For many years the standard method for transmitting alarms to the monitoring center has been the phone line. Nowdays, many homeowners are shutting off the phone lines and using their cell phones. Many business are also eliminating phone lines and using IP based telephones, over high speed data lines.
Often, they don’t think about how this might affect their alarm signals, both fire and security.
The two most common ways to get around this are cellular communicators and IP “translators”. Here, we’ll discuss the cellular communicator option.
Cellular backup has been available for many years. It has evolved over the years, and, is very reliable. At OMNI, we advise our clients who wish to consider cellular to use the Honeywell version. Its compatible with the Honeywell panels we install, it’s a direct hookup and is supervised by the panel. It also has it’s own built in battery backup. It communicates a full set of information to the central station, including trouble and supervisory conditions. Some cellular communicators transmit zone data only, which can make the system harder to service and manage.
The initial cost of the cell backup unit is just under $200, and there are also airtime charges of around $10 per month, in addition to the regular monitoring fee. This is still often much more cost effective than having a standard phone line, which can cost as much as $40-$50 per month.
Another added benefit is the transmission time for a cellular alarm is also quicker than a dial-up system, saving valuable seconds of dispatch lag. Also, there’s no danger of the signal not going out due to phone line outages, or, if the intruder cuts the phone line. Overall, cellular communicators offer great benefits.
We recommend celluar for both home alarm systems and commercial systems as well. The hardware for cellular fire alarm transmission is a little more expensive up front, but usually pays for itself in under a year with phone line savings.
We have been providing cellular alarm monitoring in Houston for over fifteen years. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this service. As of this writing, approximately 20% of our clients are using cellular service as their primary or backup method of alarm transmission.
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