POTS Line Replacement Options for Alarm Lines

Your company is looking into POTS line replacement options, and you have alarm lines — fire alarms, security alarms — and you’re wondering if POTS over cellular actually works for those, or if thick walls and poor cellular coverage are going to be a problem.
In this video, I answer all of those questions and explain why POTS over cellular is still the best fit for alarm lines at medium to large size companies.
Want my recommendations on the best POTS replacement solutions to quote for your company? Ask me today.

About Mike

Mike Smith is the Founder and President of AeroCom and has been helping companies with telecom and cloud services since 1999. He has been the recipient of numerous business telecommunications industry awards, including being recognized as one of the top 40 business people in Orange County, CA., under 40 years old. You can also hear him as the host of the popular Information Technology podcast, ITsmiths with Mike Smith. Follow Mike on YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit and SpiceWorks.

My Recommendation

If you’d like my recommendation on the best POTS replacement solutions your company should be quoting, don’t start calling providers directly or searching the internet for options on your own. Send me an email or give me a call at 714.593.0011. I’ll tell you which solutions to quote, which ones my customers like the most, and I’ll get you better pricing than if you go direct. If your company has five or more POTS lines that need to be replaced, that’s a great fit for me — I’d love to help. It doesn’t cost your company anything to work with me. Also don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel and go check out AeroComInc.com — you can filter service providers by features, read and write reviews, watch videos, and find all kinds of useful information.

Why POTS Over Cellular Is the Go-To Solution

When it comes to POTS line replacement, the number one option for medium to large size companies is POTS over cellular. It’s by far the most popular solution at that scale — one service provider that can blanket all of your locations under a single cost-effective contract. That’s what I’m focusing on today, and specifically why it works well even for alarm lines.

Does POTS Over Cellular Work for Fire Alarm Lines?

Yes — and here’s why. Most POTS over cellular solutions are compliant with all the major alarm line regulations, including UL, NFPA 72, 17.1B, and UN 38.3. So compliance is not a concern. If your company has fire alarms or security alarms tied to existing POTS lines, POTS over cellular is a tested and approved replacement path.

Dual SIM Cards and Network Redundancy

A lot of POTS over cellular solutions come with dual SIM card capability built into the appliance. Those dual SIM cards can work across multiple major cellular networks — AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile — so you can set a primary and a backup network at every site. If one network goes down, the appliance fails over to the other automatically.

Multipath Failover

Some solutions also offer multipath failover. If you want an extra layer of redundancy, you can connect both a cellular network through the SIM card and a public internet connection to the appliance simultaneously. The appliance sends all voice traffic over both connections at the same time — so no calls are ever missed, even if one connection fails entirely.

Security and Encryption

All traffic across POTS over cellular solutions is fully encrypted and secure. For companies with compliance requirements around their alarm lines, this is worth confirming with your vendor during the quoting process — but it’s standard across the major providers.

Centralized Management Portal

If your company has alarm lines across multiple locations, POTS over cellular gives you a single web portal to monitor and manage every device globally. Log in from anywhere and see the status of every site in one place.

Automated Service Alerts

Within that portal, you can set up automated service alerts for all of your sites. If any device has a problem, any battery runs low, or any device loses its cellular connection, the system sends you an email or a text alert immediately. For alarm lines specifically, that kind of real-time visibility is critical — you know about a problem the moment it happens, not when it’s too late.

24-Hour Battery Backup and Round-the-Clock Support

Most POTS over cellular solutions come with a battery backup that lasts at least 24 hours. And almost all of them include 24/7/365 live support. If you get an alert at 2am that a device at one of your locations has dropped its cellular connection, you can call and get a live person on the phone immediately. For companies with locations across different time zones, that around-the-clock availability matters.

Self-Install or Professional Installation

Depending on your comfort level and internal resources, most providers give you the option to self-install or bring in a professional installation team. If your alarm lines make you nervous about self-installing — or if you don’t have the staff to handle it across multiple sites — professional services installation is available globally through most providers. Every site, every location, handled by a certified installer.

What About Thick Walls and Poor Cellular Coverage?

This is the concern I hear most often when companies are evaluating POTS over cellular. What if our building has really thick walls? What if the cellular coverage in that area is weak?

These are not new problems — POTS over cellular providers have been solving them for years. The dual SIM capability helps with weak coverage by giving the appliance access to multiple carrier networks simultaneously. And if cellular signal simply cannot penetrate the building, providers can mount the appliance on the outside of the building or on the roof. That’s a standard installation approach — hospitals and large facilities with extremely thick walls use it all the time. Nothing these providers haven’t seen before.

Want My Recommendations on POTS Replacement Solutions?

There are dozens of POTS over cellular providers out there and you don’t want to start calling all of them on your own. Send me an email or give me a call at 714.593.0011. I’ll tell you which solutions my customers like the most, introduce you to the right salespeople, get you demos, oversee the quoting process, and make sure you get the best pricing available. If your company has five or more POTS lines that need to be replaced, reach out — I’d love to help. I don’t charge your company anything to work with me. Don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel, check out AeroComInc.com, and leave me a comment below. Thanks for watching — I’ll catch you on the next one.