The Analog Line is Dead? Not YetThe Analog Line is Dead? Not Yet

The analog line in the enterprise, government or educational institution is more common then even the average telecom person realizes.

Two of the questions I ask of a client who is moving to an IP PBX are "What non-phone lines do you have on your PBX? What analog lines do you need to support?" These are always an issue because most of these lines are more permanent than the lines to telephones and rarely need to be moved or reassigned. They are forgotten lines. People move around but the non-phone devices usually have a long and static location. I found one university that forgot the non phone lines when they issued an RFI only to later discover 1,000 active non-phone lines.It is almost always true that the non phone lines are, and need to remain, analog lines. This becomes an issue with the IPT gateway that must support the non-phone devices. It is also annoying to many IT and communications managers that anticipate the retirement of all the analog lines and devices. So before you think you can eliminate the analog lines and gateways, read on about the many cases where analog lines will continue operating for many years. Here is a list of common examples of the continued use of analog lines:

* Analog FAX machines that operate the T.30 standard * Dial up modems mostly for PCs and possibly point of sale devices and credit card readers * Alarm system connections * Telemetry systems * TDD * Elevator phones * Secret lines for special conditions such as a whistle blower connection * Analog phones in otherwise unoccupied buildings. I found a university that had 200 buildings with analog phones but only 100 buildings were continuously occupied * The janitor's closet * Phones in common areas that have little physical security * That guard shack that is 100s of feet from any building and can only be economically accessed on an old analog line * The phone line outside a building that is used to call the guards for off hours access should be an analog line to ensure security. Would you put an Ethernet port there? * Emergency phones as a lifeline to the PSTN use analog connections * Warehouse phones where it is expensive to install Ethernet lines just for a phone * Supervisory control and data acquisition connections that are designed for analog lines * Intercom lines * Announcement lines

The analog line in the enterprise, government or educational institution is more common then even the average telecom person realizes. When I write the RFP for IP PBX procurement, my clients invariably keep finding more analog lines in use that must stay as analog connections for the foreseeable future. Another advantage of analog lines is that some analog devices can be powered by the legacy PBX. This device powering over the analog line must be supported by the gateway. If not, the device will not work.

I recommend:

* That an extensive inventory be made of all devices connected to the PBX and carriers before issuing an RFP or entering into a contract for the legacy PBX replacement.

* That you do not assume any of these analog devices will automatically disappear when an IP PBX is installed.

* Polling your security department to see what devices are now or are intended to connect to the PBX.

* That engineering, manufacturing and health groups be polled to see what they assume will be connectable to the IP PBX that may still operate on analog lines.

Another reason to continue using the analog lines is to avoid installing LAN cabling. One company, Phybridge, has the ability to extend Ethernet devices over analog lines with their special LAN switch. This allows the organization to recycle an exiting asset (analog lines) and reduce the cabling cost. Consider using DSL modems in-house to connect to lower speed Ethernet devices over 1000s of feet of analog cable.

There have been too many occasions that some of the analog devices will not be supported or supported poorly on a gateway. I have found some modems only operate at lower speeds through gateways. At least one vendor has very poor support of TDD gateway support.

The IT staff rarely has any idea of the connections to non-phone devices. When the IT staff drives the implementation of the IP PBX, most of the time the IT staff comes up short on analog device support. I have seen organizations have to order analog lines to the PSTN to support some non- phone devices because the gateway does support them. This has occurred after the IP PBX vendor has installed the gateways. This means these device connections are separate from the rest of the organization's control and may create security problems.The analog line in the enterprise, government or educational institution is more common then even the average telecom person realizes.