With cell phones, services like ADT might be left out if they are based on a VOIP system, but people can still make calls through their cell phones.
Elkins points out in his article that the death of POTS is likely inevitable, but in order for it to finally end, cell phone service will also need to increase. Not all rural areas are adequately covered by cell phone towers or cable networks. For POTS to die, phone companies are going to have to apply further pressure on the government, and for them to succeed in this they will need to fill in those gaps in coverage.
It is obvious that as POTS disappear, companies are going to have to make adjustments to their equipment that will still lend a level of reliability while relying on VoIP, in order to continue to provide important security and medical services.