“Security Systems Connected to VOIP: The Real Deal” |
| Security Systems Connected to VOIP: The Real Deal Posted: 22 Feb 2011 02:38 PM PST Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - If you have a home security system connected through a digital or voice-over-internet phone (VOIP) you may not be getting the 24-7 protection you trust your system to provide. There are a number of variables that can derail any security device. Tom Ames thought his house was protected when he left for Florida with his wife. But when he returned, he learned that the system was likely not working for at least some period of time. "The system tried to do a self-check and it wasn't getting through to the monitoring system, so they asked if I would do a manual check with the ADT technician," Ames said. Ames followed the instructions, but the system still didn't work. The company said they would send a technician to his home because the signal was not coming through properly. "I went back to watching television…a few minutes later my neighbor called and said, 'ADT just called, you've got a problem over there?' I said, 'No Rick, I don't.' Well I was still on the phone…Cicero Police arrived and said, 'We got notification of an alarm here, is everything alright'?" Ames explained. Eventually, the signal from the manual test made it through to the security company's monitoring center, but ADT couldn't reach him on his digital phone to confirm that they'd registered the signal, so they called his secondary contact and the police. Kip White, the vice president of Eastern Security Services, says the problems Ames experienced are not unique. Folks who have their alarm systems connected through VOIP can and do run into a variety of issues. "The alarm system can communicate out over VOIP but not as reliably as if it was over a standard phone line," White said. When the power goes out, the internet goes down - and with it the customer's ability to contact their security provider in some cases. In addition, having too-many residents can slow down the service and an alarm may not work unless there's a back-up system in place. "The customer is primarily changing over to VOIP because they're trying to save money, when they find out because of the alarm system they either have to keep an analog phone line or add a cellular communicator or replace their system so it can communicate via cell, IP or radio, they're off-setting the savings they incurred by switching to VOIP anyway," White said. Ames was not aware that his system had a potential problem until now. "For the last month, I've felt secure that my house is protected by an alarm system and fire monitoring system while I'm gone and if this has been an issue with Time Warner for the last month, clearly that isn't the case," he said. People who stick with home security systems connected through Time Warner's own Digital Phone service, Vonage, Magic Jack or another VOIP provider can take a number of precautions.
Time Warner customers who pay for both phone and alarm services are provided with a battery back-up in the security panel, which gives it 24 hours of power if the main service is out. But phone customers who have security systems through other providers will not receive that back-up battery. Time Warner says that customers sign their contract acknowledging that fact. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Content Keyword RSS To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment