
Let’s talk about Cellular Alarm Monitoring. Why has this become such a hot topic? Because many people today will move into a new home and simply not get a home phone, a VOIP phone or a dial tone of any kind. Why does this matter? It matters because there has to be a way to transmit an alarm signal to our 24-hour central alarm monitoring station. In the past we and every other alarm company out there would always use the existing home phone to send that signal when needed. As of today, we find about 1 out of every 3 people calling for alarm monitoring services simply do not have a home phone or dial tone of any kind.
It used to be called a POTS line or “plain old telephone service”. And, many people still get a POTS line. Also, many people will get a digital phone line like VOIP (like Vonage). Now days we simply refer to it as a dial tone since there are so many options out there.
Most of the time if you have a “dial tone” then we can utilize your existing transmission source (your home phone) to send the alarm signal when needed.
Let’s talk about why you would still want to get a home phone of some sort.
Since we first wrote this page just a few years ago many things have changed and/or become more popular that make it even easier to get along without a phone-line. As well, a cellular alarm monitoring conntection is generally felt to be the most reliable and safe.
Now we are not necessarily promoting home phone lines and at the same time we feel like it is a good idea to point out some of the things that you would miss if you no longer had a home phone line.
Now that we are done with the phone line discussion let’s discuss using cellular monitoring.
You can use cellular alarm monitoring to transmit all of your home security signals. If you have a phone line then use both your home phone line as well as the cellular alarm monitoring as a redundant signaling source.
With that said, let’s list some reasons to use cellular alarm monitoring.
It costs way less than any other transmission source. If you aren’t going to be using a home phone line for anything besides your alarm monitoring then it would be a good idea to use cell monitoring. The average home phone bill is about $40 a month. Call us for current rates on cellular units and monitoring.
Remember, it costs something per month because usually the alarm company simply uses the transmission source that you already have to send a signal from when needed (hence you are paying for a transmission source). However, if you don’t have a transmission source (a home phone) then the alarm company must provide one for you and pay for it. This is through a specialty cellular company that makes a specialty unit that is just used to transmit alarm-monitoring signals.
It technically is more secure. The cellular alarm-monitoring unit is about the size of your hand and sits above the control panel in the closet. Now it is a wireless signal just like a cell signal but of course it cannot leave the house so the unit is stationary. This unit sits above the control panel in a closet typically and since it is a wireless signal there is no exterior line that can be cut. We have heard of a landline being cut by a burglar on the outside of the home but it is an extremely rare occurrence.
Remember, having the cell unit wouldn’t prevent the break-in. Burglars are not typically smart people; if they cut a wire on the outside of the home then they would proceed to enter anyway. You would simply have another transmission source to send a signal with while otherwise you wouldn’t but the burglar would be unaware that there was a cell unit in most cases. Alarm systems in general make you statistically 4 times less likely to be a target of a burglary or intrusion. We aren’t making recommendations either way. The choice is yours.
To sum up, some people will continue to get a home phone line for some reason or another and it is a cost effective and great way to send an alarm-monitoring signal. However, if you don’t have a phone line and are using a wireless internet card for surfing the net and cell phones for phone calls then cellular alarm monitoring is the way to go for you.
In either case, if you simply would like to have cellular alarm monitoring then we can definitely provide it at the best deal in the alarm industry and hook them up every day.
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