Monitored Association Alarm Systems May Fail to Bring Help When Needed


Andy Benun, Operations Director and Maggie Benzvi Andtech Security, G.G., CA


Does your community have monitored fi re or burglar alarm systems? Do they still communicate with monitoring stations? Always? Are you certain?


Many associations are discovering their alarm panels no longer communicate with monitoring stations because communications technology has changed (sometimes without notice) and/or the alarm’s “communications link” has not been updated and lacks a second path for communicating (redundancy) to the Central Station . . . Some managers may receive calls from residents about constantly beeping keypads without understanding why.


If your community’s alarm system uses 3G cellular or “unmanaged VoIP” telephone service, these systems may not be communicating correctly and will fail to call for help when needed.


It’s not complicated – the 3G cellular system has been shut down and RF frequencies reassigned to 5G/4G-LTE networks. Unmanaged VoIP services may work for voice calls, but the delicate requirements necessary for alarms to properly transmit their alarm signals reliably may not play well with 3rd party carriers.


Telephone service used to be a no-brainer. Long gone are the days of lifting a handset and hearing that reliable analog dial tone sound, letting your voice sing out thru copper wires that run out of your house, onto telephone poles up and down the street. That was POTS — Plain Old Telephone Service. And slowly, but persistently, POTS is disappearing.


Phone companies contend that the wiring used for POTS is expensive to maintain and are raising prices in an effort to push customers away from POTS. Many are charging customers over $150 a month for each line of POTS phone service. New construction projects are even being built without including POTS lines to the property.


The fi nal death knell for POTS arrived in 2019, when the FCC issued Order 19-72A1, mandating properties to have POTS lines


24 September | October 2023


replaced by alternative services (Coax, Fiber, etc.) to provide other services. “We fi nd that the public interest is no longer served by maintaining these legacy regulatory obligations and their associated costs,” the Commission wrote.


Major providers have begun decommissioning their POTS networks, switching landline customers to “Managed” VoIP service, often without their knowledge. VoIP sends a signal across a property’s internet lines, leaving POTS wires dormant.


Phasing out POTS has led to widespread confusion when it comes to alarm system communications. Property owners and businesses have received little guidance on how their systems need to be revamped to keep them safe and in compliance with their insurance policies. Many fi re alarm sales consultants see this as an opportunity and may try to push consumers into buying updated alarm panels, even replacing them without required permits, when only the communication systems need to be modernized.


Historically, alarm systems have been confi gured around one or two dedicated POTS lines to assure uninterrupted coverage. Having Two paths for communication is especially important for fi re alarms. Insurance providers with alarm conditions in their contracts expect properties to have continuously monitored alarm coverage. A delay of even 90 seconds could be enough for a fi re reconstructionist to lay the blame for damage at the feet of businesses or HOAs.


It is vital that every system has a solid redundant communication path to the central station. A trusted and certifi ed technician can make a difference.


VoIP lines can be unreliable when used for alarms. Anyone with high-speed internet can attest


to the frustrations of


random outages. Unlike POTS services, VoIP sends its signals as packets of data which adds latency. If packets get lost, or sent incorrectly, the disruption could keep alarm systems from sending critical data to the monitoring system as expected.


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