One-stop shopping for POTS replacement: how Generation 2.0 solutions outperform cellular communicators

Once upon a time, before supermarkets, keeping a family’s pantry stocked was a time-consuming multi-stop trek. The butcher shop for meat. The greengrocer for fruits and vegetables. The bakery for bread. Etc.

The supermarket, in modern tech terms, is Generation 2.0 of food retailing. By bringing all types of food and cooking necessities under one roof with economies of scale that lowered prices, supermarkets disrupted and ultimately eliminated almost all single-category food retailers.

The world of POTS replacement is now making a similar transition from single-category Generation 1.0 devices to more efficient, affordable and flexible Generation 2.0 solutions. Let me explain.

Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), the old copper wires going to businesses and homes, are rapidly becoming obsolete. Many carriers are drastically increasing costs—often to more than $100 per line per month—to cover their maintenance costs with a smaller user base, and in some cases they are shutting off POTS lines entirely.

A dilemma for equipment requiring POTS

This is creating a painful dilemma for property managers and others who must support mission-critical equipment such as fire alarm panels, elevator phones, building entry systems, blue-light safety phones, fax machines, and more. How can they replace these POTS lines as efficiently and inexpensively as possible?

Generation 1.0 POTS replacement devices

Historically, Generation 1.0 POTS replacement products were single-purpose and costly.

Also called cellular communicators, these solutions were designed for only one use: fire alarm panels, sometimes only for one specific brand. Property managers overseeing multiple sites might need to source several different brands of cellular communicators to match their various panels.

Similarly, there are single-use devices to replace POTS lines for elevators and for building entry systems. The same mix-and-match confusion comes into play, creating headaches for property managers who have to juggle multiple devices with multiple monthly bills from multiple vendors.

Generation 2.0 POTS replacement solutions

No surprise, we at Ooma believe our solution—Ooma AirDial®—is the Generation 2.0 answer. We can support nearly all POTS equipment with a device that’s fully configured out of the box and only requires the customer to pay a single monthly bill. AirDial even works for equipment such as fax machines and PBXs that often aren’t served by Generation 1.0 POTS replacement products.

What’s more, Ooma AirDial is designed with compliance requirements in mind—such as NFPA 72 for fire alarm systems and ASME A17.1 for elevator phones—that cellular communicators and related devices aren’t always capable of addressing.

Finally, unlike most Generation 1.0 POTS replacement products, Ooma AirDial service includes an online portal for remotely monitoring and managing devices across multiple locations and even multiple accounts—reducing costly visits to wiring closets to verify that devices are functional or to make changes.

To find out more about the new age of one-stop shopping for POTS replacement, call us at (866) 902-6765 for a free consultation.