Telecom has come a long way since the days of traditional analog Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) lines. While many businesses are opting to transition to VoIP services, many companies still use POTS lines for essential services like voice, DSL, fax, or alarm services at their office locations. The challenge is that many carriers are pricing POTS out of the market to free-up resources and infrastructure to prioritize newer technology. Additionally, maintaining a POTS line, coupled with the additional fees and surcharges, could be costing the business more money than they realize.

Enter POTS line aggregation

So, what are your options? How can you keep critical services running without spending an arm and a leg? Start with POTS line aggregation! POTS line aggregators help businesses consolidate and aggregate POTS lines to reduce financial and administrative headaches. Aggregators have resale agreements with local phone companies across the country, giving them the ability to streamline these services for clients. Clients win big by getting one invoice for all of their POTS services and having one point of contact for all customer service-related issues, thereby reducing the administrative costs of managing their lines. But it doesn’t stop there. 

Cost savings and inventory management

Whether you’re making room for new systems or attempting to cut costs, auditing your POTS lines is a critical first step. Getting a clear picture of each line, its primary use, and the associated costs will give you the information you need to begin consolidating and optimizing those lines. Armed with this information, you are one step closer to improving inventory and controlling costs. What else can you expect? 

Bulk Pricing – If most of your lines are with the same phone company, you may qualify for bulk pricing. While you could work directly with the carrier, your aggregator or telecom consultant likely has an agency relationship with that carrier and can serve as an advocate to get volume pricing. 

Line Elimination – Have you added analog phone lines over the years that are now going unused? For some, an audit will uncover unused lines that have been overlooked but are still being charged to your account. In other cases, there may be an alternative, more cost-effective technology that can support the requirement. For example, many alarm lines can leverage wireless connections with fewer fees and surcharges. PRI or SIP trunking could replace POTS for voice services, depending on how many lines you have at a specific location.

Next Steps?

POTS lines are easy to overlook since they are low-tech, often standalone, analog services that don’t ‘cost too much.’ However, if they are forgotten and left unchecked these lines can cost you a fortune. If you’d like to review your POTS lines and see if there is an opportunity to reduce your expenses, talk to LanYap Networks. We can help you cut costs now, and prepare for future upgrades when it makes sense for your business.