POTS, or Plain Old Telephone Service, refer to traditional landline phone systems that rely entirely on physical copper wires to function. Copper landline POTS networks were created in the late 1800s to facilitate voice communication.
The longevity of the service ran from the 1890s to 1990s (during the 90s other types of connectivity were being introduced to businesses). In 1986 there were 36 million users of the service in the United States reported by the FCC. POTS are typically used today for fire alarm systems to call out, elevator emergency calls to 911 and security alarm systems to call out.
The first phone lines were suspended across poles, traversing the entire country. With time and advancements in technology, many of those lines were later buried underground. So why were they hung in the first place?
Initially, POTS was known as the Post Office Telephone Service. This is because in the early days callers relied on post office operators to connect them to their intended destinations.
The service was later taken from the hands of national post offices, and the term Plain Old Telephone Service was adopted. POTS service today is often referred to as public switched telephone network, or PSTN, for short.
The POTS setup has remained virtually the same for decades. There have been many upgrades to usher components of the POTS telephone system into the digital era, but the copper wire connection has weathered the storm (both above and below ground!). As far as the mechanics of a POTS – this phone service works by establishing a dedicated circuit between Point A and Point B for the duration of a transmission. Originally, communication between two parties depended on an operator to manually connect them for the call. But the aspect of switching has been automated, and today the system is almost entirely digital.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY TAMI WANKOFF IN THE 2023 SPRING EDITION OF GAMING & LEISURE MAGAZINE.