Central Station Monitoring, Interactive Service, Cellular Back Up – What Are They and How Much?
In the dark ages, the early 70’s, most alarm systems, when tripped, rang a bell outside the house. That was it. The hope was that the noise would scare away the intruder and your neighbors would call the police. Then came the advent of tape dialers. Someone realized that it would be terrific that if the alarm tripped, the police would be notified automatically. A tape recorder was attached to the alarm system and announced to the police department when they answered the phone that there was a burglary in progress. A problem developed, however. There was no way to verify that there was an actual alarm or if the user simply forgot to disarm the system. You also couldn’t tell what part of the house the alarm was coming from. You simply knew there was an intruder.
Then came digital dialers and Central Station Monitoring. A device was added to the alarm and automatically dialed an alarm receiver. By using account numbers, you could tell where the alarm was coming from. As alarms came in they were printed on paper. An operator would see the account # and pull the corresponding card from a file, a file which contained all the subscribers’ information. They would then call the premises requesting a passcode, and if no passcode was given, dispatch the police department. The central station was born and the price of central station monitoring became a normal part of an alarm system.
Over the years technology changed and central stations became highly computerized. Rather than printing out the account information, the information interacted with a computer system and the information popped up on a central station operators’ screen.
While technology within the central station was rapidly progressing, the way the information was transmitted there remained the same, over the telephone lines. This method remained popular for primary transmission for years, even while cellular was booming for everyday use. Initially the alarm industry used cellular as a backup. It was a way to get the signal to the central station when the phone lines were cut. Voice Over IP (VOIP) phone service was also establishing itself as a cheaper alternative to copper phone lines. Though they worked for voice communications, transmitting data from alarm systems was problematic and you couldn’t be confident that the signal would get through. As phone lines were getting less reliable for alarm communication, cellular service was improving and going from analog to digital and data transmission was going from 1X to 2G, 3G and now 4GLTE. It has gotten to the point that in many areas cellular is more reliable than phone lines. This cellular service is provided by a third company, not the central station and not your local alarm company. Additional monthly charges were added to the price of the central station monitoring to cover cellular transmission.
About 10 years ago, interactive control of your alarm system was being born. Primitive by today’s standards, text messages would be sent to your alarm to arm or disarm the system. One of the early cellular back up providers, alarm.com was an early pioneer in this field. This service was possible because the cellular connection was always on. You didn’t have to wait for a dial tone and then dial a number. Your alarm would simply connect via cellular to a computer center. That computer center would process the signal, and if it were a genuine alarm, not a system command, forward that signal to the central station.
Fast forward to today. Americans are cancelling phone lines by the millions, and cellular is the most popular communication method. Many alarm systems sold today use cellular as their only communication path. Interactive service are booming. Interactive services allow you to communicate with your alarm system from anywhere with an internet connection. Not only can you arm/disarm your system, you can see if any windows or doors were left open. You can also check history and see when somebody entered your house. You can also be notified via email or text if events that you select took place. For example, if somebody opened a liquor cabinet when you weren’t home, you could receive a text message alerting you of this event. It goes even further. By combining your alarm with home automation technology, like Z Wave, you can control lights, thermostats, locks, garage doors and more from anywhere in the world. You can also add IP video cameras that send images that are processed by the same company and tie them into your account. You can receive a text message or email with the video clip of someone entering your home. You can also log on and see your home in real time, 24 hours a day. They are also recording clips into the cloud, for your review at a later time. These cameras do not communicate via cellular, but rather over the internet. Companies like alarm.com process the signal and combine them to your account with the alarm services. To you it is seamless.
As I mentioned, these services are available for you to use anywhere in the world where there is an internet connection. You can view your account on a computer, smart phone or tablet. Alarm.com is system agnostic, viewable on any brand device.
Now for the price. First off, there is usually a commitment required on your part of several years. Contracts run from 3 to 5 years, ours is 3. Standard Central Station Monitoring, using phone lines, runs $25 to $35 per month. We charge $25. Cellular alarm transmission (either as a primary source or as a backup) adds $15 to $20 to the bill. We charge $15. Interactive service adds $5 to the cellular charge. If you add video, expect to pay $5 or more (depending on how much storage you need).
So here are our charges added up: Standard Central Station Monitoring is $25 per month. Central Station Monitoring and Cellular Service (Primary or Backup) is $40 per month. Central Station Monitoring and Interactive Service (with cellular) is $45 per month.
Hope this helps when comparing.
If you are in the central or north New Jersey area and would like further information, please give us a call at 800-369-3962.
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