Comb Communications exhibited at the Cape Town Residential Estate breakfast. MD Graham Wild was happy with the event, noting that a focused event allowed the company to present its solutions to a focused audience.
Instead of having people from various verticals to network with, Wild says the event addressed what people in the residential market wanted from their security systems and providers. The event allowed Comb to speak to people outside of the security industry, but who were concerned about specific security issues in their gated communities.
On the topic of what issues to consider when looking for an access control system, the company said one needs to know the amount of units which will be catered for.
“It is important to ensure that the system you are looking at can cater for the total number of units in a complex. Most intercom systems are able to handle only a limited number of units since only a limited number of telephone numbers and remotes can be programmed on the system,” says Comb’s marketing manager Corlia Mocke.
It is important to establish upfront whether fixed line or GSM will be used. “Fixed line systems are not only more prone to lightning strikes, but the cost on a fixed line system is also higher because most residents today have cellular phones and charges from fixed line to cell are more expensive. It is also important to know if the system works with a SIM card or a SIM chip because SIM cards can be stolen, whereas a SIM chip cannot because they are embedded, which means that should something happen to the SIM chip, the entire board needs to be replaced,” she adds.
It is important that your system can be programmed remotely via a secure Web application. If the intercom does not have this feature, your installer will need to go out to the site every time a resident in the complex changes or someone loses a remote.
“The Web application or software should be user friendly and easy to manage; there is nothing as frustrating as taking an hour to do a simple action like changing a remote or an entry key,” Mocke says.
Surge protection is especially important in Gauteng and other high lightning strike areas, because outdoor electronic devices are a perfect target for lightning. On that note it might be a good idea to insure your intercom under your buildings policy. Finally, you need to make sure that the parts for the intercom system will be available for the immediate future, because an intercom system is an expensive item and you will not be able to replace the entire system every time something goes wrong.
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