Do you still need analog lines
Probably for the lift, the alarm and the fire panel — and probably not for anything else.
Which copper lines still earn their keep?
Copper phone lines are being retired across the industry, and providers are raising prices on what remains. Most businesses still have a few, and most of those are no longer doing anything. The ones that matter are life-safety and compliance lines: lifts, fire panels, and some alarms.
| What it serves | Keep it? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lift emergency phone | Yes, usually | Often required by code to work independently of your network |
| Fire alarm panel | Yes, usually | Your fire authority or insurer may specify how it connects |
| Burglar alarm | Often replaceable | Most modern panels report over internet or cellular instead |
| Fax | Rarely | Digital fax services take a fax number and email you the pages |
| Card payment terminal | No | Nearly all terminals are network or cellular now |
| Gate, door or intercom | Depends | Newer units are IP-based; older ones may need the line |
| A line nobody can identify | No | Trace it before canceling, but this is usually where the savings are |
Audit what you are paying for
List every line on the bill
Including ones with no calls on them. That is the giveaway.
Ring each number
Walk the building and find out what picks up. Some will ring in an empty cupboard.
Mark the ones with a device on the end
Lift, fire panel, alarm, gate. Everything else is a candidate.
Ask what each device supports now
Many alarm and gate units made in the last decade have an internet or cellular option.
Cancel the rest in writing
Keep the confirmations. Analog lines have a habit of reappearing on invoices.
What replaces a copper line
- A cellular dialler, common for alarms and increasingly for lift phones
- An analog adapter that puts a copper handset onto your internet connection — fine for a spare phone, not for life safety
- A digital fax service that gives you a fax number without a fax machine
- Nothing at all, for the lines the audit shows are dead
Why do the audit now?
As copper is withdrawn, the remaining lines get more expensive and harder to have repaired, and at some point the notice to move arrives with a deadline attached. Doing the audit while you have time means the life-safety decisions are made calmly, with your alarm and lift companies, rather than against someone else’s clock.
Last reviewed September 14, 2026
