For decades, landline telephone service, POTS & PRI were a staple in Central Pennsylvania businesses. But today, as smartphones and Cloud-based (VoIP) communications take over, traditional landlines are disappearing. This shift is causing disruptive pressures on the premise telephone system. In this blog, we will explore how the retirement of landlines is leading to the decline of these legacy systems, the impact to businesses, and what this means for Morefield clients.
Why Are Landlines Disappearing?
Rise of Smartphones
One of the biggest reasons landlines are vanishing is the rise of smartphones. These super computers that 91% of us carry in our pocket offer convenience and flexibility that landlines cannot match. People can make calls from anywhere, send text messages, and access the internet—all on a single device. Because of this, fewer people see the need for traditional landlines and desk phones.
Evolving Office Space
Younger generations grew up in a world dominated by smartphones. Through the pandemic, all employees adapted and learned to get by without a desk phone, leveraging smartphones and their workstations to communicate. Today, more businesses are concluding that it is no longer necessary to provide each employee with a desk phone.
High Costs of Maintaining Landlines
Maintaining landline infrastructure is expensive. Telephone companies are challenged to continue the ongoing repair of aging copper wires and equipment. As fewer businesses rely on landlines, the carriers find it harder to justify these expenses. Many carriers are shutting down landline services, disrupting those customers who remain on the platform and forcing a switch to modern alternatives.
Surge of Automation & AI-Powered Communication
Automation and Artificial intelligence (AI) are improving communication by enabling smart voicemail transcription, automated customer service, and real-time language translation. These advancements are improving customer experience (CX) for businesses who want to stand out amongst their competitors. As these technologies evolve, they will continue to shape how people interact over the phone.
How this can impact Systems like Allworx, NEC & IP Office.
Reduced Infrastructure Support
Allworx, NEC & IP Office systems more often rely on landline connections to operate. As phone companies move away from maintaining those traditional landlines, these systems lose their foundation. Businesses that still use land lines with their Allworx, NEC & IP Office will face disruptive challenges in keeping their systems running smoothly.
Higher Costs for Businesses
The costs of maintaining a premise telephone system are increasing each year. Companies who stick with traditional premise systems will find themselves paying higher recurring costs, more for service, repairs, and equipment upgrades. Eventually, these pressures with drive small | medium businesses to switch to cloud-based hosted systems.
Limited Functionality Compared to Cloud Hosted Platforms
Today’s Cloud platforms, such as Ring Central, offer feature | function that legacy premise systems cannot. Additionally, the pace of innovation in the Cloud exceeds those of premise systems. In 2025 Ring Central introduced their AI Phone Agent, built on generative AI. To automate answering customer calls and questions. Traditional phone systems cannot compete with this pace of innovation, making them less desirable for businesses looking for efficiency and cost savings.
What Does this Mean for Allworx, NEC & IP Office customers?
Morefield Engagement – Give us a Call
As we are passionate about helping our clients make smart technology decisions, we recognize the opportunity for our team to coordinate time on calendars to meet with each organization to assess the state of their system and underlying carrier services.
Conduct a Focused Technology Assessment
Whether this is completed with the assistance of Morefield or a self-evaluation, it is best to develop a plan to prepare for forthcoming changes in the industry. Planning and preparation so that unforeseen changes or disruptions can quickly be mitigated. The evaluation should cover the current state of the system, assessment of carrier services, budgeting for a replacement solution and concluding with expected benefits from a shift to newer technology
Evaluate new platforms through education
Many of the Cloud platforms offer free to attend educational webinars that cover the feature | function of their platform, along with planning, preparation and process outline of the actual migration. Morefield is hosting a joint webinar with Ring Central on May 20th. Contact your Morefield representative for details around attending.
Conclusion
The retirement of landlines is accelerating the decline of premise telephone systems. We expect this trend to have a greater impact on Allworx, NEC & IP Office customers. Mobile phones, cloud-based solutions are replacing traditional landlines, offering greater convenience and cost savings. While this transition brings challenges—such as emergency communication concerns and infrastructure changes—it also paves the way for more advanced and flexible communication options. As technology continues to demand that we make smart technology decisions, businesses must adapt to a new world where traditional phones lines are no longer the standard.