MIX Networks Achieves State-Level Fire Marshal Certification in Both California and New York, Becoming One of the Few POTS Replacement Providers Authorized for Life Safety Signal Transmission in nationwide and in Two of the Nation’s Largest Regulatory Markets
LAKELAND, FL / ACCESS Newswire / June 2, 2026 / As the nationwide retirement of copper POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines accelerates, building owners, facilities managers, fire alarm contractors, and property operators face a compliance reality that is not theoretical; it is here now. MIX Networks, a managed telecommunications provider specializing in POTS replacement and life safety communications infrastructure, today announced it has received official certification recognition in both California and New York at the state fire marshal level, authorizing its platform to carry fire alarm signals and support life safety communications across both states.
The California certification – issued by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM), Building Materials Listing Program (Listing No. 7305-2384:0002) – officially lists MIX Networks’ DataRemote 90X1 and 90X2 devices as approved cellular router devices for use with fire alarm control units, in compliance with UL 864, 10th Edition.
The New York certification – a Letter of Acceptance issued by the FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention (Record ID: 2025-TMFRAL-007143-VRNC, dated May 21, 2026) – formally recognizes MIX Networks as an approved Managed Facilities Voice Network (MFVN) provider, citywide across New York City, authorizing use of the DataRemote 90X1 and 90X2 for fire alarm signal transmission to approved central stations.
WHY THIS MATTERS: THE LIFE SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS GAP MOST BUILDINGS DON’T KNOW THEY HAVE
Across the country, traditional carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, and others, have been actively retiring legacy copper telephone infrastructure. What many building operators do not fully appreciate is how deeply that infrastructure is embedded in their life safety systems – and what happens when it goes away without a compliant replacement.
Elevator Emergency Phones
Federal law under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and local elevator codes require functional two-way voice communication inside elevator cabs. These phones have historically been powered by POTS lines. When a carrier retires a copper line, that phone may appear to function normally while actually failing to complete a call to a monitoring center. In an entrapment situation, a non-functioning elevator phone is not just a code violation, it is a life safety failure.
Fire Alarm Communicators
NFPA 72, the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, governs how fire alarm panels transmit signals to central monitoring stations. Traditional dial-up communicators rely on analog voice-grade telephone lines. Under NFPA 72 Chapter 26, if the communication pathway is replaced, the replacement must meet specific requirements for reliability, pathway integrity, and signaling fidelity. Dropping a generic VoIP adapter in place of a POTS line does not satisfy these requirements. The replacement pathway must be a listed, authorized MFVN – or the fire alarm system is out of compliance, regardless of whether the panel is working fine.
Emergency and Blue Light Phones
Campus safety phones, parking structure emergency stations, and blue light systems in public spaces all depend on reliable outbound dialing to emergency dispatch. These devices often rely on single analog lines that, once retired, leave a dead endpoint – one that may not be discovered until someone picks up the handset in an emergency.
E911 and Direct Connect Systems
Life safety E911 systems in commercial buildings, including those serving nursing homes, senior living communities, hospitals, multi-tenant office buildings, and hospitality properties, must route calls with accurate location data to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). A non-compliant POTS replacement can break this routing, causing delayed or misdirected emergency response. The consequences are not hypothetical. Regulatory fines, civil liability, and most importantly, preventable harm are all documented outcomes of failed emergency communication infrastructure.
WHAT “MFVN CERTIFICATION” ACTUALLY MEANS – AND WHY IT’S NOT AUTOMATIC
Not every POTS replacement device qualifies as a Managed Facilities Voice Network. The MFVN designation is a regulatory framework established to ensure that replacements for traditional analog telephone service meet equivalent standards for reliability, signal fidelity, standby power, and pathway monitoring.
To earn MFVN recognition, a provider must demonstrate, among other things:
-
Equivalent call completion, dial plan, loop voltage, and signal carriage to legacy analog lines
-
A minimum of 12 hours of standby battery power at the premises, with remote battery monitoring
-
A minimum of 24 hours of standby power at the provider’s central communications facilities
-
Real-time transmission of fire alarm industry-standard signal formats, unchanged
-
Proactive network monitoring with automated notification of operational state changes
-
Physical and digital security controls protecting the network equipment
-
Network disaster recovery plans addressing individual site outages
MIX Networks’ platform meets or exceeds all of these requirements, as verified by the FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention’s Office of Technology Management under the FA-12 MFVN Certification evaluation process.
The California OSFM listing further confirms that MIX Networks’ devices satisfy the requirements in NFPA 72 Chapter 26 and comply with UL 864, the standard specifically governing fire alarm control units and accessories. The 90X1 and 90X2 devices also carry UL 62368-1 certification, FCC and PTCRB type approval, and carrier certifications across AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The 90X2 is additionally designated a FirstNet Trusted and Network Optimized device, reflecting carrier-level validation for public safety communications.
These are not marketing badges. They are documented third-party verifications that carry legal and regulatory weight when an Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) evaluates your building’s fire alarm and life safety communication infrastructure.
MIX Networks Chief Business Officer Carrie Turner emphasized that the approvals reflect the company’s broader mission: “Securing approvals from the FDNY and the California Office of the State Fire Marshal underscore our ongoing commitment to delivering secure, innovative, and reliable technology solutions. POTS IN A BOX® is the most advanced copper line replacement solution on the market, and helps organizations modernize critical infrastructure while maintaining regulatory compliance and operational reliability. With POTS In A Box®, building owners can retire costly copper POTS lines with confidence. These approvals reconfirm that our operational framework, engineering, and hardware ecosystems consistently deliver the uninterrupted uptime required for mission-critical applications. We are thrilled to receive recognition from these agencies and remain dedicated to providing advanced communications services to our retail and reseller partners.”
WHAT BUILDING OWNERS AND FACILITIES MANAGERS NEED TO UNDERSTAND RIGHT NOW
The most common mistake made in POTS retirement situations is assuming that any working phone line replacement is a compliant one. It is not.
If your building has any of the following, you should be verifying your communication pathway compliance today:
-
Fire alarm panels connected to a central monitoring station via analog dial-up
-
Elevator cab emergency phones
-
Gate entry systems with telephone dialer functionality
-
Blue light or campus emergency phones
-
Nurse call systems with analog line connections
-
Fax machines are used for regulated compliance transmissions
-
Alarm systems in healthcare, senior living, or educational facilities are subject to CMS, NFPA 101, or local life safety codes
The question is not whether copper retirement will affect your property; it is whether it already has, or whether you will be aware of it when it does.
MEDIA CONTACT: Carter Dewey, EVP Business Development, MIX Networks, 305-498-7530, carter@mixnetworks.com
About MIX Networks
MIX Networks is a managed telecommunications provider delivering compliant POTS replacement solutions, hosted voice, and managed communications infrastructure to multi-site commercial, healthcare, senior living, hospitality, and property management organizations. MIX Networks operates as a recognized Managed Facilities Voice Network (MFVN) with state fire marshal certifications in New York and California, and offers fully managed deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management of communications infrastructure through its national partner channel.
MIX Networks’ infrastructure is supported by redundant data centers in Dallas, Secaucus, Las Vegas, Lakeland, and Ashburn – each equipped with battery backup, diesel generator failover, and N+1 power architecture designed to meet or exceed telco-grade uptime requirements.
SOURCE: MIX Networks
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Media gallery
