Why replacing an elevator phone line is not as simple as installing an ATA, and how to remove one of the hidden blockers in a Microsoft Teams Phone migration.
Introduction
Moving enterprise telephony to Microsoft Teams Phone often starts with a simple objective: remove the PBX, retire expensive legacy telephone lines and consolidate communications into the cloud.
Then someone asks: “What happens to the elevator phones?”
For organisations with offices across the United States, the answer can be considerably more complicated than expected.
An elevator emergency phone is not simply another analogue device. It is part of a life-safety communications system, and the requirements governing it can depend on the state, city, age of the elevator, type of building, code edition adopted locally and the requirements of the relevant Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ).
That means replacing a traditional POTS line with an ATA, VoIP gateway or spare analogue port without first understanding the local requirements can create a compliance problem, even if the telephone appears to work.
Can you connect an elevator phone to Microsoft Teams using an ATA?
Technically, it may be possible to make an analogue elevator phone place a call through an ATA or gateway.
That does not automatically make it an appropriate or compliant elevator emergency communications solution.
This is an important distinction during a Microsoft Teams migration.
Elevator communication requirements in the US commonly draw on standards including ASME A17.1/CSA B44, the International Building Code and accessibility requirements. The precise edition and any amendments that apply can differ between jurisdictions.
For example:
Wisconsin's elevator safety guidance specifically notes that requirements can depend on when the elevator or communication device was installed. It also requires features such as two-way communication with authorised personnel, identification of the building and elevator, automatic communication-path verification in applicable elevators, and other operational safeguards.
California has its own requirements for emergency signalling and communications, including provisions around continuously available assistance and emergency power.
New York City, meanwhile, publishes locally modified elevator standards with its own detailed emergency communications requirements.
The location of the elevator matters.
Why a normal ATA may not solve the problem
When replacing a traditional phone line, it is tempting to think:
Elevator > ATA > SIP > Teams/cloud = Problem Solved
But an elevator emergency system may need much more than dial tone.
Depending on the applicable code and installation, considerations can include:
- Two-way communication with authorised personnel
- 24/7 answering and emergency response
- Automatic identification of the building and elevator
- Communication-path monitoring
- Automatic rerouting when a call is not answered
- Accessibility requirements
- Visual, text or video communication on installations subject to newer code requirements
- Emergency power and battery backup
- Continued operation during a building, network or utility outage
- DTMF and signalling compatibility
- Local inspection and AHJ approval
The International Code Council’s guidance for newer IBC requirements, for example, references ASME A17.1/CSA B44 and requirements enabling authorised personnel to verify that someone is in the elevator, determine whether they are trapped and communicate the progress of assistance.
The question therefore isn’t simply: “Can we get this phone to make a call?”
It is: “Will the complete emergency communication service operate as required when somebody is actually trapped in the elevator?”
Cloud migration can expose a hidden dependency
This issue frequently appears because the elevator phone has been almost invisible to IT.
It may be connected to:
- A legacy PBX analogue extension
- A copper POTS line
- An old building telephone circuit
- A dedicated emergency line
- An analogue port nobody knew still existed
Everything else may be ready for Microsoft Teams Phone, but disconnecting that service could leave the elevator without compliant emergency communications.
The result? A PBX or expensive legacy line remains in service purely because nobody is confident about what to do with the elevator.
That is exactly the type of problem Aura’s Integrate to Migrate approach is designed to solve.
A better approach: treat the elevator separately
The elevator does not need to become a Teams endpoint just because the rest of the organisation is moving to Microsoft Teams.
In many situations, the cleaner solution is to separate life-safety communications from normal enterprise calling and provide a purpose-designed connection for the elevator.
Aura can help determine:
What is installed > What local requirements apply > What connectivity is appropriate > What needs changing > How it will be installed and supported.
Depending on the site and the requirements of the local AHJ, that could include moving an existing elevator telephone away from an ageing POTS or PBX connection and onto a purpose-built cellular solution.
Aura’s North American elevator solution, for example, provides analogue RJ-11 connectivity, DTMF support and battery backup, with carrier selection based on local cellular coverage.
Our existing approach also combines the connectivity with installation and 24/7 monitoring services rather than treating the emergency line simply as another telecom circuit.
Crucially, the appropriate solution should be validated against the requirements applying at that specific location rather than assuming one design works everywhere.
This can accelerate your Microsoft Teams migration
For a large enterprise, one elevator may sound insignificant. Multiply it across 50, 100 or 500 buildings and it can become a serious migration dependency.
You may have elevators in California, Illinois, Texas, New York and dozens of other jurisdictions, alongside warehouses, offices and manufacturing locations. Aura can manage this as part of the wider migration.
We can help identify analogue and life-safety services during discovery, determine which services should migrate into the Teams environment and which should be separated, coordinate the appropriate solution, and provide local engineering for physical installation and cutover.
With engineering capability across 173 countries, Aura can also support the onsite work that cloud migration programmes often overlook, tracing circuits, locating legacy cabling, installing equipment, testing services and helping retire the infrastructure that is no longer required.
The result is not simply a Microsoft Teams deployment. It is a path to actually turning the old platform off.
FAQ
Elevator emergency communication requirements vary by jurisdiction and by the code applicable to the particular elevator. You should therefore confirm the requirements with the local AHJ before changing the existing service.
Potentially, yes. Cellular technology can form part of a compliant elevator communications solution, but the complete design,including power resilience, monitoring, signalling and emergency response, needs to satisfy the requirements applying to that elevator.
An ATA may provide the analogue interface required to make the telephone operate, but that does not by itself demonstrate compliance with elevator emergency communications requirements. Power, network dependency, supervision, answering arrangements and local code requirements all need to be considered.
Not necessarily. A Teams migration is often an opportunity to separate life-safety devices from general business telephony and provide them with connectivity specifically designed around their operational and regulatory requirements.
Ultimately, requirements should be confirmed against the code adopted by the state or local jurisdiction and, where appropriate, with the Authority Having Jurisdiction, elevator inspector or other responsible authority.
Don’t let one analogue line keep an entire PBX alive
The final stages of a Microsoft Teams Phone migration often expose services that have been hidden for years. Elevator phones are a perfect example.
- Don’t simply disconnect the POTS line.
- Don’t assume an ATA solves the problem.
- And don’t keep an expensive PBX indefinitely because nobody knows what else to do.
Instead, identify the requirement, understand the local code, provide the right emergency communications solution and remove the dependency properly. That’s what we call Integrate to Migrate. Aura can help you address the difficult analogue and life-safety requirements alongside Microsoft Teams Phone, giving you a practical route to complete the migration rather than stopping at the easy 90%.
Planning a Microsoft Teams Phone migration and discovered elevator or lift emergency phones?
Talk to Aura before you disconnect the existing lines. Let Aura help determine what needs to stay, what can change and how to remove the legacy dependency safely.
