Analog phone lines have been in use for business applications for over a century. The service, consisting of a twisted pair of copper wireless from a telco central office, was a mainstay of consumer and business users for generations, as POTS provides a high continuity and service, even in local power outages. The
offering has been severely curtailed, and in many cases sunset by the local telecommunications providers. Some reasons for shift in technology by service providers include: expensive provisioning and maintenance of the network resource, as well as an abundance of suitable alternatives such as Cellular Wireless, Fiber, and VoIP, with improved Quality of Service (QoS).
Because of the maintenance and labor costs inherent in maintaining analog networks, the costs in many cases have eclipsed any profits. Many of the largest global telecommunication’s providers have pledged to sunset POTS services altogether. In many global markets outside of North America, businesses are unable to purchase an analog phone circuit.
Historically Out of Band Management relied heavily on analog phone lines. The circuits were inexpensive, self-powered, and nearly ubiquitous for decades. Because of the “always on” status of an analog circuit, businesses have generally relied on the service. Today many businesses are transitioning to 3G/LTE/5G cellular wireless service for Out of Band Management. Cellular wireless is a ubiquitous, inexpensive, and operates at greater speeds than comparative analog products. The major limitation to cellular service for Out of Band Management is signal strength in rural locations and signal issues at datacenter locations.