POPP Communications

Are land lines going away?

(aka Central Office Lines, DSL, and POTS Lines)

Links to Google Searches to Learn More:

Average cost of POTS lines

When will old copper lines be switched off?

The FCC deregulated Lumen’s old copper voice POTS lines because of voice calling competition, declining revenue, and rapidly increasing costs to maintain.

Lumen voice POTS line use has declined due to competition from many wireless and internet technologies that now complete voice calls, and voice calls are down due to email, video, and text communications.

  • Cell phones – 65% of residences no longer have a POTS line
  • Cable companies now bundle phone lines with internet and TV
  • VoIP lines like Vonage and SIP trunks are voice over internet
  • Hosted Phone Systems are voice over internet
  • Email, chat, and texting have reduced the overall need for voice lines
  • Video conferencing (Zoom, Teams, etc.) has reduced need for voice lines
  • Independent fiber connection suppliers’ VoIP eliminated voice POTS lines
  • Apps have eliminated voice calling (example: restaurant reservations over internet, etc.)
  • Fire alarm panels, security alarms, and other monitoring devices are now mostly wireless/cellular
  • Fax To Email services have reduced the need for fax lines
  • And there are many more examples

What is a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) Line aka Central Office Line?

POTS Lines aka Central Office Lines are phone lines that utilize the old copper wire network in the ground or on telephone poles between your office and your neighborhood CenturyLink/Lumen Central Office telecom building. You may know Central Office Lines by other names like:

  • Land Lines
  • Analog Lines
  • Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) lines
  • Business Phone Lines
  • Voice Lines
  • Fax Lines
  • Alarm Lines

What is FCC Mandate FCC-19-72?

In 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued order FCC-19-72 that allows regulations set back in 1996 to expire, giving Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs) like AT&T, Verizon, and CenturyLink/Lumen freedom from price controls and wholesale requirements.

The FCC’s aim is to relieve ILEC’s across the nation of the burden of maintaining the legacy copper network, to accelerate investment in broadband and “Next Generation Networks”, namely Voice over IP (VoIP).

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-grants-relief-outdated-burdensome-phone-industry-regulations

Can POPP help my business replace it’s land lines?

Yes. In 2026, all of POPP’s business services are delivered via VoIP. For years, POPP has offered modern VoIP telephone lines as a reliable alternative to legacy phone technologies that don’t rely on old copper wiring while still providing all the services businesses need to stay connected.

POPP has a few options to help:

1. POPP Business VoIP Lines

POPP Business VoIP Lines are a simple and direct replacement for most POPP Central Office Lines. A POPP technician installs an Analog Telephone Adaptor at your site and performs the conversion with only momentary downtime. VoIP Lines work just like Central Office Lines, with the same dial tone, phone number and line features. POPP Business VoIP Lines include 1000 minutes per month of domestic long distance.

2. POPP Wireless Cellular Safety Lines

POPP’s Wireless Cellular Safety Lines provide a dual connection using VoIP and cellular technology and come with an 8-hour battery backup service. Since this service provides cellular backup in the event of an internet outage, and battery backup in the event of a power outage, this service meets the NFPA72 – City Fire Code Requirements.

Wireless Safety Lines are designed for fire alarm panels and elevator phones, however any analog device that you wish to have cellular and battery backup are good candidates, including essential fax lines, monitoring lines, credit card lines, door entry lines, etc.

3. Specialty Telephone Numbers

In some cases, a business may retain a Central Office Line mainly because the telephone number is valuable but may not need the line’s dial tone. POPP’s Specialty Telephone Number service allows you to keep the phone number active but disconnect the Central Office Line. POPP will forward incoming calls the line receives to another phone number of your choosing.

Next Steps

If your business is in need of guidance to navigate the change from land lines to reliable VoIP service, please contact us and our advisors will work with you to create a plan to update your technology.