It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad cell phone world these days. Rarely do we hear about landline telephones. But they’re still out there—and people are still buying new ones.
Let’s review the current state of landlines and landline phones.
Landlines have been around a long time. Initially hung on poles and then later often buried underground, this voice-based phone service system has been used by residences and businesses since the 1880s.
But, with the advent of cellular services, things have changed dramatically—at least when it comes to personal communications.
The latest data, compiled July through December 2020 by the CDC, shows that 65.8% of American adults have ditched the landline. 31.9% use both. And only 1.8% are landline-only households:
When broken down by age and greater divisions of mixed usage, it becomes clear who the target audiences are for home landline phones—those 45 years of age and older. Those 65 and up are the key demographic.
Please note the percentages between the two charts don’t exactly line up. But the trend is clear:
Note these statistics deal solely with phones in homes. They don’t address business telephone landline usage at all.
The wired phone system America grew up with is called POTS—Plain Old Telephone Service. It uses copper-based transmission lines. Over time, it has been upgraded from analog signals to digital. But its copper base has technological limitations, including the amount of data it can carry. However, one thing has not changed. It provides power to connected telephones. That’s because there is a giant battery system at the phone company’s end. This means, even when a home doesn’t have power, a corded phone can still be used. This makes it ideal for emergencies. POTS wiring is found in many homes, apartment buildings, and businesses.
Telephones that work with POTS use an RJ11 plug. And they may also be marked on the back “complies with part 68, FCC Rules” and have a Ringer Equivalence Number (REN). Those of us who added DSL Internet to our home phone system may remember we were told to add up the RENs to ensure we weren’t overloading things!
Digital phone lines, often called VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), use a different technology. Digital runs over cable or fiber optic. It offers many more features, including Internet, phone service, TV programming, etc. In case of a power failure, phones (and the modem) will not work, unless the end-user has a battery backup system in place. Telephones that work with digital lines use an RJ45 plug.
Will POTS-based phones, faxes, etc. work with digital lines? Yes! All that’s needed is an ATA (analog telephone adapter), also known a VoIP adapter. It converts RJ11 to RJ45.
Don’t get confused between digital phones and digital phone lines. POTS was upgraded many years ago so it could carry digital signals. This added features like touchtone dialing, call waiting, caller ID, etc.
With all the added features available with digital lines, why do people (and businesses) hang onto their landlines? There are 5 reasons.
Beginning in 2014, AT&T and other providers of copper-based systems indicated they will sunset the old lines in favor of fiber optic. They cite maintenance expense and the realization that copper just can’t provide the suite of features most customers want.
Today, in some states, POTS is completely gone. In others, it’s still there to serve existing customers but is not available for new ones. And there are states where copper is still available for both new and existing customers.
No definite timeline for shutdown has been established. However, per this AT&T website, they are continuing to offer POTS in 21 states.
They are:
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Nevada
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Wisconsin
These may or may not include DSL Internet or trunk line requests. Nor does the website indicate when POTS in each of the listed states will be discontinued.
AT&T and any other provider of POTS must notify customers in advance if their copper lines are being discontinued. This gives customers time to consider their options.
But remember, RJ11 phones can be adapted for RJ45 applications. POTS-based equipment can still be relevant in a VoIP world.
Corded phones, when connected to POTS, still work when the power is out. Cordless phones provide an easy way to extend calls into other parts of the house or business where there may not be a phone outlet.
These kinds of phones make it quick and easy to answer phones wherever users spend the most time.
As shown in the previous charts, seniors hold onto their landlines longer than other age demographics. This is partly due to the increasing complexity of cell phones that can be confusing for some seniors. Poorer eyesight and hearing issues are also not well addressed by cell phones. And, for seniors, the thought of being unable to reach others during a power outage is completely unacceptable.
Special needs phones offer a wide variety of solutions, including big buttons, extra-loud ringers, amplified volume, and larger digital displays.
According to officeinteriors.ca, offices looking to go digital might want to look at two popular choices: digital phones and IP phones. Digital phone systems “still use traditional phone lines but convert the analog sound of your voice into a digital signal that is encoded and then decoded at the other end of the line.”
Digital phones require less upfront costs because it uses existing wiring. An IP system means pretty much starting from scratch, including running new wiring.
Multiline phones are available in desk phone only or base station and handset/desk phone combinations.
Not necessarily. According to ringcentral.com, web browsing to find a local business still leads to an actual phone call 65% of the time—whether they are Baby Boomers or Millennials. Only 22% use social media.
So, local businesses are still potential customers.
Cell phones are everywhere. But not everyone is a fan of moving their cell phone from room to room to take calls. And we’re all familiar with the panic that sets in when we can’t find where we left our cell phones!
Connect to Cell systems from AT&T and VTech as well as Link2Cell phones from Panasonic solve this problem.
The base station is placed wherever the cell signal is the strongest. Then Bluetooth is used to pair one or more cell phones placed by the base station. Different ringtones are used to distinguish between cell phones and landlines.
This eliminates dropped signals and the need to be tethered to a cell phone. They can even be used without being connected to a landline! And for small businesses that run primarily off a cell phone, this technology allows taking cell calls on extension phones while they are in their workshop or warehouse area.
RJ11 phones are still excellent devices, even with an ATA or VoIP adapter in play. They may have fewer features as phones specifically designed for RJ45 scenarios. But depending on where and how they are used, they will keep your customers happy for years to come.
As a reseller, you need to be aware of the uncertainty surrounding the sunsetting of POTS and that varies from state to state. Even then, there are solutions to keep RJ11 phones still operating on VoIP lines. Just focus on your target audience—businesses and those 45 and up.
Petra Industries stocks a wide variety of landline telephones to meet your varied retail needs.
Furthermore, Petra has a lot more to offer besides telephones! We have more than 15,000 products spanning 60 categories. We also provide special services to our retail and reseller customers like online purchasing, dropshipping, product information, financing, and more. Discover everything Petra can do for you at petra.com.