In the evolving modern digital landscape, the Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a pivotal force, connecting billions of devices and generating vast amounts of data to optimize industrial processes and create smarter homes and cities.

For over a century, Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) has been the bedrock of voice communication, relying on analog signals transmitted through copper wires. The escalating demands of today’s IoT environments exceed what POTS can effectively support. The ever-increasing need for higher bandwidth and more advanced features requires performance that traditional analogphone lines simply cannot meet. To fully realize the potential of this interconnected world, an advanced connectivity solution is required.

5G technology stands ready to meet this demand. Offering significantly superior data speeds, ultra-low latency, and a vastly increased network capacity compared to previous generations of wireless technology, 5G is exceptionally well-suited to handle the diverse and demanding requirements of a wide spectrum of IoT applications.

POTS is constrained by analog transmission roots

In an era dominated by digital data exchange, POTS struggles with efficiency and compatibility with their outdated copper lines. Its inherent bandwidth restrictions prevent high-speed data exchanges, and its narrower frequency range limits its data capacity. As a wired technology, expanding a POTS system requires additional physical wiring and hardware installations, making it costly and difficult to scale.

The financial implications of relying on phone lines for IoT are becoming increasingly onerous. Deregulation has led to unpredictable price increases. Maintaining the aging copper infrastructure is costly for telecommunication providers, and rising costs are being passed on to consumers. As telecom companies shift focus to newer technologies, support costs for POTS lines will continue to rise, adding to the financial strain on users.

5G provides a flexible, scalable, high-performance POTS replacement solution

Today’s 5G broadband wireless technology offers capabilities far beyond traditional POTS lines. High-speed data can reach speeds of up to 20 Gbps, allowing real-time communication and processing of vast amounts of IoT-generated data. 5G’s ultra-low latency, as low as 1 millisecond, provides the near-instantaneous response time crucial for applications where delays are critical and safety is paramount.

5G networks also offer superior reliability, ensuring consistent uptime and minimizing disruptions. Designed to support massive connectivity, 5G can simultaneously connect one million devices per square kilometer. These networks can also easily scale to support IoT growth without requiring physical upgrades. This improves the long-term cost efficiency of 5G deployment, which is further enhanced by reduced maintenance needs and the ability to consolidate multiple POTS lines.

Furthermore, 5G offers a significant advantage over traditional POTS in terms of resilience during power outages. Unlike landline-based POTS, which could rely on local power infrastructure and can fail during grid disruptions, many 5G-enabled communication devices, such as wireless routers and fixed wireless access (FWA) CPE (Customer Premises Equipment), are designed with integrated battery backup solutions. This allows critical communication to remain operational even when the primary power source is interrupted, ensuring continuity for essential services, emergency communications, and business operations that can't afford downtime. This inherent power resilience makes 5G a more robust and reliable choice for critical infrastructure and everyday connectivity.

5G also introduces advanced networking features that are highly beneficial for IoT, enabling new use cases and innovations in many different industries. Network slicing allows operators to create multiple virtual networks tailored to the specific needs of IoT applications, improving resource allocation, security, and service quality. Energy efficiency enhancements ensure sustainable IoT deployments, especially for battery-powered or remote devices. The 5G Reduced Capacity (RedCap) standard balances performance and energy efficiency for low-power IoT devices, balancing performance and energy efficiency.

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How 5G capabilities surpass and replace POTS limitations in different use cases

While Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) was once the backbone of communication, 5G introduces a new era of connectivity that not only offers superior alternatives but also unlocks entirely new possibilities that POTS could never support. The limitations of POTS—primarily low bandwidth, high latency, and analog infrastructure—are completely overcome by 5G's advanced capabilities, making it the essential foundation for innovation across various industries.

Healthcare

Gone are the days when healthcare communication was limited to basic voice calls over POTS lines, which offered no real-time data or advanced imaging capabilities. 5G's high-speed data transmissions, expansive bandwidth, and ultra-low latency fundamentally replace the archaic limitations of POTS in healthcare. Instead of just a phone call, 5G enables continuous, real-time tracking of health monitors and biosensors, shifting from reactive to proactive care. Telemedicine, previously constrained by slow connections or limited to basic audio, now thrives with 5G, supporting high-definition video consultations and remote diagnostics that were impossible with POTS. Furthermore, advanced applications like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for remote and enhanced surgeries, offering improved precision and real-time collaboration, completely redefine what's possible, far beyond any POTS-era solution.

How 5G Capabilities Surpass and Replace POTS Limitations in Different Use Cases

While Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) was once the backbone of communication, 5G introduces a new era of connectivity that not only offers superior alternatives but also unlocks entirely new possibilities that POTS could never support. The limitations of POTS—primarily low bandwidth, high latency, and analog infrastructure—are completely overcome by 5G's advanced capabilities, making it the essential foundation for innovation across various industries.

Healthcare

Gone are the days when healthcare communication was limited to basic voice calls over POTS lines, which offered no real-time data or advanced imaging capabilities. 5G's high-speed data transmissions, expansive bandwidth, and ultra-low latency fundamentally replace the archaic limitations of POTS in healthcare. Instead of just a phone call, 5G enables continuous, real-time tracking of health monitors and biosensors, shifting from reactive to proactive care. Telemedicine, previously constrained by slow connections or limited to basic audio, now thrives with 5G, supporting high-definition video consultations and remote diagnostics that were impossible with POTS. Furthermore, advanced applications like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for remote and enhanced surgeries, offering improved precision and real-time collaboration, completely redefine what's possible, far beyond any POTS-era solution.

Retail

For the retail sector, relying on POTS meant limitations in processing speed for transactions, a lack of real-time inventory management, and vulnerability to downtime. 5G offers a robust replacement by ensuring the continuous operation of Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, even in challenging environments. Unlike POTS lines that could be disrupted by cable cuts or local infrastructure issues, 5G provides a highly reliable, wireless connection that keeps transactions flowing seamlessly. This minimizes lost sales due to connectivity failures and improves customer experience by speeding up payment processing. Beyond just transactions, 5G's capabilities enable real-time inventory updates, smart shelving, and enhanced customer analytics, transforming retail operations from the static, limited nature of POTS-era systems into a dynamic, data-driven environment. The inherent redundancy and wireless nature of 5G also provide a critical failover for traditional wired connections, ensuring that businesses can continue operating and generating revenue without interruption.

Manufacturing

In manufacturing, POTS offered little more than basic voice communication for coordination. 5G revolutionizes this by enabling advanced automation, predictive maintenance, and process optimization that directly supersede the manual and limited communication methods associated with POTS. High-bandwidth and ultra-low latency capabilities facilitate real-time machine-to-machine communications, making the integration of IoT sensors for real-time monitoring of remote equipment a reality. This level of interconnectedness and instantaneous data exchange was unimaginable with POTS. The improved network speed supports rapid data analysis, allowing manufacturers to predict equipment failure and optimize operations in ways that simply couldn't be achieved with the slow, sequential data transfer methods of the past.

Smart cities & public safety

Realizing the full potential of smart cities and public safety systems was always hampered by the inherent limitations of POTS, which could only support basic point-to-point voice or very low-speed data. 5G completely replaces this by providing the improved speed, bandwidth, flexibility, and scalability necessary for extensive IoT networks. These networks are crucial for efficient resource management and functionality across intelligent traffic, lighting, fire alarm systems, security alarms, and other public safety systems. With 5G, these systems become highly adaptive and responsive to growing urban populations, offering real-time monitoring and enabling faster emergency responses through 5G-enabled VoIP—a stark contrast to the delayed and limited information exchange prevalent in the POTS era.

Transportation & logistics

In transportation and logistics, reliance on POTS meant fragmented communication and a lack of real-time visibility. 5G-powered IoT solutions directly replace these inefficiencies by offering robust and comprehensive real-time data exchange. 5G's smart routing capabilities increase operational efficiency through reliable, high-speed tracking of vehicles and goods, something that was either manual or very limited with older technologies. Real-time data exchange enables Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications, enhancing vehicle safety and providing comprehensive visibility into supply chains—capabilities that move far beyond the static communication methods of POTS, making all vehicles and logistics processes more efficient and safer.

Inseego enables efficient 5G IoT implementation

Inseego is a leading figure in 5G cloud-managed solutions, with over 25 years in wireless connectivity and a history of innovation, including the creation of the world's first mobile hotspots.

The Inseego portfolio includes key devices that support seamless 5G connectivity for IoT applications in any environment. For indoor use, the Inseego FX3100 series cellular routers offer robust security and can connect up to 64 devices, which is ideal for mobile businesses and secure campuses. The FX4100 cellular router can connect up to 128 devices, it also enables new 5G capabilities with 5G advanced, like network slicing. The FW2000 and FW3000 series of Wavemaker 5G outdoor antennas provide extended range and high data throughput even in harsh weather for challenging outdoor environments. The MiFi X PRO 5G mobile hotspot delivers portable, high-speed connectivity with enterprise-grade security for up to 32 devices, which is perfect for mobile workforces. The Skyus 160 IoT gateway series provides cost-effective 4G LTE connectivity for a variety of IoT applications.

Inseego devices provide seamless 5G connectivity with high-speed, low-latency connections that are crucial for scalable IoT deployments. Enterprise-grade security protects networks and data. Remote device management through platforms like Inseego Connect streamlines the deployment and maintenance of networked devices. The availability of dual SIM cards and dual WAN ports provides network redundancy and automatic failover for critical applications.

Talk to our experts to learn how the Inseego portfolio of devices can enable your transition from POTS to 5G wireless that can support the most advanced IoT applications for your business.