Traditional analog voice land line telephone service

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plain old telephone service</span>

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Plain old telephone service

<p><b>Plain old telephone service</b> (<b>POTS</b>), or <b>plain ordinary telephone system</b>,<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span> is a <a href="/en/Retronym" title="Retronym" class="wl">retronym</a> for voice-grade <a href="/en/Telephone" title="Telephone" class="wl">telephone</a> service employing analog signal transmission over copper loops. POTS was the standard service offering from telephone companies from 1876 until 1988<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span> in the United States when the <a href="/en/Integrated_Services_Digital_Network" title="Integrated Services Digital Network" class="wl">Integrated Services Digital Network</a> (ISDN) Basic Rate Interface (BRI) was introduced, followed by <a href="/en/Mobile_phone" title="Mobile phone" class="wl">cellular telephone</a> systems, and <a href="/en/Voice_over_IP" title="Voice over IP" class="wl">voice over IP</a> (VoIP).  POTS remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the <a href="/en/Telephone_network" title="Telephone network" class="wl">telephone network</a> in many parts of the world. The term reflects the technology that has been available since the introduction of the public telephone system in the late 19th century, in a form mostly unchanged despite the introduction of <a href="/en/Touch-Tone" title="Touch-Tone" class="mw-redirect wl">Touch-Tone</a> dialing, electronic <a href="/en/Telephone_exchange" title="Telephone exchange" class="wl">telephone exchanges</a> and <a href="/en/Fiber-optic_communication" title="Fiber-optic communication" class="wl">fiber-optic communication</a> into the <a href="/en/Public_switched_telephone_network" title="Public switched telephone network" class="wl">public switched telephone network</a> (PSTN).</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Traditional analog voice land line telephone service</div>
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Plain old telephone service , or plain ordinary telephone system, in the United States when the Integrated Services Digital Network Basic Rate Interface was introduced, followed by cellular telephone systems, and voice over IP .  POTS remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world. The term reflects the technology that has been available since the introduction of the public telephone system in the late 19th century, in a form mostly unchanged despite the introduction of Touch-Tone dialing, electronic telephone exchanges and fiber-optic communication into the public switched telephone network . 