zaphod Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 I am getting rid of my landline, because it is 2019 and I never use it, but apparently this is an issue with my alarm monitoring service, despite the fact that my landine for the last 15 years has been Vonage's VOIP service. They say that they don't recommend internet monitoring as internet service is not as reliable - yeah it is way less reliable than my VOIP! Their recommended option if you don't have a landline is a GSM based connection which is much more expensive. Is it really true that the primary way to monitor home alarm systems is still POTS? In 2019? Shouldn't internet monitoring be cheaper and easier than using a phone line? Or is my monitoring service living in the past? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 2 minutes ago, zaphod said: I am getting rid of my landline, because it is 2019 and I never use it, but apparently this is an issue with my alarm monitoring service, despite the fact that my landine for the last 15 years has been Vonage's VOIP service. They say that they don't recommend internet monitoring as internet service is not as reliable - yeah it is way less reliable than my VOIP! Their recommended option if you don't have a landline is a GSM based connection which is much more expensive. Is it really true that the primary way to monitor home alarm systems is still POTS? In 2019? Shouldn't internet monitoring be cheaper and easier than using a phone line? Or is my monitoring service living in the past? if you are using VOIP and your internet connection is down, what good is internet monitoring? I have Ooma (VOIP) and my alarm is tied into it and I use cellular GSM as a backup. I do not know how internet monitoring works but if you lose internet due to work, bad connection, etc you are SOL there as well as SOL with your VOIP connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Cellular. That is the future Sent from my BBF100-2 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 1 minute ago, eggzlot said: if you are using VOIP and your internet connection is down, what good is internet monitoring? I have Ooma (VOIP) and my alarm is tied into it and I use cellular GSM as a backup. I do not know how internet monitoring works but if you lose internet due to work, bad connection, etc you are SOL there as well as SOL with your VOIP connection. Exactly - if my internet goes down then my VOIP is down so there is no difference there. But the monitoring service(s) seem to ignore that fact. I live in Toronto and I am not too uptight about having a monitored security system. One option is to forego monitoring completely - that may mean my home insurance goes up but I don't know if it will go up enough to offset the $300-$450 per year that I would save by cancelling monitoring completely. I have lived in this house for 13 years and we didn't have monitoring for the first three years. We have had it since then but the system is rarely, other than at night, on as the house is almost always occupied. My previous homes didn't even have alarm systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 1 minute ago, msgreenf said: Cellular. That is the future Do the cellular systems use voice connections or data connections? It seems crazy to meet that alarm monitoring in 2019 seems to be made for 19th century technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Just now, zaphod said: Exactly - if my internet goes down then my VOIP is down so there is no difference there. But the monitoring service(s) seem to ignore that fact. I live in Toronto and I am not too uptight about having a monitored security system. One option is to forego monitoring completely - that may mean my home insurance goes up but I don't know if it will go up enough to offset the $300-$450 per year that I would save by cancelling monitoring completely. I have lived in this house for 13 years and we didn't have monitoring for the first three years. We have had it since then but the system is rarely, other than at night, on as the house is almost always occupied. My previous homes didn't even have alarm systems. yeah that is a personal decision. I think I pay about $380 a year for "landline" really using Ooma + cellular backup. I am sure I do not see that entire cost as a credit from insurance but I do see some of it back. That said, you can live in a house for 1 year or 10 years, it only takes 1 break in or fire or something where it was not being monitored to make the difference. Its like any insurance, you may only need it once, but the one time you do could be a life or money saver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 I see fire as being the main reason. Even if there is a break in I am not sure a monitored alarm will save you any money from theft. Maybe for personal safety but that is rare in Canada and I am still not sure it will make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 1 hour ago, zaphod said: I see fire as being the main reason. Even if there is a break in I am not sure a monitored alarm will save you any money from theft. Maybe for personal safety but that is rare in Canada and I am still not sure it will make a difference. an old statistics teacher once told us about buying optional (aka not auto or home) insurance. Stuff like when you buy a TV, camera, trip insurance etc. I almost view monitoring as "insurance" in this case. He said the way the actuary tables or whatever line up, from a customer standpoint you should ALWAYS buy the insurance or NEVER buy the insurance. he said insurance companies make their money on people that buy it for a $4,000 TV but not a $400 camera lens. Again I see monitoring services for an alarm as insurance/protection so I view it in the same bucket. Yet I do not listen to my stats teacher and I do not always buy insurance, so what do I know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 2 hours ago, zaphod said: Do the cellular systems use voice connections or data connections? It seems crazy to meet that alarm monitoring in 2019 seems to be made for 19th century technology. Data. My Alarm monitoring with Cellular monitoring is $30 a month (no additional cost for "cellphone") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyPhy Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 I think the best option is a universal dual-path IP/cellular communicators. They primarily communicate over your internet connection and only use cellular if your internet is down. I use the Telguard TG-SCI Plus or the ELK C1M1, depending on the situation. Alula BAT and Napco Starlink are other options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 But why? Just go cellular and be done w it Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesc4 Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 12 hours ago, msgreenf said: But why? Just go cellular and be done w it Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk Agreed !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyPhy Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 On 4/15/2019 at 6:11 PM, msgreenf said: But why? Just go cellular and be done w it Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk Reason 1: Price. The monthly fees are cheaper if cellular is the backup rather than the primary. Reason 2: Reliability. It’s better to have 2 communication paths instead of one. Cellular can go down, and it’s good to have a second path, especially if it’s also less expensive. I previously had cellular as the primary and switched to dual path. The monthly fee was cut in half and the event reporting times also became much faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Not at option I have seen cost wise...Where are you located? Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyPhy Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 I’m located in the US and use Telguard. The monthly cost for their Telguard TG-SCI Plus dual-path communicator with SafetyNet (i.e. connecting it to WiFi) is a quarter the cost of cellular-only monitoring through my prior provider. Telguard is widely supported and my experience with them has been excellent. https://www.telguard.com/product/tg-sci-plus/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc15 Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 I use an Envisalink module for my 1832. It installs to the keybus like any other keypad. Monitoring over IP is like $10 a month through their Envisalarm service. Of course its only as useful as how much backup power/UPS you have on your modem/router/switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdepaola Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 We went no monitoring a long time ago, the statistics just don't support the cost. Alarms do not stop thief's, they know they can get in and out before your monitoring company can contact the local police and their eventual arrival. Fire is different but with the advent of IP based detectors like nest and FirstAlert you also don't need to pay for security system monitoring. As for monitoring being an insurance policy, thats why we have good home owners insurance and an umbrella policy on top of it. Its actually insurance that we know works, paying for monitoring may or may not actually do anything outside of cost you money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 It's simply cheaper to keep your land line. It shouldn't be but....I've had lots of clients drop their land line, not thinking this part trough, then get upset when it costs more...and get a landline back. Internet monitoring isn't quite there yet for many monitoring companies (don't ask me why) and cellular is expensive (at least what I've seen here in Canada) Of course that assumes you want monitoring. Of course, about half the insurance companies out there offer discounts if an alarm system is monitored - and often that discount off-sets the landline cost...if not makes the overall cost cheaper. Just something to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraydonH Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Cellular is probably the most reliable and best bet. With that being said we install Paradox Alarm Systems in Canada and we use the IP150 module for ethernet based monitoring all the time. No its not as reliable as POTS, but it does work just fine. What security system do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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