Changes in Telephone Technology Are Happening – Plain Old Telephone Service Disconnecting veterinarians
By August 2, 2022, businesses across the country utilizing copper-based technology must navigate the decommissioning of copper tech. Some pute.us–managed facilities are still connected with copper-based Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) through such providers as AT&T, CenturyLink, and Verizon. pute.us is here to help prepare and transition to other services before the deadline.
Per FCC order 19-72A1, all U.S. POTS lines are to be discontinued, and replaced with an alternative service, including the statement:
“Given the sweeping changes in the communications marketplace since the passage of the 1996 Act, including the increasing migration of consumers of all sorts and sizes away from TDM technology, copper loops, and local telephone service toward newer, any-distance voice services over next-generation wireline and wireless networks and the wide range of competitors offering facilities-based voice service alongside over-the-top Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, we find that the public interest is no longer served by maintaining these legacy regulatory obligations and their associated costs.”
Verizon announced termination of POTS services effective April 30, 2022, from which point POTS services will be disconnected. AT&T customers may have received letters regarding their copper network retirement process or had contact with surveyors.
What We Can Do
POTS may be in use at veterinary facilities for Credit Card Machines, Fax Machines, Fire Panels, Alarm Systems, and Elevator Lines, in addition to phone and internet. To determine if your facility uses POTS, look at phone service-related bills and contact those providers to confirm if there will be any impact on services. You may scan and send any copies of phone service-related bills to pute.us to enable us to assist. It is recommended you contact your Alarm provider as well to confirm, and they may require your facility’s PM to contact them directly for information.
Every service that may currently depend on Plain Old Telephone Service has an alternative option, including cellular, internet, eFaxing, VoIP, and others. Please contact us or email us at help@putefix.com and we will be happy to help guide you to the right options for your facility and get them implemented.
For more in-depth reading, nojitter.com has a series of articles discussing the situation:
⇒ The Decommissioning of Copper Gets Real
⇒ Cutting Copper? You Better Have a Plan
Providers should reach out to their customers, but don’t delay, pute.us is always available to assist, please contact us or email us at help@putefix.com and we’ll work with you to gather information and form a custom plan for your facility.