Elevator emergency phones after copper: code, cellular options and costs

Who this page is for

• You manage a building with one or more passenger elevators that have an emergency phone in the cab.
• The phone dials out over a copper line, and the carrier has sent a notice or raised the price.
• Your elevator maintenance company told you the line has to change before the next inspection.
• You need to know what the inspector will look for before you sign anything.

The problem in plain terms

The elevator phone is usually the line nobody thinks about until it fails. It sits on a copper pair that runs from the basement telecom room to the machine room, then down the traveling cable to the cab.

When that copper goes away, the cab phone still works, but it has nothing to dial out on. If the line is monitored, the lobby fault light comes on. If it is not, nobody knows until a passenger presses the button.

What the elevator code requires

ASME A17.1, the Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, covers car emergency communication in Section 2.27.1. ASME publishes the code in editions, and each state or city adopts its own (ASME).

Washington’s elevator program summarized the 2016 edition this way in Technical Clarification 18-04:

• The car must have two-way communication with a location staffed by authorized personnel who can take appropriate action.
• If the call is not acknowledged within 45 seconds, it must route automatically to an alternate location.
• The person answering must be able to get the building name, address and elevator ID without voice communication.
• The call cannot go to an automated answering system.
• The phone cannot use a handset in the car.
• A dedicated line per elevator is not required, but the emergency call must have priority on a shared line.
• The line must be monitored, and a failure must trigger a visual and audible signal at the main elevator lobby.
• An intercom for emergency personnel is required when the elevator rise is 18 m (60 ft) or more.

Older editions differ. Florida’s Bureau of Elevator Safety noted in 2007 that A17.1a required calls to route within 30 seconds when the answering point is not staffed around the clock (bulletin).

Newer editions add more. North Carolina’s State Construction Office describes the 2019 edition as requiring text and video communication, individual pathways to each elevator, and auxiliary power with at least 4 hours of backup (NC SCO). I have not checked these sub-section numbers against the code text [VERIFICAR].

The federal ADA Standards also require two-way communication systems to provide both audible and visual signals (U.S. Access Board, 708.2).

State adoption and inspections

Your elevator inspector enforces the edition your state or city adopted, plus any local rules. Three examples show how much that varies:

• Washington accepts cellular systems for elevator emergency phones if the system is hardwired from the car to where the signal leaves the building, the signal is monitored, and a landline is used where cellular is known to be weak. VoIP is acceptable if it meets the same requirements (TC 18-08).
• Kansas issued a blanket variance and does not enforce the 2019 edition’s visual and text requirements for existing installations and modernizations until further notice. Its Elevator Advisory Board voted to extend the variance on December 10, 2025 (Kansas State Fire Marshal).
• North Carolina state buildings need State Construction Office review before any POTS replacement is installed, per its 2022 guidance.

Ask the inspector two questions: which A17.1 edition applies to each elevator, and whether your planned change counts as an alteration.

Who must answer the call

The code cares about who picks up. The answering point must be staffed by people who can act, at all hours the elevator runs. Common setups:

• An on-site desk staffed 24/7, such as security in a hospital or a large office tower, with a roll-over to an off-site service.
• The elevator company’s call center, if your maintenance contract includes it.
• A third-party monitoring service. Kings III, for example, routes calls to its own Emergency Dispatch Center with AEMD-certified operators, according to its elevator phone page.

A voicemail box, a leasing office that closes at 6 pm, or an auto-attendant does not meet the description above.

Line monitoring and battery

Moving to cellular changes what “the line is monitored” means. A copper line had dial tone you could test. A cellular path needs the device to report signal, power and registration problems.

Make sure the new device can drive the lobby fault signal or report a failure to someone who will act. Then confirm the battery runtime against the edition you are held to. North Carolina’s summary of the 2019 edition says 4 hours; vendor batteries range from about 8 to 48 hours, as compared on my POTS in a box page.

Who installs: coordinating with your elevator contractor

Two companies touch an elevator phone replacement:

1. The line provider installs the device that replaces copper, usually in the telecom room or machine room.
2. Your elevator contractor reprograms the cab phone (numbers it dials, location message), tests it, and handles any permit. Work inside the hoistway or on the car is elevator work.

Kings III describes its Skyline system as a cab phone plus a cellular transceiver mounted outside the shaft, reusing the existing wiring through the traveling cable (Kings III). Other vendors put a POTS-in-a-box unit in the machine room. Either way, schedule the elevator contractor for the same visit.

Options compared

Option	Best for	How it works	Pricing info (October 2026)	Pros	Cons
POTS in a box (Ooma AirDial, Granite EPIK, others)	Buildings with elevator plus other lines in one room	Managed LTE device with analog ports and battery	No published prices	One device for elevator, gate and alarm lines	You still need a 24/7 answering service
Cellular elevator phone service (Kings III)	Owners who want line, phone and answering in one contract	Cab phone plus cellular transceiver, monitored by its dispatch center	No published price	Monitoring and maintenance included	Elevator and emergency phones only
Carrier replacement (AT&T Phone - Advanced)	AT&T customers with a simple line	AT&T device on its LTE network	$99.99 per month for business in AT&T’s FCC filing	Offered with the notice	AT&T’s notices mention fax and alarms, not elevators
VoIP adapter on building internet	Not recommended for elevators	ATA on your internet service	Varies	Low monthly cost	Fails with internet or power; monitoring is weak

I don’t work with Kings III, but it fits owners who want one company for the phone, the line and the answering. The full provider table for every line type is in my POTS line replacement guide.

What it costs

No elevator phone vendor I reviewed publishes a price. Ooma and Granite quote per site; Kings III quotes an all-inclusive service. AT&T’s December 2025 FCC application lists its business replacement at $99.99 per month before taxes and fees, including the device (filing).

What moves the price:

• How many cabs share one device
• Whether 24/7 answering is included or billed separately
• The elevator contractor’s service call for reprogramming and testing
• An external antenna if the machine room has weak signal
• New cab equipment if the change triggers text and video requirements

Run your numbers in the POTS replacement cost calculator.

My recommendation by building type

• Single elevator, low-rise office or retail: a POTS-in-a-box unit that also takes the alarm line, plus a monitoring service, is usually the simplest.
• Mid-rise multifamily with 2 to 4 cars: confirm with the inspector whether each car needs its own path under your edition, then price a 4-port unit against a per-cab service.
• High-rise with an intercom and fire service: involve the elevator contractor before any vendor. The intercom and the lobby fault signal are where problems show up.
• Healthcare or 24/7 facilities with a staffed desk: keep the desk as the first answering point and add an off-site roll-over.
• Elevator scheduled for modernization: ask whether the new controller package includes a compliant phone, so you don’t pay twice.

Managing many buildings? My property manager page covers the inventory and vendor schedule.

How implementation works

1. Confirm the edition and alteration rules with the inspector (1 to 2 weeks).
2. Survey signal in the machine room and telecom room.
3. Get two written quotes with the answering service included.
4. Book the line provider and the elevator contractor for the same day.
5. Test: a call from each cab reaches the answering point, location data arrives, and the lobby fault signal works when the line is unplugged.
6. Keep the copper line until the test passes and any required inspection is signed.

Plan on 2 to 6 weeks for one building, mostly waiting on the contractor’s schedule.

Questions to ask any elevator phone provider

• Who answers the call, and are they staffed 24/7?
• How does the answering point get the building address and car ID without voice?
• How does your device report a line failure to the lobby or to me?
• What is the battery runtime, and what does my edition require?
• Do you coordinate with my elevator contractor, or do I?
• Can the cab phone support text and video if my inspector requires it?

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the answering point. A working line that rings an unstaffed office does not do the job the code describes.
2. Changing the cab phone without asking about alterations. It can trigger the newer edition and new equipment.
3. Testing only the dial-out. Also test the location message and the failure alarm.
4. Ordering before the signal survey. Elevator machine rooms are often the worst place in the building for cellular.
5. Cancelling copper before inspection. Keep it until the new path is accepted.

The fire alarm panel is usually the next line to handle; see fire alarm communicators. For area of refuge stations near elevators, see emergency call boxes. When you’re ready, get quotes for your elevator phone lines.