VoIP and Home Security Systems Don't Get Along 187
coondoggie writes "Here is a story about consumer VoIP services that can cause your home security alarm system to malfunction or not work at all. There have been problems with customer phone systems in Canada who were using Primus but Vonage customers in the U.S have complained too. A number of sites have popped up offering suggestions to help deal with the problem."
Get it through your thick skulls (Score:2, Interesting)
Whether it is 911 service or your home's alarm system, do you want to trust your home broadband connection for emergencies?
This one smells (Score:5, Interesting)
Secondly you should wire your setup as RJ31X so the alarm system can cut in and take control.
Thirdly - you can set your bandwidth so that fax and modem signals will work. Better yet, how come no alarm company has an IP based monitoring setup? Be pretty simple to do with VPN's, etc.
Finally the E-911 issue was resolved a long time ago. I have full E-911 service through Vonage.
All this leads me to believe that ILEC's are behind these stories. They're losing business left and right to less expensive VoIP carriers. And Verizon for one is in a particularly bad spot, their little fiber build out isn't generating the returns they expected.
Surprised? (Score:4, Interesting)
It's only too easy to cut a POTS line, or tie it up by dialing-in to it, which is exactly what any competent burglar will do... Maybe with a (pre-paid?) cell-based service, your alarm will have a fighting chance, but not a lot even then.
Wireless monitoring... (Score:5, Interesting)
POTS lines are no longer needed.
Re:Get it through your thick skulls (Score:2, Interesting)
At least they put the fiber interface on battery backup so it works even with the power out. POTS is going away so we might as well work with it.
BTW, the fiber has been ultra reliable. 1 year with it now and not one outage!! Yeah!
- X
Re:so what else is new? (Score:4, Interesting)
I dunno. Before plugging my VOIP service into my home circuit, I of course had to disconnect my home curcuit from the phone company. I can tell you it was very easy; I just opened a plastic box on the side of my house and unplugged it. If you're worried about "bad guys," a cellphone might be better.
In type type of general emergency likely to kill cellphones (or Internet), I don't think you have great odds of contacting the police and getting a swift response anyways. You're worried about the Internet as a shared bandwidth link? Well 911 and the police are shared resources, too. I can tell you plenty of folks called 911 from the WTC, or when New Orleans flooded, and it didn't help them much.
If you're worried about a random Internet or cellphone outage at the same time as a random burglary, go ahead, but for me personally that's on the other side of "lightning strike."
Re:Surprised? (Score:3, Interesting)
Honestly I'm amazed that security systems don't assume a disconnect of over x minutes should result in some sort of immediate response. I mean, if cutting the phone line renders the system worthless then what sort of protection is that given many phone lines can be cut from outside the house.
Data over Voice over IP? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Makes no sense to use broadband for this (Score:3, Interesting)
alternative alarm monitoring: Internet (Score:2, Interesting)
Caveat: some of their links were broken the last time I checked. Makes you wonder.
Obligatory disclaimer: I've just hit their website looking for a similar solution; not a customer (yet).
DT
Re:This one smells (Score:4, Interesting)
Secondly, alarms are mad so frigging cheap that only ONE exists that is IP ready..... That's ADI. Problem is most alarm companies cant handle such an advanced alarm and most people buying one want the $99.00 special not the $1500.00 ADI system + 1 hour programming.
Thirdly, if the alarm buyer was not a cheapskate they would opt for the cellular connect module and forget the land line. It's another $159.99 plus and extra $5.95 a month for monitoring fees to pay for the single 1 minute call it makes every night.
Most home alarms out there installed are utter crap. The ADT junk is incredibly outdated and horribly low quality. People want cheap fake peace of mind, they really do not want to spend real money on security.
Re:Get it through your thick skulls (Score:3, Interesting)
I think the issue has to do with the actual power coming over the house wiring with VoIP-based phone versus a Baby Bell's network. When I changed my phone service from SBC over to our cable provider, the service is digital, but it's not run over the cable modem, it has it's own dedicated bandwidth. It rarely, if ever, goes down. But I noticed after switching I couldn't hear my 1960's rotary phone in one room. If I'm standing right by it and a call comes in I hear a feeble tapping of the ringer, whereas it rang out clearly before. I can still make/receive calls on it though.
I also get calls occasionally at work (I work for a cable co, not the same as I have) and people have issues with alarm systems not functioning right when all the phones are working.
It seems as though IP Phone adapters don't put out quite the same voltage as a "normal" phone line, so the alarm system may read it as having no phone line connected.
Dealt with this before... (Score:3, Interesting)
Modem-type communications expect timing to be near exact (something the PSTN can guarantee) and just don't work well with the random delays (caused by 'net conditions, jitter buffering, etc) that are inherent with VoIP. T38 helps with faxing, but any sort of modem connection is going to cause problems.
We made sure our customers knew that burglar alarms were _not_ something we supported over VoIP. In fact it's a downright silly idea tying your home protection in with your Internet connection in most cases anyways. You can often get a phone line specifically for burglar alarms for less than you'd pay for a line used for talking on as well, so this is typically what we'd advise customers to do.