For municipalities, apartment communities, HOAs, and recreation centers, losing emergency telephone service can jeopardize public safety and prevent a pool from opening. That’s exactly the challenge the City of Round Rock, Texas, faced before Memorial Day weekend in 2025. With a confirmed carrier shutdown approaching, Round Rock needed to replace its legacy POTS service without compromising the emergency phone’s ability to reach 911 or provide accurate location information.

RCN Technologies deployed POTS Link in just two weeks, preserving critical emergency communications and helping the city open its pool for the holiday weekend as planned. The experience illustrates why replacing aging copper infrastructure has become an urgent priority for swimming pool operators nationwide.

Why Do Swimming Pools Need Emergency Phones?

Swimming pools present inherent safety risks, from drowning and medical emergencies to slips, falls, and other injuries. Immediate access to emergency responders is essential. Many state and local health codes require public and semi-public swimming pools to maintain an accessible emergency telephone or approved emergency communication system. These requirements can apply to:

• Municipal swimming pools and aquatic centers
• Apartment complexes and multifamily communities
• HOA and condominium swimming pools
• Hotels, resorts, and hospitality facilities
• Recreation centers, gyms, and fitness clubs
• Universities and student housing communities

Unlike personal cell phones, permanently installed emergency telephones provide a dedicated way to summon assistance without depending on someone having a charged mobile device. However, the telephone is only as reliable as the service connecting it to emergency responders.

Pool Emergency Phone Requirements: What Does Code Say?

Swimming pool emergency telephone requirements vary by state, municipality, and facility classification. There is no single nationwide code governing every pool installation. Nevertheless, most requirements address three fundamental concerns.

1. Emergency 911 Access. Pool emergency phones must provide access to emergency services as specified by local regulations. Some jurisdictions require direct 911 dialing, while others prescribe additional operational requirements.

2. Accessibility and Placement. Emergency telephones must generally be accessible to pool users and clearly identified. For example, North Carolina requires emergency telephones to be installed within the pool enclosure or within 75 feet of a bather entrance, subject to additional conditions. Texas regulations require an emergency summoning device to be readily accessible within 200 feet of the water and operational whenever the pool or spa is open.

3. Accurate Emergency Location Information. When someone calls 911 from a swimming pool, emergency dispatchers must be able to identify the caller’s location. This is particularly important at apartment complexes, municipal recreation centers, and large properties with multiple buildings or aquatic facilities. RAY BAUM’s Act established dispatchable-location requirements for covered multi-line telephone systems (MLTS). A replacement telephone service must do more than provide dial tone. It must deliver the emergency calling functionality required for the installation.

The Problem: Aging POTS Lines Are Putting Pool Operations at Risk

For decades, pool emergency phones have relied on Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), the traditional copper telephone network. But copper infrastructure is being retired, and carriers are increasingly transitioning customers away from legacy analog services.

Rising costs. Dedicated emergency telephone lines can carry substantial monthly charges despite being used infrequently.

Declining reliability. Aging copper cables, water intrusion, and deteriorating infrastructure can contribute to service failures.

Carrier disconnection notices. Facilities may receive a firm deadline to migrate away from copper service, leaving little time to identify and deploy an acceptable replacement.

For a swimming pool, losing its required emergency communication system can have consequences beyond a service outage. Depending on local requirements, the facility may be unable to legally open until compliant communications are restored.

Case Study: How Round Rock, Texas, Saved Memorial Day Weekend 2025

In spring 2025, the City of Round Rock faced an urgent telecommunications problem. Its swimming pool emergency telephone depended on a traditional POTS line, and the city’s carrier had issued a definite service shutdown notice. The timing could hardly have been worse. Memorial Day weekend was approaching, bringing one of the most anticipated pool-opening weekends of the year. Without a working emergency telephone connection, the city faced the prospect of being unable to open its pool as scheduled.

The Challenge: Replace Copper Without Compromising 911

Round Rock needed more than an alternative source of dial tone. Its replacement service needed to preserve the emergency telephone’s ability to reach the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) while delivering accurate, location-based emergency calling information. Simply connecting the existing pool phone to a generic cellular adapter would not necessarily satisfy those requirements. The city needed a managed solution capable of preserving the emergency telephone’s critical functionality before its existing carrier disconnected service.

The Solution: POTS Link Deployed in Two Weeks

RCN Technologies responded with POTS Link, its fully managed cellular-based POTS replacement service. Within just two weeks, RCN deployed the replacement, transitioning the emergency telephone away from its threatened copper connection. POTS Link preserved location-based emergency calling information for the receiving PSAP, supporting the city’s emergency communications requirements and the dispatchable-location principles reflected in RAY BAUM’s Act. The existing emergency telephone could remain in service without relying on the legacy carrier’s copper infrastructure.

The Outcome: The Pool Opened for Memorial Day

Round Rock’s pool opened for Memorial Day weekend 2025 as planned. What could have become a public-facing disruption was avoided through rapid deployment and preservation of essential emergency calling capabilities. For Round Rock residents, that meant Memorial Day plans could proceed without an unexpected pool closure. For the city, it demonstrated that modernizing legacy telecommunications infrastructure doesn’t have to mean sacrificing critical services or delaying public operations.

How POTS Link Replaces Pool Emergency Phone Landlines

RCN Technologies’ POTS Link replaces traditional copper telephone connections with fully managed cellular-based communications. For compatible existing pool emergency phones, the transition can occur without replacing the telephone itself. POTS Link provides:

• Existing Equipment Compatibility: Preserves compatible analog emergency telephones and their existing wiring.
• Advanced E911: Supports registered emergency location information and appropriate emergency call routing.
• Dual-Carrier Connectivity: Provides cellular redundancy to help protect against primary carrier service disruptions.
• 24-Hour Battery Backup: Supports continued gateway operation during power outages.
• 24/7 U.S.-Based Monitoring: RCN’s Network Operations Center proactively monitors managed communications equipment and connectivity.
• RCN Edge Customer Portal: Delivers real-time visibility into individual telephone lines, service gateways, carrier SIM cards, asset locations, and billing through a single, centralized interface.
• Turnkey Deployment: RCN manages service provisioning, installation, and ongoing support.

For property managers overseeing multiple swimming pools or facilities, RCN Edge transforms previously unmonitored analog infrastructure into a centrally visible, manageable communications environment, reducing reliance on manual inspections or carrier support calls to understand the status of telephone services. Routine end-to-end emergency phone testing remains essential.

Why Property Managers and Municipalities Should Act Before a Shutdown Notice

Round Rock’s experience demonstrates what’s possible when an experienced POTS replacement provider responds quickly. But not every organization will have sufficient time to react after receiving a carrier disconnection notice. Property managers and facility operators should proactively identify emergency telephones still dependent on copper lines. A practical replacement plan should include:

• Inventory existing pool emergency phones and identify their underlying telephone services.
• Review carrier notices and monthly bills to identify retirement deadlines and escalating costs.
• Verify local emergency telephone requirements with the appropriate authority having jurisdiction.
• Confirm 911 routing and location accuracy before disconnecting the existing telephone service.
• Evaluate managed cellular POTS replacement to preserve compatible existing equipment while modernizing connectivity.

For organizations operating multiple pools or properties, standardizing this process can simplify maintenance, reduce telecommunications expenses, and help avoid future service disruptions.

Talk to a POTS Replacement Specialist | (865) 293-0350 | rcntechnologies.com

About RCN Technologies

RCN Technologies partners with 4,200 businesses & over 1,100 unique government agencies across local, state, education, and federal sectors. We specialize in delivering turnkey wireless connectivity where wired options fall short, and we have the procurement experience to help you find an approved purchasing path fast.

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