POTS Replacement for Banks and Credit Unions
ATM Phone Line Replacement, Bank Alarm and Vault Alarm Lines, and What a Branch Network Rollout Costs
Copper is ending branch by branch: AT&T can begin shutting it off in parts of 18 states from November 15, 2026. Send us the lines behind your alarms, ATMs and fire panels. The providers that fit price every branch at once, we negotiate, and it costs you nothing.
Price My Branch LinesThis page is for banks and credit unions with multiple branches or 20 or more lines, from a community bank with four branches to a regional network with hundreds, and for the operations, facilities, security and vendor management leaders who own the project. Copper retirement does not arrive as one date. Carriers retire it wire center by wire center, so branches get notice letters months apart, and industry analyses of the FCC's March 2026 order put the gap between a notice and disconnection at as little as 90 days. Each cutover also needs the alarm company, the ATM processor and, for fire panels, the fire marshal to sign off.
Run as one project, the network gets one schedule, one set of terms and one bill. Our copper retirement tracker shows where AT&T and Verizon stand state by state, and the POTS line replacement guide has a cost calculator.
Sources: Broadband Breakfast, January 13, 2026 (AT&T approval); vCom, July 16, 2026 (90-day notice analysis); FCC, Voice Telephone Services: Status as of June 30, 2025 (lines); FDIC Summary of Deposits, June 30, 2025 (bank offices); NCUA Quarterly Credit Union Data Summary, Q2 2026 (credit unions); North Carolina Department of Information Technology, AT&T Sample Tariff Rates (samples that may not reflect final pricing and exclude surcharges and fees; not a forecast of any other bill).
What a Branch Network's Lines Cost to Replace
Branches carry more lines than anyone has on a list, because each system was wired in by a different vendor in a different year. The chart prices an illustrative 60-branch network at the published replacement range. A credit union with five branches and the same mix would have about 25 lines and $1,000 to $1,500 a month (MCA calculation: 25 lines at $40 to $60).
Illustrative, not a real institution: line counts are Metro Colo Advisory assumptions for 60 mixed branches. Monthly ranges are an MCA calculation: lines multiplied by $40 to $60 per line per month, the published range for POTS over cellular (source: AeroCom's 2026 price guide). Figures as of October 2026. Free to cite with a link to this page.
Your list goes to the replacement providers that fit on the same day. The carrier's own replacement is one option, not the only one. Once you ask a provider for pricing directly, it usually will not register an advisor, and you negotiate alone.
Per-line rates, equipment, installation, monitoring, battery and term, side by side for every branch, not a headline rate.
After-hours cutover windows, pricing for branches you open or close mid-term, and the documents your vendor management team needs, in writing before you sign.
The provider you choose pays us, so it costs you nothing. If you have one branch and a couple of lines, your carrier's own replacement may be the simplest answer, and we will say so.
What Lines Does a Bank Branch Still Run on Copper?
A POTS line (plain old telephone service) is an analog copper phone line from the local carrier. In a branch, most lines carry alarm signals, dial-up transactions and emergency calls, not conversations, and each has a different party that must accept its replacement.
| Line | Why it is still on copper | What usually replaces it | Who has to accept it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglar and holdup alarmBank alarm phone line | The panel dials the central station over the line, and holdup buttons signal over the same path. | A cellular or dual-path (cellular plus IP) alarm communicator, or a line on a replacement appliance the alarm company accepts | Your alarm company and its central station, under the security program your security officer runs |
| Vault and safe alarmVault alarm phone line | Often a separate, higher-security path set up to match an alarm certificate or an insurer's terms. | A dedicated communicator with line supervision matched to that certificate or those terms | Alarm company, and your insurer where the policy names the alarm |
| Fire alarm panelTraditionally two lines | Fire alarm reporting traditionally used a dialer (DACT) on two phone lines. | A dual-path communicator, or one phone line plus a second path that is not a phone line, which the 2016 edition of NFPA 72 allows for a DACT. See fire alarm phone line replacement. | The fire marshal (the authority having jurisdiction) and the monitoring company |
| ATMATM phone line | Older and off-premise machines may still dial the processor, or keep a line as backup. | A cellular or IP connection your ATM processor approves, with card data kept encrypted end to end | Your ATM processor or network, and whoever owns your PCI scope |
| Elevator emergency phoneTwo-story and larger branches | ASME A17.1 requires two-way communication from the car to a location staffed by authorized personnel, and cars have traditionally been wired to a line. | A cellular or appliance line that keeps the code's minimums: at least 4 hours of auxiliary power and an automatic line check at least daily. See elevator phone line replacement. | The elevator inspector |
| Fax | Loan, title, insurance and payoff documents still arrive by fax at many branches. | Fax over IP, or a replacement line rated for fax (see POTS line replacement). | Your IT and compliance teams |
| Drive-up, night drop and call boxes | Some after-hours units, call boxes and intercoms call out over a line. | A line on a replacement appliance, or a cellular unit built for call boxes | Branch operations |
| Analog voice and other linesBackup voice, modems, generator and building alarms | Lines added for one project and never removed, plus backup emergency voice lines. | An appliance line where the line still has a job, or a disconnect where it does not | Facilities and IT |
Sources: Minnesota State Fire Marshal, fire alarm transmission signals (DACT on two phone lines; what the 2016 edition of NFPA 72 allows); ASME A17.1-2019 requirements summary (sections 2.27.1.1, 2.27.1.1.5 and 2.27.1.1.6). Which edition applies, and whether a replacement is accepted, is up to the local fire marshal or elevator inspector.
Bank Alarm Phone Line Requirements: What the Bank Protection Act Says
The Bank Protection Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1882) directs each federal supervisory agency to set minimum standards for the installation, maintenance and operation of security devices and procedures. The OCC, Federal Reserve and FDIC rules each list an alarm system or other appropriate device for promptly notifying the nearest responsible law enforcement officers of an attempted or perpetrated robbery or burglary. None of these rules names a transmission technology or a phone line, so the practical question is whether the alarm still gives that prompt notice, and how the change is tested and recorded.
| Institution | Rule | What it says about alarms | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| National banksOCC | 12 CFR 21.3 | An alarm system or other appropriate device for promptly notifying law enforcement of an attempted or perpetrated robbery, burglary or larceny | Confirm the new path still gives prompt notice, test it, and record the change in the written security program |
| State member banksFederal Reserve | 12 CFR 208.61 | The same alarm requirement, listed among the minimum security devices | Same as above |
| FDIC-supervised banks and savings associationsFDIC | 12 CFR 326.3 and 326.4 | The same alarm requirement | Same as above |
| Federally insured credit unionsNCUA | 12 CFR 748.0 and 748.1 | No device list: a written security program designed to protect each office from robberies, burglaries, larcenies and embezzlement, with compliance certified annually | Credit union POTS replacement follows the same logic: document how each office's alarm reaches help after the copper is gone |
Sources: the eCFR text of each rule, linked in the table, checked October 2026. This is a summary of what the rules say, not legal advice; your security officer and counsel decide how your program applies them.
All three bank rules also require the security program to provide for selecting, testing, operating and maintaining security devices, and the security officer to report to the board at least annually. Test every alarm after cutover and record the result for that report.
Vault alarm phone line replacement: what to check first
Vault, safe and holdup alarms are where a careless cutover does the most harm, because a dead path can look normal at the branch. Confirm these six points with the alarm company before any line moves.
The certificate and the policy
If an alarm carries a certificate, or your insurer's policy names the type of alarm communication, the replacement has to meet it. Get the alarm company's confirmation in writing.
Supervision interval
How often the central station checks the path is alive, and how fast a failed check becomes a trouble signal.
One path or two
Cellular alone, or cellular plus IP. Two paths on separate networks keep the alarm reporting through a carrier outage or a cut cable.
Battery backup
How many hours the communicator runs without branch power, and whether the battery is monitored. Some services include up to 24 hours.
Signal inside the vault area
Vault walls, basements and back rooms can block cellular signal. A survey at each branch decides where the antenna goes.
Test signals on cutover day
Every zone that matters, holdup buttons included, sent through the new path, confirmed by the central station and recorded.
ATM Phone Line Replacement
An ATM that still uses a phone line either dials its processor for every transaction or keeps the line as a backup. Either way, the replacement is a cellular or IP connection your ATM processor or network has approved, with card data encrypted end to end and the change reviewed against your PCI scope. Where the ATM sits decides the approach.
Branch ATMs
Often moved onto the branch's own network, inside your branch network and firewall design. See SASE and SD-WAN and managed firewall services.
Off-premise ATMs
In grocery stores, malls and campuses, a dedicated cellular connection avoids the host's network. Survey and install access goes through the host, so schedule it early.
The processor's approval
Ask your processor which connection types and devices it accepts before you take quotes, so every provider prices a connection it will approve.
What Does POTS Replacement Cost for a Bank Branch Network?
The headline is a per-line monthly rate. The total depends on how lines are grouped onto equipment, which lines need two paths, and what the contract charges around the line. Price these pieces for every branch.
| Cost piece | What the published evidence says | What to check in a quote |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly rate per line | About $40 to $60 per analog line for POTS over cellular; some providers charge a flat $60 | Per line or per branch, and whether it changes with line type |
| First line and added linesOn appliance-based services | About $60 for the first line at a site and about $40 for each added line on the same appliance, which can carry up to four lines | How many appliances each branch needs, and which lines must sit on their own device |
| Alarm and life-safety lines | Dual-path or dual-SIM service, battery and monitoring put them at the upper end or above | The supervision interval, the second path, and who answers a trouble signal |
| Battery backup | Some services include up to 24 hours | Hours included, battery monitoring, and who replaces batteries |
| Equipment and installation | Varies by provider: bought, leased or included in the monthly rate | Who owns the devices at the end of the term, and the site survey and installation charge per branch |
| What you pay today | Legacy lines with surcharges and fees often run over $100 per line per month | Your real figure: a recent invoice divided by its line count |
Source: AeroCom, POTS line replacement pricing (August 6, 2026), a published price guide, for planning only. Prices checked October 2026.
For banks and credit unions with multiple locations or 20 or more lines. Send the line list before you request quotes and compare every provider's total branch by branch. No full inventory yet? A recent phone bill is enough to start. You'll hear back within 24 hours, and the provider's engineers handle the surveys. The provider you choose pays us, so it costs you nothing.
Rolling Out Across Branches: Change Windows, Openings and Closures
A branch network is replaced in waves. Alarm and fire lines are cut over after hours with the alarm company on hand and the central station confirming test signals, and some fire alarm changes need a permit or inspection first. Across many branches, surveys and scheduling take longer than any install, so start before the notices arrive. Branches with carrier notices go first, then contracts ending soonest.
Metro Colo Advisory illustration of the order of work, not a schedule: timing depends on branch count, surveys, alarm company and inspector availability, and carrier notice dates. Figures as of October 2026. Free to cite with a link to this page.
Three things change the plan for banks. New branches need lines on the new service from day one, at the contract rate. Closures and mergers need the right to remove a branch without paying out the term. And branches in leased space may share an elevator, fire panel or call box with other tenants, where the line belongs to the landlord; our property management guide covers that side of the building.
Vendor Risk Management: What to Get From a POTS Replacement Provider
A provider that carries your alarm and ATM paths is a third party under your vendor management program. The federal banking agencies' Interagency Guidance on Third-Party Relationships: Risk Management (Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC, June 2023) says a banking organization's use of third parties does not diminish its responsibility to operate safely and soundly and comply with the law, and it walks through due diligence, contract negotiation, ongoing monitoring and termination. For credit unions, NCUA Letter 07-CU-13 (December 2007) says due diligence should take into account the critical nature of the service. Ask for these before you sign; we request them as part of the negotiation.
| Document or answer | What it covers | Why your vendor management team asks |
|---|---|---|
| Information security program | How the devices, the management portal and remote access to them are secured | The interagency guidance says due diligence typically involves assessing it |
| Independent audit report | A SOC report or similar attestation, if the provider has one | The interagency guidance says a banking organization may consider reviewing SOC reports when relevant and available |
| Business continuity and resilience | What happens in a cellular carrier outage: the second carrier or path, battery hours, and the provider's own recovery plans | The alarm and ATM paths are only as available as the network under them |
| Subcontractors | The cellular carriers, installers and monitoring partners the provider relies on | They are fourth parties in your vendor file, and installers will work inside your branches |
| Financial condition | Financial statements or an equivalent view of the company's health | The service will run your alarm paths for years |
| Outage and incident notice | How, and how fast, you are told about an outage or a security incident that touches your branches | Your security officer needs to know when an alarm path is down |
| Termination and transition | Notice periods, who owns the devices at exit, and help moving to another provider | Termination is a stage of the relationship the guidance expects you to plan for |
One provider for the whole network means one vendor file and one due diligence review, not a new review for every branch that took the quickest fix. For the rest of the branch network, see managed security services and data center connectivity.
Five POTS Replacement Mistakes Branch Networks Make
Letting each branch answer its own carrier notice
Notices arrive wire center by wire center. Handled one at a time, each branch ends up with the quickest fix on its own contract and bill, and the network loses its buying power.
Asking one provider for pricing first
Once a provider has quoted you directly, it usually will not register an advisor on the deal, and you negotiate alone. Send the line list before anyone quotes.
Cutting over alarms without the alarm company
An alarm moved to a new path without the central station confirming test signals can look fine at the branch and report nothing.
Treating every line the same
A fax line, an ATM line and a fire alarm line have different owners, different sign-offs and different prices. Price them by what they run, not by a single per-line rate.
Forgetting off-premise ATMs and leased space
Machines in grocery stores and branches in shared buildings need host or landlord access for surveys and installs, so they belong in the first inventory, not the last wave.
How We Place POTS Replacement
Whatever you have: branch addresses, a recent phone bill, any carrier notices. Rough numbers are fine to start.
The providers that fit your line types and locations see the same list on the same day, so pricing compares line by line.
Signal surveys, equipment placement and technical questions go to the provider's own team, working with your alarm company and facilities staff.
Price per line, equipment, installation, the rollout schedule, branch adds and closures, and the vendor documents your team needs, settled before you sign.
The provider you choose pays us, so it costs you nothing. We do not install equipment, monitor alarms or sell hardware; we find the provider and negotiate the terms.
What to Send Us
Everything runs by email. Don't have a full line list? Send what you have: a recent phone bill or a list of branch addresses is enough to start, and the gaps get filled as the providers survey the branches.
Locations
The number of branches, plus off-premise ATM sites, drive-up facilities and operations centers, with addresses.
Lines and what they run
Lines per location and what each one runs: burglar and holdup alarm, vault alarm, fire alarm, elevator, ATM, fax, drive-up or call box, voice.
The bill
Your current monthly bill or a recent invoice for each carrier account.
Notices and dates
Any carrier notice letters, and the end date of each phone contract.
Name your alarm company and ATM processor too, so every provider prices connections those two will accept. About Metro Colo Advisory explains how we work.
POTS Replacement for Banks: Frequently Asked Questions
What is POTS replacement for banks?
POTS replacement for banks moves the copper phone lines that branch alarms, vault alarms, ATMs, elevators and fax machines still use onto cellular or IP service built to carry them. It matters now because carriers are retiring copper: AT&T has FCC approval to begin discontinuing it in parts of 18 states from November 15, 2026. For a branch network, it is best run as one project with one schedule and one set of terms.
Do bank alarm systems still need a phone line?
No. A bank alarm needs a reliable path to the central station, which can be cellular, IP or both. The alarm company and the central station should confirm test signals through the new path at every branch before the copper is disconnected.
Does the Bank Protection Act require a phone line for the alarm?
No. The bank rules issued under the Bank Protection Act require an alarm system or other appropriate device for promptly notifying the nearest responsible law enforcement officers of a robbery or burglary, and they do not name a technology or mention a phone line. The practical test for a replacement is whether that prompt notice keeps working, and your security officer records the change in the written security program.
What replaces a vault alarm phone line?
Usually a dedicated cellular or dual-path communicator with line supervision that matches the vault's alarm certificate or your insurer's terms. Confirm both with your alarm company before the line changes, and survey the cellular signal near the vault, because vault walls and basements can block it.
How do you replace an ATM phone line?
With a cellular or IP connection that your ATM processor or network has approved, with card data kept encrypted end to end. Branch ATMs can often move onto the branch's own network, while off-premise ATMs in stores and malls usually get a dedicated cellular connection. Ask the processor which connections it accepts before you take quotes.
How much does POTS replacement cost for a bank branch?
A published 2026 price guide puts POTS over cellular at about $40 to $60 per line per month, with alarm and life-safety lines at the upper end or above. A branch with five lines on two appliances, each priced at $60 for its first line and $40 for each added line, works out to about $240 a month, an MCA calculation. Equipment, installation and term change the total, so compare full quotes branch by branch.
Is credit union POTS replacement any different?
The lines are the same, and so is the approach. Federally insured credit unions follow NCUA's security program rule, which requires a written program to protect each office from robberies and burglaries and an annual certification of compliance. For vendors, NCUA's guidance on third-party relationships says due diligence should take into account the critical nature of the service.
When will our branches lose their copper lines?
It depends on the carrier and the wire center serving each branch. AT&T's January 2026 batch covers wire centers in 18 states, where discontinuance can start November 15, 2026, and AT&T plans to retire the large majority of its copper outside California by the end of 2029. Verizon's eight-state application was granted in August 2026 and its nine-state request is still under FCC review, so watch for notice letters branch by branch.
What should we ask a POTS replacement provider for vendor risk management?
Ask for its information security program, any independent audit report, its business continuity plans and what happens in a cellular outage, its subcontractors, its financial condition, how it reports outages and incidents, and its termination and transition terms. The interagency guidance on third-party relationships says using a third party does not reduce the bank's own responsibility, so collect these before you sign.
Can our alarm company or our carrier just handle it?
They can, and for a single branch that may be the simplest answer. For a network, the alarm company covers only the alarm lines and the carrier's own replacement is one option among several, so neither prices the whole network against the market. We put every line type at every branch in front of the providers that fit at the same time.
What happens when we open, close or merge branches?
That should be settled in the contract before you sign. Ask for added branches at the contract rate, the right to remove closed branches without paying out the term, and a clear process for moving equipment.
How long does a POTS replacement rollout take for a branch network?
It depends on the number of branches, the signal surveys, alarm company and inspector availability, and each carrier's notice dates. Most of the time goes into inventory, surveys and scheduling cutovers, so starting early matters more than any single install date, especially when notices can come with as little as 90 days. Branches with carrier notices and contracts ending soonest go first.
What do you need from us to get started?
Whatever you have. The full picture is your branches and other sites, the lines at each and what they run, a recent bill, carrier notice letters and contract end dates, but a recent phone bill alone is enough to start. You'll hear back within 24 hours, and the provider you choose pays us, so it costs you nothing.
Send the Branch Line List Before You Request Quotes
Send the branches and what each line runs (alarm, vault, ATM, fire panel, elevator, fax) before any provider quotes you; once you ask a provider for pricing directly, it usually will not register an advisor, and you negotiate alone. A recent phone bill is enough to start. You'll hear back within 24 hours, and the provider's engineers handle the branch surveys. If you have one branch and a couple of lines, your carrier's own replacement may be the simplest answer, and we will say so.
Four branches or four hundred, the provider you choose pays us, so it costs you nothing. If you have already spoken to one provider, tell us which; we can still run the rest of the market.
POTS replacement: POTS line replacement, the copper retirement tracker and POTS replacement providers compared.
By line type: fire alarm phone line replacement and elevator phone line replacement.
Other multi-site buyers: property management, retail and restaurants and schools, hospitals and public buildings.
The branch network: SASE and SD-WAN, managed firewall services, managed security services, disaster recovery colocation and IT infrastructure consulting.
