News

WARNING: Radio Monitoring Outages

On February 18, 2008, the FCC lifted a requirement that wireless communications carriers support the analog cellular network. The impact to customers with analog radio monitoring devices is not fully known; however, some wireless carriers have started shutting down cellular networks since that day rendering analog radio monitoring devices useless. This means that police, fire, medical, and other dispatch will NOT occur through central station monitoring if the alarm system cannot transmit its signals. Advance Warning Security recommends that customers who have an analog radio monitoring device immediately install a digital radio monitoring device to help ensure forward compatibility with cellular networks and to avoid likely outages due to analog network shutdown issues. Advance Warning Security presently sells the digital Uplink AnyNet device and the GE NX591e-GSM. If your device is NOT specifically one of these devices, then your device is likely analog and should be replaced. At this time, the Uplink digital radio is selling for about $99. The GE NX591e-GSM, is selling for $175 new and $125 for replacement of older NX591E units. We recommend GE’s radio for all GE Networx alarm systems. Call us to have one installed.

WARNING: Alarm System Incompatibility—Voice Over IP (VOIP) & Digital Phone Lines

VOIP systems and digital phone lines are generally NOT compatible with your alarm system if your system is monitored over a telephone line. Eliminating your traditional telephone line will likely cause your monitored alarm system to lose ability to communicate to central station monitoring. This means that police, fire, medical, and other dispatch will NOT occur through central station monitoring if the alarm system cannot transmit its signals.

WARNING: Alarm System Incompatibility—Voice Over IP (VOIP) & Digital Phone Lines

VOIP systems and digital phone lines are generally NOT compatible with your alarm system if your system is monitored over a telephone line. Eliminating your traditional telephone line will likely cause your monitored alarm system to lose ability to communicate to central station monitoring. This means that police, fire, medical, and other dispatch will NOT occur through central station monitoring if the alarm system cannot transmit its signals. Please call us if you have questions about this or to order radio monitoring which does not require a telephone line and therefore avoids these incompatibilities. Radio monitoring is also better because it works even if the phone line has been cut. You can get a basic analog phone line from AT&T without any features for about $17 per month (long distance from ECG is available for about 2.5 cents per minute).

URGENT: Change In Dispatch Procedure—Cell Numbers Needed

In accordance with industry efforts to reduce false alarms, central station monitoring will call additional numbers on the call list BEFORE dispatching. Please call central station monitoring at 770-478-1513 to make sure valid cell phone numbers are in the first positions of the call list. Please also review your other numbers and remove any that are no longer valid. It’s best to write down your name, address, account number, and call list and fax it to central station monitoring at 770-478-8903.