Technology is changing, and your home security system may not be working the way you think it is.
If you have a system tied to your phone line:
Security systems that rely on telephone lines to call out used to work fine through a power outage, because the old copper lines continued to be powered by the phone company’s own generated power. But they need to be upgraded now, because even with a landline, chances are your phone line turns to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) close to your home without your knowledge. Communications companies are converting all their old copper-based Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) lines over to broadband and fiber optics so they can sell more and better internet connections to you and your neighbors. This advancement is rapidly making POTS obsolete, yet all fire and security systems that use telephone lines for transmission are designed to only work with POTS copper…even the newest components. The quality copper connection is no longer there to support your system all the way to the monitoring station, VoIP requires power to work, and interruptions in coverage can occur.
If your system is connected to your internet service:
Security systems that communicate via fiber optics or broadband need grid power to work, so in a power outage, your alarm system goes down unless you have battery back up power connected to the system. With VoIP monitoring, your security system will not work during a power failure since both your internet router and VoIP modem need a constant power source to work. So, no power means no signal transmission from your alarm system to the monitoring station. Even if you have an automatic switch over to a generator when the power goes out, there is a delay/drop off from 15 seconds to 5 minutes that shuts down your internet equipment and your alarm stops working. Further, when the power companies finally get the power back on, it can spike the VoIP lines and damage your equipment. To prevent loss of function, you need to have an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) back up on all internet communication service points.
If your system is connected to your cell service:
Security systems that communicate via cell should continue to work even during a power outage, but here again, you should have a UPS backup if your cell service is weak or goes down.
What Countryside Alarms Does Differently That Solves These Problems:
First, we supply and install UPS equipment to protect your internet at home whether you have a phone-based, internet-based or cell-based system. We can do this for your existing system, or as part of an upgrade or new install.
Internet-based Systems – We install wired or wireless fire and security systems that connect to your internet service – either broadband or fiber. Your connection doesn’t have to be anything special to work perfectly, because our internet-based products are directly connected to Countryside’s internet exchange, and the signal comes in to our Central Monitoring system on fiber directly without ever being converted back to the old phone lines in between you and Central Monitoring. So your alarm signal goes out no matter what, and is received at CMS without interruption or degradation.
Cell-based Systems –We also install wired or wireless fire and security systems that use LTE Verizon or LTE AT&T cell service, which goes from your home alarm system panel with a SIMM card installed straight to Countryside’s internet exchange, and then the signal comes in to our Central Monitoring system on fiber directly without ever being converted back to the old phone lines in between you and Central Monitoring. So here, too, your alarm signal goes out no matter what, and is received at CMS without interruption or degradation. And if you have strong, reliable cell service, you don’t even need back up power with Countryside as your provider.
Not All Providers are Equal to the Task
Internet-based equipment doesn’t work for all of our competitors, because they aren’t hooked directly to fiber optics like Countryside is. So you may be stuck with VoIP that doesn’t work in a power outage. Many competitor-installed systems call out on cell, but that signal could actually be switched over to phone lines to call their central station if they aren’t using fiber direct. If this is the case, then you are vulnerable to the lines requiring grid power to work, and you could be at risk during an outage.
Another advantage for Countryside monitoring customers is that NFPA’s new regulations require all internet-based fire systems have their internet communication connection tested every hour. Phone systems only have to be tested once every 24 hours. This constant testing can get expensive for our competitors to run, and they don’t always do it or they pass the cost on to their customers. But because Countryside is connected directly to fiber, it costs us less to run the tests, and we are actually doing it as directed by law. That means if your system does go down for any reason leaving you vulnerable, we will know right away and correct the problem.