POTS in a Box: The Future of No-Fail Phone Systems

POTS — short for plain old telephone service — are the classic, copper-based phone lines that defined our idea of the telephone for a century. But POTS are on the way out: they’re expensive to maintain, aging fast, and lacking in any modern features. 

In fact, providers like AT&T have issued mandates to business customers that they have two years to find a replacement solution. The issue is particularly acute in places like Florida, where our salty environment accelerated copper corrosion. It’s easy to see why the biggest carriers are looking to move on to a new technology.

But plenty of services depend on POTS for crucial functionality: point-of-sale devices, emergency elevator communications, HIPAA-compliant medical faxes, and more. What most of these services have in common is their need to work no matter what. So what does the future hold for these services? 

Introducing POTS in a Box: a powerful, flexible, cost-effective solution for organizations in need of a no-fail POTS alternative. But how does it work, and why should an organization consider this option? If you’re one of the many organizations in need of a POTS solution to keep critical functions running, read on.

What is POTS in a box? 

POTS in a Box is a true workhorse. Powered by highly efficient DC voltage (along with dual AC and DC battery backups), it uses the latest SD-WAN technology to deliver dependable, dedicated, secure voice and data communication over the internet. Crucially, it also features an automatic LTE (cellular) backup to ensure critical services remain operational during an internet outage. It’s all housed in a literal box that is easily accommodated in any workplace. 

Let’s quickly address the elephant in the room: aren’t internet connections too choppy and unreliable for no-fail services?

We understand this concern, as we’ve all had the experience of a dropped Skype or Zoom call. What’s crucial to understand is that POTS in a Box data doesn’t travel over the (unreliable) public internet, but rather through a dedicated, encrypted “tunnel” that routes directly to servers we manage. In addition, the failover LTE backup means that unlike your disconnected Zoom call, your POTS in a Box call won’t even drop. You might miss a word, but you won’t drop a call. 

Again, POTS in a Box isn’t just limited to voice: point of sale processing, IoT data, and any  other essential data can travel through the same no-fail tunnel. If you run a restaurant, for instance, you’ll never again have to pay a transaction fee twice just because it didn’t go through the first time. That’s the beauty of failover technology.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

Who is POTS in a Box for?

Any organization that needs dependable data communication for crucial services can benefit POTS in a Box. Here are just a few popular applications:

Restaurants and retailers: Anyone who relies on point-of-sale devices and wants to keep business running smoothly through inevitable power outages and internet failures is a great candidate for POTS in a Box.

Property managers: We’ve spoken to HOAs who need to walk around each week pressing every elevator emergency call button in their building just to ensure the technology hasn’t broken. That’s a lot of manual labor — and what happens if the system happens to go down during a disaster? 

Healthcare facilities: POTS in a Box is an excellent option for HIPAA-compliant medical faxes. It’s also being used in hospitals for life support monitoring systems that require 100% uptime.

Data centers: POTS in a Box can provide a failsafe option to access to critical infrastructure, even when other systems fail. 

The Benefits of POTS in a Box

Hopefully, you’re starting to get a handle on the many benefits of POTS in a Box. Now let’s go deeper:

Reliability. AD and DC battery backups powering POTS in a Box enable it to run for a full 24 hours without power. It’s also equipped to be multi-carrier, so if you have two internet providers, it can be up and running on both. All of these passive redundancies, combined with the LTE failover, make it a true always-up solution.

24/7 monitoring. With legacy POTS, there’s no way to check if the system is up and running without putting it to use (remember our elevator call button pusher?). POTS in a Box is the opposite: at C3, we’re monitoring these systems around the clock from our data center. The moment it goes down, we get an alert. In short, we will know there’s a problem before anyone could ever know on-premise. 

Disaster resilience. Disaster recovery has never been more important for most organizations, particularly here in Florida. POTS in a Box fits perfectly with a strong DR plan, ensuring that your core communication systems remain functional through hurricanes and other major disruptions. Put another way: If you’re caught in a natural disaster, trapped in an elevator with no power, POTS in a Box will enable you to get in contact with a rescue team.

Affordability. For a managed solution with so much flexible power, POTS in a Box can be remarkably affordable, available for well under $100 if you’re currently enjoying other C3 services. 

Regulatory compliance. POTS in a Box provides a HIPAA-compliant solution for healthcare providers, as well as ADA-compliant elevator communication.

Why Use C3 for POTS in a Box?

Is C3 your ideal provider for a solution like POTS in a Box? We tend to think so. Here’s why:

A complete solution. Many companies work with three to five vendors to accomplish what they could accomplish just with us. By bundling services with C3, there’s just one call to make to manage all your technology. 

24/7 support. Unlike most managed services, we’re staffed in-house around the clock. We also have 24/7 network monitoring, so there is always a team to manage alerts as they happen. There’s never a delay in knowing what’s happening on your network — POTS in a Box is an excellent example.

Broad expertise. Because C3 is a complete provider, we have a uniquely wide and deep knowledge base far beyond POTS. In other words, we’re home to experts across cloud, security, voice and collaboration, and connectivity — all the core areas of IT — which enable us to spec out the best possible solutions.

Consultative approach. It’s overwhelming to navigate the maze of technology options available to your business. Even worse, most IT partners are going to sell you what they want you to buy — not what you need. By contrast, C3 takes a consultative approach of truly understanding the challenges that keep you from doing what you intend — and providing solutions based on those gaps. If we don’t think you’re a good candidate for a service like POTS in a Box, we won’t sell it to you.

Scalable solutions. We offer incubator products — like POTS in a Box — that enable customers to start small and experience some success without spending a fortune on upfront technology investment. As our customers grow, they can then upgrade into what they need to be successful. It’s a win-win.