POTS (Copper) Line - Product Changes FAQ
Why Are POTS (Copper) Line Services Retiring?
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) Order 19-72A1 de-regulated Copper services as of August 2, 2022. Without those regulations, vendors have been raising rates on copper-based services. The rates are being raised due to the higher maintenance and support required to keep these outdated lines in service. If you have POTS lines, you may have noticed large downtimes and lack of call quality due to the aging lines. POTS lines are highly susceptible to outages due to weather and line degradation. Voice over the Internet products have vastly improved in performance for businesses, far surpassing POTS (Copper) line technology and is the replacement update for this service. As part of RingSquared’s efforts to continuously improve the performance and reliability of the products we provide, we have been proactively upgrading Copper services to help our customers avoid price increases
Why do We Need to Update?
If you have received an email, letter, or certified mail notification from RingSquared about your POTs (copper) business voice services, your account will be receiving a price increase to any POTS (copper lines) on your account. You are not required to update to a VoIP business voice solution, however we are reaching out to customers and have made it easy for you to make the update. Fill out the form above to request a RingSquared team member to assist you with the update. Read the features and benefits of moving your business phone services on this page, and reach out with any questions.
What is Deregulation? Why Will Costs Increase?
POTS (copper) products, per FCC Order 19-72A1, are being deregulated as of August 2, 2022. This deregulation is resulting in reduced maintenance and support of these lines as businesses are updating their voice services to VoIP products to deliver voice over Internet connectivity. Those that keep POTS lines will see an increase on their invoice for those POTS lines.
Why are Copper Lines Aging and Unmanaged?
Simply put, the advancement of cloud-based and fiber connectivity means better service, uptimes, and more options. There are very few reasons to retain Copper services, and RingSquared wants to provide you with the best business communication available on the market. Many regions in the US are already experiencing unreliable connectivity and high maintenance costs related to these dated Copper service lines. Weather events can frequently cause outages due to the more exposed technology used in Copper lines. Newer, more stable and cost-effective technology is available on the market today.
Resources
RingSquared joins other industry leaders such as Verizon and AT&T in moving our customers off legacy Copper products and on to more reliable fiber-based solutions. Here are two recent articles that highlight Verizon and AT&T’s efforts to migrate their own customers to modern, reliable services:
FCC Order 19-72A1 | AT&T Official Statement | Verizon Statement
