Copper phone lines, the old analog lines known as POTS (plain old telephone service), are being retired across New York. If your business still pays for them, here is what’s actually happening and what your options are.

What’s really happening to copper lines

Phone companies have been shutting down copper networks for years because they are expensive to maintain and most customers have moved to fiber, cable or wireless.

A common myth is that the FCC ordered every business to get rid of its copper lines by August 2, 2022. That isn’t what happened. That date marked the end of a rule that required the large phone companies to rent their copper lines to competing carriers at regulated wholesale prices. No customer was ordered to disconnect anything.

What the change did do is give phone companies more freedom to raise prices on copper lines and to retire copper networks after giving notice. For businesses, that shows up in three ways:

• Higher bills. The monthly price of each copper line keeps going up.
• Slower repairs. Fewer technicians work on copper, so fixes take longer.
• Disconnect notices. Eventually a letter arrives saying the line will be retired.

Which of your lines are affected

Most offices moved their main phones off copper long ago. The lines that remain are usually the ones nobody thinks about:

• Old phone systems still connected to analog lines or older digital trunks
• Fax machines and credit card terminals
• Elevator emergency phones
• Alarm panels that send signals over a phone line
• Entry systems and boiler or sprinkler dialers

What to replace them with

The right replacement depends on what the line does:

• Office phones: a cloud phone system. QTech’s starts at $24.95 per user per month on a 3-year plan, with a Yealink desk phone included. See what a 20-person office pays.
• Phone systems you want to keep: SIP trunking connects an existing system to the internet instead of copper.
• Elevator, alarm and fax lines: a cellular POTS line. A small box with a backup battery plugs into the existing jack and carries the call over the cellular network. These lines are provided and billed by our affiliate QTel, a licensed New York carrier since 2001, and installed by QTech. Learn about POTS line replacement.

Things to check before you switch

• Power and battery. Phones that run over the internet or cellular need power. Ask how long the backup battery lasts.
• 911. Make sure every line has the correct address on file for emergency calls.
• Testing. Have your alarm or elevator company test their equipment after the switch. QTech does not provide alarm monitoring; your alarm company still does that.
• Fire alarm lines have their own rules, and any replacement must be approved for that use where the building is located.

Get a free line audit

Send us your last phone bill, and we’ll list every line you’re paying for, what it connects to, and what it would cost to replace. No obligation.

Request a free line audit or call (800) 392-3377.

POTS line service and business fiber internet are provided and billed by QTel, a licensed New York carrier since 2001. QTech, an affiliate of QTel, sells and installs them as QTel’s authorized agent. Cloud phone systems are provided by QTech. QTech does not provide alarm monitoring.