Urgent notice · Commercial property owners & business tenants
EngagePoint is reaching out to commercial property owners and business tenants regarding an important and time-sensitive telecommunications change that will directly affect your property and your tenants' operations.
The change
AT&T, Verizon and other carriers are retiring their copper-based Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) network across the United States, including all of Broward County, Florida. Traditional analog lines — used for fire alarm communicators, elevator emergency phones, security alarm panels, fax machines, ATM lines, and gate/access control dialers — will be permanently discontinued.
October 15, 2025
Carriers stopped accepting new POTS installs, moves, adds, or changes.
June 2026
Full copper POTS shutdowns begin at affected Florida wire centers. Lines go dark permanently.
90 days' notice
Once a disconnection notice arrives, that's all the time you have to find and deploy a replacement.
Your exposure
If your property or your tenants use POTS lines for any of the following systems, those systems must be migrated before the June–November 2026 deadline.
| System | What Happens If POTS Is Lost | Who Is Responsible |
|---|---|---|
| Fire alarm communicator (DACT) | Fire alarm cannot reach monitoring center — code violation under NFPA 72 | Property owner / fire alarm company |
| Elevator emergency phone | Elevator non-compliant — ADA and ASME A17.1 violation | Building owner / elevator contractor |
| Security / intrusion alarm panel | Alarm cannot dial monitoring center — facility unmonitored | Tenant / alarm company |
| Fax machine (healthcare, legal, financial) | Communications failure, HIPAA or legal exposure | Tenant |
| ATM communication line | ATM goes offline, transaction failures | Bank / ATM operator |
| Credit card backup dialer (POS) | Payment processing failure during internet outage | Tenant / POS provider |
| Gate / access control dialer | Gate access system failure | Property owner / security company |
Action plan
Start before a disconnection notice arrives. Ninety days is not enough time to procure, install, and inspect compliant replacements in a commercial or healthcare setting.
Solutions
Replacing POTS lines does not require replacing your existing equipment in most cases. These solutions are used by commercial and government facilities nationally.
Fire alarms · Elevator phones · Security panels · Gate dialers
Also sold as a POTS replacement gateway, cellular communicator, or "POTS-in-a-Box" — available from several vendors.
NFPA 72 compliant. No rewiring; plugs into existing equipment.
Office lines · Fax · Admin phone lines
AT&T Business Fiber or another ISP delivering voice over fiber to the building.
Requires fiber at the address. Stable long-term option.
Fax machines · Non-life-safety analog devices
Converts analog devices to run over your existing internet connection.
NOT approved for NFPA 72 fire alarms — confirm with your fire marshal.
Fire alarm panels
Replaces the dial-up path at the panel itself, where the panel supports it.
Requires panel work and fire marshal approval.
Next steps
Begin the process now rather than waiting for a disconnection notice.
POTS line transition
Not necessarily. While many alarm monitoring companies are proactively notifying customers, the obligation to maintain a compliant communication path for your fire alarm system falls on the property owner. Contact your alarm company directly and ask whether your panel uses a POTS line and what their recommended replacement is. For fire alarm systems, confirm the replacement is NFPA 72 compliant before proceeding.
In most cases, yes. Replacing the communication path on a fire alarm communicator requires a permit and inspection by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) — typically your local Fire Department's Fire Prevention Division. Factor this into your timeline; inspections can take several weeks to schedule.
No. Standard VoIP services are not approved for use with NFPA 72 fire alarm communicators. You must use a solution that has been tested and listed for use with fire alarm systems — typically a cellular POTS replacement device (also called a POTS replacement gateway, cellular communicator, or POTS-in-a-Box). Consult your fire alarm company and the fire marshal before selecting a solution.
It depends on your lease agreement. In many commercial leases, the landlord is responsible for building-level life-safety infrastructure — including the main fire alarm panel and its communication path — while tenants are responsible for their own suite security systems. Review your leases carefully and consult legal counsel if there is ambiguity.
In either case, unresolved POTS dependencies at your property create liability for you as the property owner.
Costs vary by solution:
Call AT&T Business Services at 1-800-321-2000 and ask for a complete inventory of all lines billed to your property's address. You can also check your phone bill for lines labeled "analog," "business line," or "single-line service." Additionally, ask your alarm company, elevator contractor, and any fax or modem users in the building whether their equipment connects via an analog telephone jack (RJ-11).
For Verizon analog line support and landline repair, call (800) 837-4966.
Let's talk
EngagePoint will inventory your lines, identify every life-safety dependency, and come back with a migration plan and an honest recommendation — no obligation.
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