Monetize the sunset of copper phone lines

There are around 20 million copper lines still in use, according to a Frost & Sullivan report, as nearly every business in the United States with a physical location still leverages the technology that’s aggressively being phased out by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

We have all come to know a concept referred to as the copper sunset, which swiftly brought the Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) telephone line to the attention of key stakeholders: a highly motivated group ready to profit from the replacement of copper telephone lines.

That is to say, members of the technology channel.

VARs (Value-Added-Resellers), MSPs (Managed Service Providers), agents and TAs (Trusted Advisors) all stand to benefit from this mass phasing out, but must introduce innovative solutions to the mix if they want to profit as they transition customers away from expensive copper telephone lines before they are fully decommissioned.

As it stands, carriers like AT&T plan to phase out copper telephone lines by 2029. The FCC further extended a sense of urgency for many as it accelerated the process of providers having to notify customers of copper line retirement from 180 days to 90 days in 2025.

Enter the great partner opportunity

Channel partners have been benefiting from the retirement of copper telephone lines for years, but in recent months, they saw an uptick in organizations contacting them to accelerate their digital transformation, seemingly overnight.

But what does it look like in practice? For starters, all those with POTS phone service are tied to mission-critical, life-safety comms as required by various regulatory bodies.

Simply put, you can’t just get rid of copper telephone lines. They are tied to fire and security alarms, elevator emergency phones, point-of-sale (POS) systems, credit card readers, fax machines, modems and blue light/emergency call boxes like the ones you see on both university and hospital campuses.

The real channel play presents itself when partners have the chance to layer their unique value proposition on top of a system that itself is a future-proof, compliant alternative to traditional telephony. Agents are further strategically leveraging POTS replacement projects as a Trojan horse for new clients, using the immediate cost savings from copper line conversion to effectively fund new, high-value CX/AI initiatives within client businesses.

The channel partner-friendly solution: Ooma AirDial

Available out of the box, AirDial is a turnkey solution that completely replaces traditional copper-wired lines designed for mission-critical actions. Think of AirDial as a significantly less costly alternative that extends a digital and wireless solution to those with traditional phone lines, which have grown increasingly more expensive over the past few years and with little-to-no support options.

Businesses don’t have to perform a total rip-and-replace of their existing analog hardware, as AirDial can mimic their old lines while extending a faster and more secure option to an antiquated concept.

Designed with compliance top-of-mind: AirDial adheres to regulations NFPA 72 for fire alarms and ASME A17.1 for elevators. Not to mention the reliability factor and the built-in backup system. AirDial routes voice traffic via multipath technology over wired broadband connections and a dedicated LTE wireless network for the sake of redundancy, serving as a fail-safe.

AirDial’s reliability lends the kind of peace of mind that the built-in battery backup system extends, a battery backup that lasts more than 24 hours in many cases, making Ooma AirDial a viable solution in the event of a power outage.

Turn hardware swap into predictable revenue

For channel partners looking to profit from system management and enhancement, partners immediately benefit from annual and monthly recurring revenue (ARR/MRR), a core value of Ooma AirDial.

AirDial simplifies operations, providing best-of-breed hardware designed for a seamless integration with existing workflows. Even more good news for channel partners, as they likely never have to make a trip to customer sites, again thanks to remote management tools available via AirDial’s cloud-based portal.

Remote device management tools extend unprecedented flexibility and agility as partners can monitor the status, battery life and signal strength of AirDial devices across multiple locations from a single pane of glass.

For partners who dabble in the value-added services space, like layering their value prop on top of AirDial, stand to benefit from value-added offerings like managed fire/safety monitoring, regulatory reporting and network health checks.

Doing so may even spell steady streams of revenue, transforming a hardware swap into a future-proof solution, less costly and more eco-friendly than traditional copper telephone lines. Managed service providers could, too, find themselves in a position to earn profits, especially if they save their customers money and help them feel less stressed.

Let’s talk Ooma AirDial cost-savings

As the PSTN (public-switched telephone network), a quintessential element of the traditional communications apparatus, is phased out, channel partners stand to clean up as customers demand cost savings and partners deliver on that.

Channel partners are and will continue to be instrumental in delivering customer value. POTS replacement often leads to partners slashing a customer’s bill between 50 and 60 percent monthly, leaving ample margin for customer satisfaction and retention via Ooma AirDial.

It all starts with the right vendor

Partners are historically cautious about the vendors they choose to work with, and it is important to realize why: sometimes vendors don’t take their partners seriously. And that can cause some unintended friction, which is why we treat our partners with the respect they deserve.

As such, Ooma offers one-time and recurring monthly commission. Not only that, but resale GTM allows partners to set prices and control margins.

For those operating in the VAR space, they can purchase AirDial at a preferred VAR price, fully driving margins and customer billing relationships. This is complemented by a sizable commitment to partner enablement, including training, a partner portal and shared marketing assets – tools that ensure Ooma partners can capitalize on the POTS replacement revolution.

Seize the opportunity to profit from the copper sunset. Partner with Ooma today to offer AirDial and secure your share of predictable recurring revenue.