The POTS line: just a plain old telephone service

The customer experience is central to the success of any business, and a company's phone system often plays a central role in ensuring customer satisfaction. Although many businesses today rely on modern wireless telephone technology such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), old-fashioned phone lines still exist. These are known as POTS lines, or plain old telephone service.

What is a POTS line?

When someone refers to a POTS line, they’re referring to a voice-grade analog telephone system that sends sound across a network of copper wires, which may span countries and even continents. Often referred to as a landline, this traditional phone system has been used by residences and businesses since the 1880s.

How a POTS line works

When an individual makes a call using a POTS line, their POTS phone converts their voice into electrical signals. These signals are then routed through a dedicated circuit on a network of copper wires to reach the call receiver. While on this grid, calls may travel between cables, towers, switchboards and other devices. Once the signals reach their destination, the receiving telephone handset then converts them back into their original form: the caller’s voice.

A brief history of the POTS line

Originally, POTS stood for post office telephone service. That’s because those original phone systems employed post office operators who manually routed calls to their destinations.

Over the years, thanks to technological advancements, the POTS line evolved. In many places, overhead wires were buried, and due to automated switching technology, the service no longer required post office operators. Eventually, POTS became known as just the plain old telephone service.

The POTS line today

Today, many calls are made over wireless cellular networks or using advanced VoIP technologies, but the plain old telephone service is still alive and well. In fact, it’s often considered the Carrier of Last Resort, or CoLR, because it can be used to reach people in remote areas that are inaccessible using more modern technologies. Particularly in rural areas of the United States, landlines are still used by many residences and businesses to make calls, reach emergency services or access the internet through a DSL connection.

POTS Vs. VoIP

Most modern businesses have either migrated from analog phone service to IP telephony or are in the process of doing so. There are several main reasons this happens:

Cost

VoIP is usually less costly than the traditional landline. In addition to standard monthly charges, which may involve local and long-distance costs, POTS lines generally require an expensive infrastructure setup and regular maintenance.

Features

VoIP service typically comes with an array of standard features, including:

These features, if available at all on POTS lines, must be purchased separately.

Scalability

For growing businesses, VoIP services are easily scalable. Upgrades typically involve software updates and extra bandwidth. Scaling up standard landline services often requires costly infrastructure updates, including the purchase of additional hardware and dedicated lines.

Moving from POTS to VoIP

If you haven’t updated your telephone service, now may be the time to make the move from your old, outdated technology to a modern cloud-based system. Let 8X8 connect you with a business phone system that can help you better manage your voice services and communicate more effectively with your employees and customers.