POTS lines are disappearing, but there isn’t one single “national shutoff” date. What’s happening in 2026 is accelerated copper retirement and legacy voice discontinuance, driven by carrier projects and FCC processes.
If you still use analog lines for phones, alarms, elevator phones, fax, POS, or door systems, the safest move is to plan before you receive a short notice letter. This action plan explains what “POTS shutdown” really means and the timeline you can actually schedule around without scrambling later.
What “POTS Shutdown in 2026” Really Means
“POTS shutdown in 2026” usually means your carrier is retiring copper facilities and/or discontinuing legacy voice services in specific wire centers not that every landline everywhere dies on January 1. POTS is traditional analog service over copper; for a quick refresher on plain old telephone service and why it’s being phased out, start there.
In practice, carriers file FCC Section 214 discontinuance applications and provide customer notices, then move sites to modern alternatives. Long before a cutover date, many businesses see rising monthly rates, fewer techs who can service copper, and slower repairs. The real risk is surprise outages for “quiet” lines (alarms, elevators, fax), so treat 2026 as a planning deadline, not a rumor.
The 2026 Timeline You Can Actually Plan Around
The most reliable way to plan is to watch two moving parts: (1) carrier discontinuance/retirement filings and (2) the wave of field work to retire copper and install replacements. Here’s a practical 2026 view.
Early 2026: Discontinuance Filings and Customer Notice Windows
Expect more Section 214 discontinuance notices and public dockets, followed by customer letters that start the countdown for specific addresses. In some cases, notice windows can be shorter than the old “six months” planning cycle, so treat any notice as a trigger to launch your cutover project immediately.
Mid-2026: Large-scale Copper Retirement Activity Ramps Up
By mid-2026, larger, scaled retirements are scheduled to take effect in big chunks of carrier footprints, which means more simultaneous cutovers, longer lead times for circuits/hardware, and less room to “wait and see.” Build buffer into scheduling, especially for life-safety lines and multi-site businesses.
Step 1 – Inventory POTS Dependencies
Start with a complete inventory for every site. Do not trust invoices alone. Walk each location and find every analog line. Check phone closets, demarc points, and control panels. List desk phones, fax machines, and conference room lines. Include fire panels, burglar alarms, and elevator phones. Include POS dialers, modems, and door entry systems. Record the number, carrier, and circuit ID. Note the exact device and its physical location. Add the vendor, contract terms, and renewal dates. Photograph the demarc and label cables. Track cutover status, testing dates, and owners. Keep the spreadsheet current and shared.
Step 2 – Classify Each Line by Risk and Compliance
Now classify each line by business impact. Use three buckets: life-safety, revenue, and convenience. Life-safety includes fire alarms and elevator phones. Revenue includes main numbers and payment related lines. Convenience includes fax and low priority monitoring. Score each line for outage impact. Score each line for compliance exposure. Ask vendors for required standards and test steps. Confirm E911 address requirements for each site. Mark any unknown owner as high risk. Mark any line without backup as high risk. Use risk scores to set deadlines. Do not wait for carrier letters.
Step 3 – Choose the Right Replacement Path
Choose replacements by function, not comfort. Match each line type to a modern option. Document the decision for audits and vendors. Keep life-safety decisions vendor-approved. Keep voice decisions E911-ready and resilient. Plan bandwidth and power before ordering anything. Build redundancy where downtime is costly. Keep the replacement plan in your inventory sheet.
Voice lines: Hosted VoIP or SIP with E911 readiness
Move voice lines to hosted VoIP or SIP. Confirm E911 supports dispatchable locations. Verify routing, hunt groups, and caller ID. Add battery backup for switches and phones. Add a secondary internet path for critical sites. Test calls from every area of the building.
Alarms/elevators/specialty lines: cellular/IP communicators + redundancy
Use cellular or IP communicators for specialty lines. Get written approval from the monitoring vendor. Require supervised signaling and outage alerts. Add redundancy when vendors allow it. Test end-to-end signals before canceling copper. Keep documentation for inspectors and facilities teams.
Sites without fiber: fixed wireless/dual ISP options
Sites without fiber need strong connectivity planning. Compare cable, fixed wireless, and LTE offerings. Use dual ISPs when uptime matters. Prioritize stable upload and low latency. Add LTE failover for temporary protection. Confirm contracts and lead times early.
Step 4 – Build a 90-Day Cutover Plan
Build a 90-day plan with clear owners. Run cutovers in waves, not all at once. Keep legacy lines active until tests pass. Schedule vendor windows and building access early. Use a tracker with dates and responsibilities. Include a rollback plan for every change. Update documentation after each cutover. Communicate changes to staff before go-live.
Days 1–30: inventory + vendor ownership + site surveys
Finalize the inventory and confirm ownership. Assign one owner for each system. Schedule site surveys for cabling and power. Confirm internet availability and lead times. Identify any permits or inspections needed. Define success criteria for each cutover. Lock the project scope and timeline. Publish weekly status updates.
Days 31–60: order circuits/hardware + configure + stage installs
Order circuits, hardware, and communicators. Stage devices and preconfigure settings. Configure E911 addresses and callback numbers. Install new gear while old lines remain active. Label ports and update diagrams immediately. Schedule testing windows with each vendor. Confirm failover behavior during staging.
Days 61–90: cutovers + rollback plan + documentation
Cut over low-risk lines first. Cut over life-safety lines with vendors present. Execute the rollback plan if tests fail. Update labels, diagrams, and contact lists. Train staff on new calling behavior. Collect signoffs and store them centrally. Close out old services only after validation.
Step 5 – Test Like It’s a Life-Safety System
Test every line like it protects people. Verify inbound and outbound voice calls. Test voicemail, attendants, and after-hours routing. Validate E911 address and callback number. Test alarms with the monitoring center present. Test elevator phones with facilities involved. Simulate internet loss and confirm failover. Simulate power loss and confirm battery backup. Document results with dates and signatures. Schedule retesting and keep records available.
