POTS REPLACEMENT
Losing Copper Phone Lines? One Battery May Not Be Enough
When a fire alarm communicator or elevator phone moves off copper, the new connection can depend on several powered devices, such as a modem, router or network switch. A battery on the communicator alone may leave the rest without power in an outage. Before you approve the change, get a written list of every device in the signal path, how each one stays powered, and who confirms the required backup time at each site.
Below: how to trace the full path, why required backup times are set locally, why an old FCC rule does not settle the question, and a checklist that works across many sites.
Trace the whole signal path
Depending on the design, the signal may pass through a communicator, modem, router or switch before it leaves the building. Ask which devices are essential and how each one stays powered, including any shared IT equipment.
North Carolina’s State Construction Office makes the same point for elevator phones: where cellular or IP equipment is used, backup power “must address power for the cellular or IP equipment and all associated switches.”
Your batteries cover only your side. In its April 2026 order on network changes, the FCC says interconnected VoIP keeps working in a power outage if internet service is operational and the customer has backup power. So ask two separate questions: what keeps your equipment running, and what does the service beyond your building depend on?
Required backup time is set locally
There is no single national number to plan around. Two public examples:
- North Carolina (State Construction Office guidance, December 2022, citing the 2013 edition of NFPA 72): shared fire alarm communications equipment needs 24 hours of secondary power, or 8 hours where the authority having jurisdiction accepts it after a risk analysis. For phones in existing elevators, it cites a 4-hour minimum. Any solution must be approved by the State Construction Office.
- Newport Beach, California (Guideline F.09, revised August 2016): 60 hours for transmission equipment on a single communication path, and 24 hours where multiple paths are used.
Two jurisdictions, three different numbers. If one device serves both a fire alarm and an elevator phone, neither document says which number applies. Have your licensed contractor and the local authority (fire marshal, building official or elevator inspector) confirm the required time and design for each site.
An old FCC rule does not settle it
The FCC’s former backup-power rule required providers of certain home phone service to offer 8-hour and 24-hour backup options for purchase. It covered residential service only, and it has now expired. It does not set a backup time for a business fire alarm or elevator phone, and it does not decide who supplies or maintains the batteries. Put that in your contract.
A checklist for many sites
- List every fire alarm communicator and elevator phone still on copper, with the site and the responsible contractor.
- For each, list every powered device in the new signal path, its backup source, and the expected runtime under real load. Ask about battery age and replacement schedules.
- Name who supplies, maintains and tests each backup source, including shared IT equipment, and write it into the scope of work.
- Use a few standard designs across your sites, and record which sites need something different.
- Have the licensed contractor run and record acceptance testing at every site with the local authority’s approval. Fix failures before canceling the copper line. Do not improvise outage tests on life-safety equipment.
Our perspective
Approve the whole signal path, not just the communicator. A written device list with backup sources, owners and local requirements gives every site a clear basis for installation, testing and maintenance. Nadicent helps organizations plan POTS replacement across facilities, IT, procurement and providers, while licensed contractors and local authorities confirm the life-safety design.
Who will confirm that every device in your signal path is covered before the copper line is canceled?
Sources
- Federal Communications Commission, Reducing Barriers to Network Improvements and Service Changes (FCC 26-19), Federal Register, April 20, 2026, paragraph 39.
- North Carolina Department of Administration, State Construction Office, Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) Copper Telephone Line Replacement Service Requirements and Options, December 15, 2022.
- City of Newport Beach, Guideline F.09: Communication Paths for Fire Alarm Systems, revised August 24, 2016.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, 47 CFR 9.20, Backup power obligations, October 1, 2024 edition (historical residential rule).
- Federal Communications Commission, Delete, Delete, Delete (FCC 25-80), Federal Register, January 14, 2026, page 1401 (confirms 47 CFR 9.20 ceased to be effective).
This article is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Requirements vary by location and change over time, so check the sources above and confirm with your local authorities and licensed contractors.
