Unique IP Comes to Alarm Monitoring, Helps Cut False Alarm Fines

Some 55% of all adult Americans now have a high-speed Internet connection at home. The percentage of Americans with broadband at home has grown from 47% in early 2007, according to new research.

Poorer Americans saw no growth in broadband adoption in the past year while at the same time nearly one-third of broadband users pay more to get faster connections, pointed out PewInternet Research. Some things may change: Connected Nation, a national nonprofit, is working with Intel, Fujitsu, Velocity Micro, and ZT Systems to establish what they call Every Citizen Online, a public-private partnership program to enable computer ownership and broadband use in low-income and unconnected homes.

There also is the impact of cloud computing.

ABI Research forecasts that the number of mobile cloud computing subscribers worldwide will grow rapidly over the next five years, rising from 42.8 million subscribers in 2008, (approximately 1.1% of all mobile subscribers) to just over 998 million in 2014 (nearly 19%). Mobile cloud applications move the computing power and data storage away from mobile phones and other devices and into the cloud, bringing apps and mobile computing to not just smartphone users but a much broader range of mobile subscribers.

These advances are affecting security. Just as consumer camcorders helped spur corporate and government use of CCD-embedded security cameras, residential IP will have a growing impact on security and monitoring.

On reason: With just about all cities and municipalities facing significant budget deficits, all types of cost cutting and “revenue” generation options are being considered by city officials. Thus, false alarms and the associated fees are back in the spotlight. Although improvements have been made in false alarm rates through EVC and other conventional verification approaches, the alarm industry is in need of a break-through solution, according to Felix Gonzales, vice president strategic initiatives & business development with Stanley Convergent Security Solutions, Inc.

Stanley CSS’s new IP-based Sonitrol audio impact intrusion verification system, hitting the market this quarter, will take the product line to a more integrated and comprehensive security level, contended Gonzales. By using the audio impact technology, when an alarm is triggered, monitoring professionals actually listen-in to determine whether a break-in is in progress, or whether a false alarm has occurred. If it’s a break-in, police dispatch immediately occurs and real-time information is provided to the responding officers.

The new IP-based systems’ benefits include:

?         Wall to wall, floor to ceiling protection

?         Early detection

?         Alarm verification

?         Critical information for responding law enforcement

?         High apprehension rate

?         Detection of conventional and unconventional break-ins

About the iBase Control Panel

With its single board configuration (8 loop inputs, 4 audio inputs and 2 access doors) iBase was designed to handle 65% of typical applications. With a simple add of an Audio-8 module, (increases the audio sensors to a total of 12) security protection is tripled and will handle 85% of typical applications. Some of the iBase advancements include faster high-speed modem connections on the iBase, IP communications and two fully functioning access doors. The addition of the IP capability helps to satisfy the demands of more and more IT departments. Also, the capability to eliminate the need for POTS phone lines and their associated monthly charges is attractive to most customers, especially high volume customers, such as national retail chains and public school systems. Should a customer not care about the IP technology, the phone connections (primary and back-up) will allow us to be able to configure system communications, similar to how we do it today, but at a much faster speed. With additional modules the iBase system has the expansion capabilities to meet the needs of the entire customer base, said Gonzales. Standard iBase features include:

•           On-board Access Control capability

•           Eight alarm inputs & outputs

•           Digitized audio integrated within the control panel

•           Built in wireless interface

•           Standard and custom arming partitions

•           Secure high speed IP communication between the panel and the Central Station (30,000 x faster than dial-up panels)

•           33.6K modem option between the panel and the Central Station (more than 100 x faster than existing dial-up panels)

•           FLASH ROM firmware for flexible remote programming

•           An Ethernet peripheral bus between the panel and its keypads and modules for installation cost and labor savings