POTS Alternatives: VoIP, Wireless and Cloud

Charlie Raynes

Author

If your business still relies on Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), it may be time to re-evaluate. Analog copper phone lines have supported business communications for decades, but their days are numbered. Here’s why:

In 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued Forbearance Order 19-72A1, loosening regulations that required or encouraged providers to maintain aging POTS lines. The sunset of copper began in earnest. Business and government POTS line usage in the U.S. declined by 50 percent between 2019 and 2024, dropping from an estimated 20.8 million lines to 10.39 million lines, according to the FCC report “Voice Telephone Services: Status as of June 30, 2024,” published in May 2025.

In 2025, the FCC is accelerating the transition from legacy POTS technology through several additional orders designed to streamline procedures and help telecom providers deploy modernized networks faster. Big providers are responding to these orders, with AT&T, for example, starting copper retirement at 25 percent of its wire centers and seeking a complete termination of its time-division multiplexing (TDM) services by 2029.

With an industrywide POTS phaseout gathering speed, finding reliable alternatives to copper POTS lines is now critical for your business. Fortunately, there are many modern communications solutions that are feature-rich, scalable and cost-effective.

Best Modern Alternatives to POTS Lines

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

VoIP transmits voice data digitally through your existing internet connection instead of analog copper lines, offering a flexible, cost-effective and reliable way to transition from POTS. VoIP connects directly to your existing IP Private Branch Exchange (PBX) or via an analog telephone adapter (ATA) to older phone systems that use analog or TDM lines. VoIP has been proven in the field over the last 30 years, and today, it’s trusted by businesses across industries, including healthcare, education, retail, finance and hospitality.

Benefits of VoIP

By deploying VoIP, your business can achieve:

Cost Efficiency — VoIP transmits voice calls over existing IP networks, such as your broadband internet connection, reducing or eliminating the need for dedicated voice infrastructure and minimizing long-distance and interoffice call charges.
Flexible Scalability — VoIP systems can support additional lines or endpoints through simple network configuration changes, allowing businesses to expand or downsize without physically rewiring or installing new copper lines.
Remote Work Enablement — VoIP allows calls to be placed and received from any device connected to the internet, such as laptops, tablets or IP phones, so employees can stay connected while working virtually anywhere.
Improved Performance — VoIP enables digital voice transmission over IP networks, providing higher audio quality than analog systems. When paired with signaling protocols like SIP and modern IP hardware, it also supports advanced functions such as call setup, forwarding, transfers, multidevice ringing and more.

Voice over Cable (VoC)

Voice over Cable (VoC) is a VoIP-based phone service delivered over a cable provider’s broadband network, which may use either hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) infrastructure or fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) connections. VoC offers a simple, affordable alternative to POTS communications by routing calls over cable broadband instead of analog copper connections.

Benefits of Voice over Cable

Opting for a VoC solution to transition from POTS to VoIP can offer unique benefits, including:

Broad Availability — With national and regional cable networks covering much of the U.S., VoC is accessible in many business locations, including areas where fiber or Ethernet services may not be viable.
Easy Implementation — VoC leverages existing broadband infrastructure, so installations are fast and typically do not require new wiring or major equipment changes.
Reliable Call Quality — VoC networks are engineered to prioritize voice traffic, delivering consistent, high-quality audio across both coax and fiber connections.

SIP Trunking

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking is a method of delivering voice and other real-time communications over IP networks by connecting your on-premises PBX to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) through virtual “trunks.” Unlike traditional TDM-based primary rate interface (PRI) circuits that require physical connections, SIP trunks use your existing internet or private IP connection to transmit calls digitally.

SIP trunking is ideal if you seek to retain your on-premises PBX investment while gaining the flexibility, scalability and cost efficiency of IP-based voice.

To support legacy systems, such as older PBXs, call centers or specialized analog devices, that rely on Primary Rate Interface (PRI) digital phone lines to connect to the PSTN, many SIP providers offer Emulated PRI (ePRI), enabling SIP-based delivery while preserving compatibility with PRI-enabled equipment.

Benefits of SIP Trunking

SIP trunking provides a flexible, modern alternative to traditional phone lines and practical business benefits, including:

Enhanced Performance — SIP trunking taps the power of IP communications to deliver improved call quality and reliability.
Increased Functionality — SIP trunking isn’t limited to transmitting voice. It can support multimedia communications, such as video, conferencing, messaging and other capabilities enabled by your VoIP phone system or unified communications system.
Cost Savings — With SIP trunking, you don’t have to replace your existing phone system. Additionally, unlike traditional PRI circuits that require voice channels in fixed blocks (usually 23 per trunk), SIP trunks allow you to scale up or down one call path at a time. You can start with the capacity you need and add channels as your business grows without overbuying.
Built-In Business Continuity — SIP trunking supports call failover features at the network level, allowing calls to be automatically rerouted to backup numbers, locations or mobile devices if the primary PBX becomes unreachable.

Cellular & Wireless POTS

Cellular and wireless POTS solutions use Long Term Evolution (LTE) or 5G networks to replace traditional analog phone lines, delivering voice and data connectivity without relying on copper infrastructure.

Benefits of Cellular & Wireless POTS

Cellular and wireless POTS line alternatives can offer your business significant advantages, including:

Installation Flexibility — Wireless POTS solutions are ideal for locations where running new copper or Ethernet wiring is difficult, costly or unnecessary, such as elevators, remote buildings or retrofitted spaces.
Legacy Device Support — Wireless POTS solutions provide analog dial tone through built-in adapters, making them ideal for fax machines, fire panels, security systems and elevator emergency phones that still require traditional signaling.
Rural & Remote Access — Cellular and wireless POTS alternatives are particularly useful for businesses seeking connectivity in rural or remote locations.

Cloud-based Phone Systems

Cloud communications bring your business into the modern era of business telephony, shifting voice services away from on-premises hardware and into the cloud. Cloud solutions are delivered over the internet from a managed services provider (MSP), offering powerful functionality, expert support and easy scalability.

Hosted PBX is your first step into cloud communications, delivering a virtual, managed phone system that replicates and enhances the functionality of your PBX. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is the next step, integrating all your business channels, including voice, video, conferencing, messaging, chat, file sharing and real-time collaboration, into a unified cloud-delivered platform.

Benefits of Cloud-based Phone Systems

Cloud communications can be transformative, enhancing your business operations in many ways, including:

Centralized Communications — Cloud communications combine your myriad communications channels into one location, providing a cohesive, streamlined user experience.
Unburdened IT Teams — MSPs handle your cloud solutions’ deployment, maintenance and upgrading, freeing your IT team to focus on high-value tasks and overall strategy.
Predictable Pricing — Cloud communications are offered “as a service” by an MSP through a budget-friendly, subscription-based model.
Hybrid Work Enablement — Cloud solutions are ideal for hybrid environments, enabling workers to access their collaboration tools anywhere, on any device.
Effortless Scalability — Cloud solutions are highly customizable, allowing you to add or remove users, features and locations as your business needs evolve.
Disaster Recovery — The best cloud solutions have built-in disaster recovery to ensure seamless business continuity during natural disasters, outages and other emergencies.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is an industry-leading collaboration platform that businesses like yours have come to depend on for internal communications and collaboration. Direct routing enables external calling via the PSTN from within your Microsoft Teams instance, extending communications beyond your team to customers, partners and suppliers.

Benefits of Microsoft Teams

If your business leverages Microsoft Teams, direct routing can offer special advantages:

Unified Communications — Through direct routing, you can offer a unified platform that combines your business channels, including voice, chat, video and file sharing.
Enhanced Productivity — By integrating external calling into Microsoft Teams, you streamline operations and unlock advanced tracking and analytics tools that can help optimize productivity.
Seamless Collaboration — Distributed teams can access the conversations they need whenever and wherever they need them, promoting frictionless collaboration.

Why Choose Granite for POTS Alternatives?

Granite has expertise to help your business at all stages of your POTS transition, including:

Our portfolio includes cellular, fiber, cable and SIP-based POTS alternatives designed to preserve compatibility with legacy devices while delivering the benefits of digital voice, including greater flexibility, lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and built-in redundancy.

We also support your business as it transitions to future-ready, IP- and cloud-powered POTS alternatives that streamline operations, support hybrid teams and enable easy scalability.

Granite can help your company modernize incrementally and without disruption. Our solutions are engineered for scalability, reliability and compliance, making them ideal for distributed enterprises, government agencies, healthcare facilities and more.