U.S. Senate Needs to Hear About VoIP Concerns
February 04, 2007
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Currently burglar and fire alarm signals are transmitted from the home or business to a central monitoring station over telephone lines. In many cases Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems will become a substitute for the current landline systems. When a VoIP (broadband) phone system is improperly installed, by either a consumer or a VoIP provider, there is a significant risk that existing alarm panels will be bypassed and no longer be able to send a signal to the alarm monitoring station.
U.S. Senate Needs to Hear About VoIP Concerns
Action Needed Immediately
Currently burglar and fire alarm signals are transmitted from the home or business to a central monitoring station over telephone lines. In many cases Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems will become a substitute for the current landline systems. When a VoIP (broadband) phone system is improperly installed, by either a consumer or a VoIP provider, there is a significant risk that existing alarm panels will be bypassed and no longer be able to send a signal to the alarm monitoring station.
Unless the consumer is notified and the system is properly tested he/she will be unaware that they no longer have alarm monitoring services for the protection of life and property. While some alarm consumers may learn their system is no longer operable when an automatic test is run on their system, millions of Americans who have older systems which can not be automatically tested will only learn that they no longer have alarm services during an emergency. To make matters worse, seniors with health alert systems will not be aware that they have lost their health lifeline. This is a problem which can easily be remedied if the consumer is notified in advance of VoIP installation and his/her system is then tested.
BACKGROUND:
On Wednesday, April 26, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up final legislation that is the first step in the rewriting of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The Committee adopted, by a unanimous voice vote, an amendment by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) requiring VoIP providers to notify consumers before installation of VoIP phone service and prior to number activation that if they have an alarm system they should:
- Arrange with their emergency response provider to test their system;
- Notify their emergency response provider after VoIP service is installed; &
- Have a battery backup for the alarm system.
Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) indicated that he supported the amendment and that all the parties involved had worked out the language.
The NBFAA worked in coordination with the AICC (Alarm Industry Communication Committee) that includes the CSAA (Central Station Alarm Association) in leading the alarm industry's concerns on VoIP that were included in this Bill.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:
The next action in the House of Representatives will be a vote on the bill in the full House. This is expected to occur in the next few weeks.
ACTION NEEDED IMMEDIATELY
NBFAA is now asking you to turn your attention to the Senate where Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) is putting together a Senate version of a telecommunications bill - which he hopes to introduce sometime in the next few weeks.
You are urged to directly contact your Senators, especially those who sit on the Senate Commerce Committee, and request that they include the alarm industry’s “Alarm VoIP Consumer Notification” in the Senate version of the telecommunications bill.
We urge you to start e-mailing and calling them as soon as possible.
* These Senators are up for reelection in 2006 and are very interested in hearing from and responding to their constituents. |
PLEASE FAX A COPY OF ANY CORRESPONDENSE (LETTERS, FAXES OR E-MAILS) TO NBFAA GOVERNMENT RELATIONS DEPARTMENT: (703) 684-7594
Fire & Arson Statistics
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Residential Fires…
Almost 82 percent of all U.S. fire deaths occur in the home. In 2004, residential fires resulted in $5.9 billion in property damage.
Source: Fire Loss in the United States during 2004 Full Report, National Fire Protection Association
Residential Fires…
Almost 82 percent of all U.S. fire deaths occur in the home. In 2004, residential fires resulted in $5.9 billion in property damage.
Source: Fire Loss in the United States during 2004 Full Report, National Fire Protection Association
Home Structure Fires are caused by…
The most common causes for fires in homes from 1999-2002, starts with number one cooking equipment, followed by heating equipment, intentional causes, open flame, electrical distribution equipment, appliances and finally smoking material. "Homes" are defined as dwellings, duplexes, manufactured homes (mobile homes), apartments, row houses, townhouses, and condominiums.
Source: National Fire Protection Association (www.NFPA.org)
Overview of Fires…
Every 20 seconds, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation. A fire occurs in a structure at the rate of one every 60 seconds, and a residential fire occurs every 77 seconds. Nationwide in 2004, there was a civilian fire death every 135 minutes and a civilian injury every 30 minutes.
Source: Fire Loss in the United States during 2004 Full Report, National Fire Protection Association
Arson Decreases Slightly
An estimated 36,500 intentionally set structure fires occurred in 2004 and resulted in 320 civilian deaths, an increase of 4.9 percent from a year ago. In 2004, the monetary value of property loss due to reported arson was $714,000,000.
Source: Fire Loss in the United States during 2004 Full Report, National Fire Protection Association
Basic Precautions to Reduce Burglary…
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Basic Precautions to Reduce Burglary…
There are four basic types of precautions which must be provided to significantly reduce the chance of burglary:
- Deterring Measures: These are security measures which are likely to lower the chance of a break-in when the burglar cruises the neighborhood in search of a target. Burglars search for homes that appear to be unoccupied. Thus, deterring measures suggest that somebody is at home. For example, a car in the driveway, motion sensitive exterior lights, interior lights, and radios and TVs on timers, all give the impression that someone is in the home.
- Preventive Measures: These are security measures which make the actual break-in more difficult and/or time consuming. Burglars spend no more than 60 seconds breaking into a home. Measures which rise this time may cause burglars to change their mind. Some examples include deadbolt locks, bars on windows, and pins in sash windows.
- Detection Measures: These are measures which detect the presence of an intruder on the premises and send a message out. Only a burglar alarm serves that purpose.
- Managerial Measures: In nature, these measures are in the deterrence category. They are not physical precaution measures like the three previous categories but are associated with the deterring category in their objective, which is to produce the impression that somebody is home. They include stopping newspaper and mail delivery, notifying police when you will be away, and having neighbors watch your home.
Source: Dr. Simon Hakim, Temple University, 215-204-5037
Security Systems Decrease Likelihood of burglary…
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Security Systems Decrease Likelihood of burglary…
In a survey of 1,000 police and fire chiefs, 85 percent of the police officials said security systems decrease the likelihood a home will be burglarized. Almost 90 percent felt security systems increase their chances of apprehending burglars, and 85 percent said they encourage the installation of electronic security systems in residences and businesses in their communities.
Source: Private Security Report from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
What is considered a burglary….
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What is considered a burglary….
Burglary is defined as the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. The use of force to gain entry is not required to classify an offense as a burglary. Burglary is categorized into three sub classifications: forcible entry, unlawful entry where no force is used, and attempted forcible entry.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report 2004
Property Crimes are Dropping…
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Property Crimes are Dropping…
The crime rate for property crimes has decreased by 1.1 percent in 2004, a 14.4 percent decrease since 1995.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report 2004
We Launch!
December 22, 2006
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www.TheBestGuard.com Launches its ecommerce model December 1,2006. The site will include some new and very advanced features for its customers like a huge archive picture gallery that is now at 10% of items on line and has over 20% of PDF files and cut sheets. These are all being added to help the customer and increase there experience as they shop for all of there low voltage products. That includes CCTV (closed circuit television) Video and Video Monitoring, Burglar Alarm, Card Access, Custom Audio and Video, Structured Cables, Fire Alarm products, Fire Alarm Monitoring, Burglar Alarm Monitoring, Elevator Monitoring, Gate Access, Spy Cameras and Much much more
GE SECURITY HONEYWELL PELCO BOSCH ACTI SAMSUNG GENISIS NUTONE SONY NEC PANASONIC ADEMCO SENSORTROL AND MANY MORE