Your landline is going away. Your protection shouldn't.

POTS stands for "Plain Old Telephone Service," the traditional landline that runs over copper wire. Phone companies are replacing copper with fiber and wireless networks, and in March 2026 the FCC streamlined its rules to make it faster for carriers to retire copper lines.

Carriers including AT&T, Verizon, Frontier, Lumen, Windstream and Fidium all have active copper retirement programs.

Sources: Fierce Network · VCom Solutions

It depends on your phone company and your area. Retirements happen wire center by wire center, so neighbors in nearby towns can be on different timelines. In September 2026, Verizon asked the FCC to retire copper service in a first group of states; the FCC paused automatic approval after public pushback, but the filing is still pending.

Verizon's copper retirement notices also state that customers may be required to move off copper well before the official retirement date. Waiting for a final notice can leave your alarm without a connection.

Sources: Alarm Grid · Broadband Breakfast · Verizon network disclosures

If you received an email from us, our records show your system communicates over a traditional phone line. Not sure or think something has changed? Call us at 1-866-GO-DOYLE and we'll check your account.

Your system will keep sounding locally, but it will no longer send signals to our monitoring center. That means no one will be notified to send police, fire or medical help when an alarm goes off.

Call Doyle before you make any changes to your phone service. Verizon says these notices are informational and don't mean an immediate shutoff, but they do mean copper service in your area is on its way out. We'll schedule your upgrade so your monitoring isn't interrupted.

Source: WDBJ7

We don't recommend it. Digital phone service from cable and internet providers isn't built to carry alarm signals, and it can stop working during a power or internet outage. That's exactly when you need your system most. Many people switch their phones to VoIP and forget the alarm was depending on that line.

Source: Viirtue

In most cases, a Doyle technician will add a cellular communicator to your system. It sends alarm signals over a dedicated cellular connection, so your monitoring doesn't depend on a phone line or your internet. With battery backup, it stays connected even during a power outage.

Usually not. Many existing panels can be upgraded with a communicator. If your equipment is too old to upgrade, your Doyle Security consultant will walk you through your options.

Yes, if they report through the same phone line. When your system loses its landline connection, every monitored device on it loses its path to our monitoring center, not just burglary sensors.

Yes. Once we install a new communicator and confirm signals are reaching our monitoring center, your alarm no longer needs the landline. Keep or cancel your phone service based on what works for your household.

It's often more than the alarm panel. Common copper-line devices include:

• Burglar and fire alarm panels
• Elevator emergency phones
• Emergency call boxes
• Fax machines and postage meters

Doyle can review the life safety and security systems at your location so nothing gets missed.

Sources: University of Pennsylvania ISC · Viirtue

Often, yes. Commercial fire alarm communication is governed by fire code, your local fire marshal and sometimes your insurance carrier. Doyle will make sure your replacement meets the requirements for your building so you stay compliant and keep your inspections on track.

In 2022, the FCC removed rules that required major carriers to offer analog POTS lines at regulated rates. Since then, many businesses have seen steep price increases on the copper lines they still pay for, sometimes including lines for equipment that's no longer in use.

Source: No Jitter

Yes. Let us know how many locations use phone lines for alarm communication, and we'll build a plan to upgrade each site on a schedule that works for your operations.