Currently, not a day goes by that our office doesn’t get a call from someone that has concerns about having VOIP service in their home or office, and how that affects their alarm. Most customers in our area either have ATT uverse, Surewest digital voice, Comcast Digital Cable, or Vonage. These four typically comprise of over 90% of non-traditional phone services that we see. If you have one of these services, please read carefully.

The modems that security systems are engineered with, are analog, and were built to work with POTS lines (plain old telephone service). When these modems were engineered and built into security systems, digital phone service had not even been invented yet. These same modems are still being manufactured today, and found in over 98% of all security systems. Whether you have an ADEMCO/HONEYWELL system, a DSC system, or a GE system, the modems are pretty generic, and are prevalent in all of them.

Each of these manufacturers has released statements, either as a technical release, a public newsletter, or both, stating that their products were never designed to work with Digital Voice products, and that they simply are not going of offer any kind of guarantee of service. Note that they did not say that it wouldn’t work, simply that they were not designed to work with them, and that they do not recommend connecting a VOIP service to their security system.

This is important to understand. No one is saying that they will never work, just that it is unreliable. I have heard from customers for the past two years now saying that their phone service provider said it would work fine with their alarm. No it doesn’t...You're asking a phone company about a product they do not sell, install, or service, and furthermore, you are asking a salesperson, who is trying to sell you a phone service about compatibility.

Our techs troubleshoot these systems every single day. Our conclusion is that of the engineers and manufacturers. It may work, and it may not. I have seen signals go through just fine, and literally 2 minutes later, not work at all.

Another important note: Our best success rates so far have been with Comcast Digital Voice. So far, our testing has led us to over 90% success rate with this carrier. It is important as well to note that River City Alarm Inc is in no way partnered with Comcast, nor do we receive any benefit, financially or otherwise whatsoever for making these claims…Its simply our testing has shown that their protocol for digital voice seems to work very well with analog alarms systems.

What to do about it?

If you do have one of the above listed Digital Voice services, and you are experiencing failure to communicate problems with your alarms system, there is something you can do. Currently our company is using the Teleguard TG-1 Cellular radio, for exclusive transmission of alarm signals. There are other manufacturers of Cellular radios for security systems, but for cost, ease of install, and reliability of the unit, we have chosen the TG-1 as our go to unit. These cellular radios wire right into the alarms system, and provide dial tone to the alarm so the alarm can send signals. Signals are sent from the Cellular radio, to the satellite, and retransmitted back to the central station in a format that the receiver at the Central Station can understand. The only limitation we have seen on these products is cellular reception area the customer may live in. It is our understanding that all security cellular radios use the ATT wireless network for signal transmission, so if you live in an area that is not covered by ATT, you may not be able to get relief as of yet by incorporating a digital radio into your security system. However, our results of installation have shown at least a 90% success rate for cellular broadcast. For more information on obtaining a cellular radio for your alarm, see our contact page.

There are other means of getting signals through via the internet, and we are currently exploring these and testing for reliability. When we have more conclusions, we will update this page.

For more technical information on this subject, please review the technical documents attached. These documents come straight from the manufacturer, so when your phone company says your analog alarm will work VOIP, and your central station says it will work…rest assured it’s the folks who engineer the product, and service the product who are really in the know.

One final note.  We provide this type of knowledge to try to resolve some of the confusion, because we truly want you to have adequate security. We are very well known for being an honest, up front business with no hidden agenda, and no sales and marketing schemes to get you to buy product. We simply want to be known by our level of customer service, and our genuine concern for everyone's safety.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and become more aware of your security.