Are Copper Bugs Eating Away at Your Client's Finances and Safety?

POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) technology has remained the same for about 150 years.  Anchored by an infrastructure connected by copper wire, they account for most of the 30+ million POTS lines still active today. They have been used for decades to connect safety and security systems, such as alarms, elevators, and emergency call boxes, to a central monitoring station.  However, copper POTS lines are no longer ideal for several reasons, and leaving these copper infrastructures in place for mission-critical applications would be analogous to bugs eating away at your client's finances, efficiency, and safety.   So why is addressing these “Copper Bugs” so important to your business and your client’s business?

1.    Are you aware of the dreaded Copperosis 19-72A1?  FCC Order 19-72A1, issued in 2019, allows the retirement of analog technology and the divestment of analog service by all the major carriers.   This means that POTS line providers will not be required to update or maintain POTS lines, offer them to consumers, or regulate their prices.  Cures for Copperosis 19-72A1 are available today!

2.    Beware of The Copper Pricing Bug, Priceiliosophis. Some sources report that POTS line prices have risen between 75% and 200% in an effort to force customer migration away from the outdated POTS line infrastructure. This means that businesses and individuals who still use POTS lines for their safety and security systems may face significantly higher costs to maintain their legacy lines.  Do not allow Priceiliosophis to eat away at your business profits; learn more about quantitative remedies and what they could mean for your business.

3.    Senexiomilus, Derived from the Latin Word for Aging. This Copper Bug is a risk for clients who face aging and disintegrating infrastructure: POTS lines are prone to deterioration, interference, and damage from natural disasters, vandalism, or theft. They also have limited bandwidth and data transmission capabilities, which can affect the quality and reliability of emergency communication signals.  This Copper Bug Senexiomilus is very preventable by upgrading to modern and purpose-built digital communications.

4.    Consult a specialist to combat Onesizefitsallimytis: Different applications have different requirements for POTS Replacement. Many solution providers ignore this and offer generic solutions that may not work well for all applications. You need to choose a solution that matches your specific application profile, whether it is for fire alarms, elevators, or fax machines. MACH offers tailored solutions for different applications. For instance, our AReS for Fire has a unique architecture for Fire Alarms that is different from the one we use for Elevators or Fax Machines. Some have battery backup; some do not. Some have cheap routers from China; some have only high-quality equipment from the US. In any case, you need to make sure that the devices are reliable and available when you need them the most – such as during a fire or an elevator emergency. 

Different jurisdictions may have different standards, so you need to be aware of what devices you are using and how they are supported. Some of the devices from overseas may not be of the same quality as the ones from the US. Moreover, some devices like Huawei and ZTE are already banned in the US for possible security risks. Other devices from overseas may also be banned in the US in the future, so you need to be careful when selecting the equipment for your application. MACH does not compromise on quality for life safety applications. MACH Networks uses enterprise-class Cradlepoint routers for AReS and industrial-class equipment for AReS for Fire. We also only use services from the three largest US carriers to ensure service continuity. Having a specialist to deal with Onesizefitsallimytis is ALWAYS recommended.