Dear Subscriber:

As you may be aware several changes are occurring in the telecommunication industry. The new telephone service being offered is called "Voice over Internet Protocol" (VoIP), or Internet telephone service. Because your security system communicates to our central station over telephone lines, you need to be aware how this may affect the communications of your alarm system. The providers of VoIP services in their efforts to make sales often will not tell you how VoIP service will effect you in the event of an emergency. All of the providers have placed disclaimers and warnings on their websites and buried in their literature. We urge you to check with your provider, we have placed several links on our Webpage to the most common providers in our service area.

> Cablevision
> Time Warner
> Vonage

Security alarms systems today are manufactured to transmit signals over a “Plain Old Telephone Service” (POTS line). This is the industry standard. The new unregulated telephone service providers have not given proper considerations to you the alarm subscriber and the security industry itself when setting up their networks.
There are several things that need to be considered. First, what happens when your electric goes out? If there is no power to the Internet device an alarm signal cannot be transmitted. Secondly, the Internet can be down. If it is NOT working, signals cannot be passed. Next, an alarm cannot properly seize the phone line during an alarm condition. (This means that if someone picks up a telephone when an alarm occurs they can disrupt the transmission to our central station.) Also, if the VoIP phone line is unplugged for whatever reason, your alarm will not be able to transmit signals. Finally, there are some conditions, which make it totally impossible to receive signals from or download to your system (a feature which enables us to make program changes to your system from our office). The providers of this service currently say that their systems are “not compatible” or “will not support” security alarm systems.

VoIP MAY NOT WORK WITH SOME ALARM SYSTEMS and MAY NOT BE SUPPORTED BY SOME PROVIDERS:

“Other restrictions may apply. Service will not function during a power or broadband service outage and is not compatible with home security systems. Service's 911 Emergency Dialing operates differently from traditional 911 Service.” AT&T CallVantageSM

“Verizon VoiceWing, as a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) service, differs from regular telephone service……VoiceWing will not work if power is out… VoiceWing will not support home security systems“

"Cablevision does not support the use of Optimum Voice as the connection between a customer’s home security system home security system and central station monitoring, and will neither connect to such services nor provide technical support. If you have a monitored alarm system please notify the technician before he/she begins connecting the Optimum Home Wiring Solution."

"Cablevision does not guarantee that Optimum Voice will function as the connection between home security or emergency medical alert systems and central monitoring services, and will neither connect to such services nor provide technical support for the connection."

If you choose VoIP for your phone service please notify us upon ordering the service. It is imperative that certain changes are made to the way your phone lines are connected to your alarm system. Also, your system must be properly tested to verify signals are received properly. Some alarm panels may not work with a VoIP, others may work only intermittently. Reliability of communications will depend on the bandwidth available. The bandwidth goes down a times of heavy usage, this means even a system that tests fine at one time of day, may not be able to communicate at another simply because the VoIP network cannot handle the amount of traffic (just as your Internet connection slows down at times of peak usage).

For VoIP users, there are several recommendations we are making to improve your security. First, use your VoIP line as a second phone line. Retain the first line for incoming calls and your alarm system. In most situations, No change is needed. Secondly, install an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to your VoIP device. (In the event of a power outage this unit will provide back up power to the device. The larger the UPS, the longer it will continue to work.) Reliable communications can only be ensured with either the installation of an IP alarm transmitter or Radio Back-UP. The Radio Back-UP has the added advantage of being independent the communications systems serving your premises and will continue to work in the event of cable or phone line failure.
We, at New York Merchants Protective Co, Inc. hope this letter might help you understand how VoIP may affect your alarm systems ability to transmit an emergency signal to our central station. If you wish to further discuss services like Radio Back-UP or IP monitoring, please give us a call.

As always, thank you for allowing us to provide security for you and your family. If we can be of any further assistance please let us know.

Very truly,
Your customer care team

PS: ALWAYS REMEMBER TO TEST YOUR ALARM SYSTEM REGULARLY! When testing, please call our Central Station first so not to take the priority from a real emergency.