In the Beginning, There Was POTS (VOIP)

Before digital networking took off, everyone had to use the one and only POTS, which stands for plain old telephone service (honestly, it does). POTS runs over a network called the PSTN, or public switched telephone network. These POTS telephone systems use the tried-and-true method of telephone service known as circuit-switched. (See topic 2 for more about the history of POTS, the PSTN, and the operation of circuit-switched telephony.)
For customers, the costs related to the regulated circuit-switched PSTN remain much higher than they need to be. Consumers as well as companies that must rely on POTS on a daily basis know what the POTS way of telephony means to their bottom line. The good news is that VoIP is an alternative that can greatly reduce or eliminate POTS-related costs. (topic 3 fully details the recurring charges of the POTS way of doing telephony.) VoIP also enhances productivity, leaving more money in the budget to do other things besides pay telephone bills.