MetTel Wins USPS Supplier Excellence Award — Powered by DataRemote POTS IN A BOX®
Originally published in MetTel
Direct Answer
MetTel has been honored with a 2024 USPS Supplier Excellence Award for a nationwide telecom modernization that replaced aging copper landlines with IP-based connectivity across roughly 17,000 postal locations. The deployment runs on DataRemote’s POTS IN A BOX® hardware, which converts circuit-switched analog signals to resilient, multi-path IP while keeping existing phones, fax machines, alarm panels, and other analog equipment in place.
NEW YORK / MetTel / May 21, 2025
Key takeaways
- MetTel won a 2024 USPS Supplier Excellence Award for a nationwide copper-to-IP telecom modernization spanning ~17,000 postal locations.
- The award recognizes extraordinary contract compliance, quality, and on-time performance under the USPS Supplier Performance Awards program.
- DataRemote’s POTS IN A BOX® hardware is the technology layer that makes the migration possible without replacing analog endpoint devices.
- The solution preserves E-911 access and supports specialty lines — elevator phones, fire and burglar alarm panels, fax, and M2M/SCADA — alongside standard voice.
- MetTel reports the approach cuts telecom costs by 30% or more annually versus legacy copper.
What the USPS award recognizes
The USPS Supplier Excellence Award is one of the Postal Service’s Supplier Performance Award categories. It recognizes suppliers who deliver “extraordinary contract compliance” alongside exceptional quality and on-time performance, and who contribute measurably to USPS supply chain operations or safety.
MetTel earned the recognition for designing and executing a large-scale modernization that replaces aging copper landlines with IP-based connectivity — without forcing the Postal Service to rip and replace existing analog endpoints across thousands of facilities.
How the transformation works
MetTel’s fully managed service combines multi-carrier network connectivity with DataRemote’s POTS IN A BOX® hardware to convert circuit-switched phone signals into resilient, multi-path IP. The approach keeps existing analog devices — phones, fax, elevator and emergency lines, alarms, ATMs, and other specialty endpoints — operational while adding modern visibility and control.
- Seamless cutover. Bridges analog to IP with minimal disruption to field operations — no new wiring or truck rolls to swap endpoint hardware.
- Resilience by design. Dual-SIM and wireless backup options help maintain continuity during outages, backed by battery power at the appliance itself.
- Scalable and centralized. Managed deployment and monitoring across thousands of sites from a single platform via DataRemote’s Ara Device Management Platform.
- Cost control. Replaces high, and rising, copper line costs with predictable, modern service pricing — MetTel cites savings of 30% or more annually.
Why it matters for postal, public-sector, and enterprise teams
As carriers retire traditional copper networks following FCC actions that allow legacy analog lines to be discontinued, agencies and enterprises need a compliant path forward. POTS IN A BOX® provides that path — preserving installed analog equipment while moving connectivity to IP and cellular, with features that support E-911 access and life-safety use cases.
MetTel’s POTS Transformation has now been deployed across roughly 17,000 USPS locations, with similar deployments reported across large retail and self-storage footprints. Customers benefit from improved reliability, operational insight, and the ability to standardize communications across geographically distributed sites.
DataRemote’s role: POTS IN A BOX®
DataRemote’s POTS IN A BOX® portfolio is purpose-built to replace copper POTS lines with IP and cellular connectivity. Every model supports voice, fax (T.38), analog modem data, alarm panel signaling, and elevator/emergency lines — paired with battery backup and automatic carrier failover to keep critical communications online during outages.
If you’re planning a POTS replacement program of any scale, our team can help you choose the right device — such as the 90X1 for 5G deployments or the 90X2 for LTE — and a deployment model that meets your compliance, uptime, and budget requirements. See our full certifications and Trust Center for the standards this deployment relies on.
More from the MetTel × DataRemote partnership
- MetTel wins ChannelVision’s 2026 Visionary Spotlight Award
- MetTel’s POTS Transformation solution with DataRemote’s 90X1
- DataRemote powers MetTel’s $54M VA POTS Transformation contract
Future-proof your telecommunications
Ready to modernize your analog lines with a proven, award-winning approach? Talk with DataRemote about POTS IN A BOX® and how we work with MetTel to deliver at scale across public-sector and enterprise environments.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's one of the U.S. Postal Service's Supplier Performance Awards categories, recognizing suppliers for extraordinary contract compliance, exceptional quality, on-time delivery, and contributions to USPS supply chain performance or safety.
MetTel's POTS Transformation initiative, integrating DataRemote's POTS IN A BOX® hardware, has been deployed across roughly 17,000 postal locations nationwide.
POTS IN A BOX® replaces the copper analog line itself while leaving existing phones, fax machines, alarm panels, and other analog-dependent equipment in place — no rip-and-replace of endpoint devices required.
Yes. POTS IN A BOX® is built to preserve E-911 access and supports specialty analog lines including elevator emergency phones, fire and burglar alarm panels, and emergency call boxes.
Planning a large-scale POTS migration?
See how DataRemote's POTS IN A BOX® supports enterprise and government rollouts at scale — talk to our team.
