IP signalling: doing it faster

08 Dec 09

Next generation broadband is on its way. Fewer than two months after the release of Lord Carter’s report on ‘Digital Britain’, BT has announced plans to double the availability of its fastest fibre broadband service.

Although this announcement, and others like it, do not look like bringing the UK up to the level of countries such as Japan, it does at least show that the government is aware of the importance of broadband to economic growth and social improvement.

As a result of the BT announcement, the number of homes likely to benefit from broadband speeds of up to 100mbps is set to rise from the projected one million homes to around 2.5 million. The first 1.5 million are scheduled to be online before next summer.

Of course, there is more to this than simple headline numbers. While many commentators have focused only on speed, the ‘Digital Britain’ report envisages a whole new realm of opportunities for collaborative working between customers, suppliers and manufacturers right across the supply chain.

The ‘common language’ of the internet, IP enables all devices on the network to communicate with one another. So a till can be enabled to ‘talk’ to a central accounts office, a door can ‘report’ when it is being opened or shut and so on.

The ability of different devices to communicate over IP is providing a massive catalyst for system and hardware integration plus collaborative working. It’s the sort of fundamental technology shift that is redefining the way people work.

What was originally the ability to do the same things, but faster and cheaper, is now opening up a new world of opportunity to do different things. High connection speeds and IP are changing the way we work, and the way society ‘works’.

The impact for the security market

How do these changes impact day-to-day life in the security market?

Already, forward-thinking installers are using managed, secure, dual-path IP signalling.

Why? Because there are no delays waiting for a block terminal and no need for on-site programming. The installation of secure IP signalling is not only cheaper but easier and quicker too; companies that take this ability to talk directly to the panel puts installers firmly in control of all they secure!

Simultaneous access to up to 50 installations in real time also presents enormous opportunities to improve customer service and add real value to the customer offer.

Money saving...

Cash is still king. Fast broadband and IP enabled suppliers to reduce signalling costs; they can also cut the expense of a separate communications module, because the signalling device becomes a gateway to the panel.

Connecting to the panel via RS232 (serial) cable also eliminates the need for individual channel wiring, so installation is quicker and easier. Today’s standards allow one of the two annual maintenance visits to be conducted remotely, and broadband connections make this feasible.

Rather than spend days on the road burning up fuel and wasting valuable engineering skills, routine maintenance visits can be managed without leaving the office. In a world of rising fuel costs and increasing customer expectations, on-line servicing is already on the increase.

It’s a great way for installers to improve customer service without adding costs. Modern panels support diagnosis, sensor control, panel resets and user code changes. Engineers can also check the signal strength, assign a static IP address or change PINs. Good installers now have the potential to identify and resolve an issue before the customer is aware of one.

... and labour saving

Online maintenance gives customers more time to run their premises. For example, if an alarm system can also be used for freezer and fridge monitoring, the alarm panel is no longer perceived as a ‘grudge’ purchase but an asset that is an effective tool for saving money and reducing carbon footprints.

The trend for multi-function panels is set to rise as manufactures and service providers work together. Panel manufacturer Cooper is about to launch a plug-on communications device for Emizon 21 signalling which fits directly into the Scantronic panel.

It will enable all installation functions to be driven from the keypad, with remote access via the existing panel servicing software. And because the underlying software can be upgraded online at the touch of a button, applications such as Emizon’s are effectively future-proofed and can respond to changes in the user environment.

This protects the customer’s investment and combines value with service.

Integration and beyond

Suppliers and customers are already enjoying further benefits through the real-time integration of CCTV, audio, EPoS and intruder systems. Loss prevention is a major retail issue, and integration means that every till transaction can be identified and stored.

Merging the resulting information with pattern recognition from CCTV and data from EPoS enables managers to identify suspect transactions or match images against in-store incidents.

Integration allows a retailer to make much better use of manpower and save the costs of theft and leakage. One chain already using this approach described the cash savings through loss prevention as ’mind blowing’.

Another application brings together alarm signalling and CCTV. If a member of staff feels threatened s/he can trigger a ‘panic’ alarm which is registered at the response centre.

Operators there view the in-store cameras and use in-store speakers to talk to the customers via VoIP. The system is a very effective way of dealing with potential problems without members of staff becoming involved.

See the big picture

Going digital is a major opportunity for installers who can see the big picture. Fast broadband gives the market a great platform to engage with customers, discuss their signalling, and use IP technology to sell-on additional services that improve response times, take a load off their shoulders – and help everyone to make more profit.

Security firms that miss this opportunity will lose out to their competitors. And these competitors are not just within the security industry: IT companies are also entering the market as ‘security’ becomes just another business application that can run over a network.

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