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IP alarm panel communication

That is according to Ingo Mutinelli, national sales manager for Elvey Security Technologies, who says broadband technology is being increasingly used by high-end alarm manufacturers and installers heeding the public’s need to improve their personal security levels. He believes cellphone technology’s use in fields such as alarm monitoring is likely to gain momentum this year on the back of significant movement in the Internet and telecoms space.

Benefits

The GSM/GPRS Alarm Communicators come with a host of benefits, not only for end-users but also installers. The GPRS channel of the GSM network offers full data reporting and remote management, which save on installation time and costs. What is more, the saving of costs associated with sending signals over telephone lines will pay for the alarm communicator, which has minimal data transmission costs attached to it. And its 128-bit AES signal encryption ensures the highest level of data security of any alarm communicator on the market.”

The DSC GS2060 GSM/GPRS Wireless Alarm Communicator offers alarm reporting paths which can be combined through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) as well as the GSM/GPRS channels. What is more, it is able to use the GPRS data channel as a back-up to ensure high speed, reliable and secure alarm communications. With this feature, any concerns about phone line disruption can be permanently put to rest.”

DSC’s Internet and GSM/GPRS Dual-Path Alarm Communicator uses existing Internet connections and the GPRS data channel of the GSM network to ensure high speed and reliable alarm communications. When connected to the compatible alarm panel, installers can combine alarm reporting paths through PSTN, Internet and GSM/GPRS channels, thereby eliminating the need for dedicated phone lines and the accompanying risk of line interruption.

The GSM/GPRS backup feature dispels fears about Internet service or equipment disruptions owing to the fact that the communicator alarm signal can be sent to either the primary receiver, or to both the primary and backup receivers at the central monitoring station, thereby providing a fully redundant solution.

Panel compatibility

Those with concerns about their existing panels being incompatible with Sur-Gard System III base stations can make use of the T-Link Universal IP Alarm Communicator, says Mutinelli. “This is a valuable addition to the T-Link family of Internet/network alarm communicators since it is able to use existing IP networks. Simple and cost-effective to install, it will communicate with any control panel (including third-party manufacturers) that uses Contact ID format.”

The result is a fully supervised security solution that provides flexibility and an always-on, two-way line of communication, further enhanced by the TL300 communication stream, which requires only a limited amount of network bandwidth. This ensures that the integrity of the data being transferred never becomes compromised. In the interests of security, the module uses industry-leading, 128-bit AES encryption, polling and hardware substitution protection.

The communicator connects directly to the telephone output of a control panel, creating a TCP/IP connection that sends predefined Contact ID codes to the central monitoring station. To ensure dependable and timely event notification, reporting is sent to two different receiver IP addresses. This back-up feature ensures that communication will continue should one of the IP addresses go down. Mutinelli says the module can also be programmed to communicate events to two different e-mail addresses, which can be associated with a personal computer, pager, enabled mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA).

Monitoring stations

Monitoring stations using the DSC base station enjoy many benefits. The best investment is a system that can be expanded as the company grows, and preferably one that uses individual line cards. Phone and network line cards can be used to create one integrated monitoring solution. This type of system not only reduces start-up costs but makes for easy expansion since the number of line cards can be increased as the business grows.

“IP technology is current and improving every day,” concludes Mutinelli. “More households are having ADSL lines installed, leaving the way clear for installers to offer IP alarm communication to end users wanting to significantly increase their levels of security. Accordingly, we urge security companies that offer monitoring services to embrace the future today, in the interests of their clients’ safety and their businesses’ growth.”

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