Important Information about VOIP and your Security System

A word about VoIP - Have you changed your phone line to a cable provider or an internet connection? If you have VoIP service your alarm system may not report to our central station reliably.  We recommend that you install a cellular or internet communicator for you alarm system.   Please contact us for more details.

Here is what one VoIP company actually has in their terms and condition agreement.

Incompatibility With Other Services.
(a) Non-Voice Equipment Limitations. You acknowledge that our service may not be compatible with all non-voice communications equipment, including but not limited to home security systems, TTY, medical monitoring equipment, certain versions of TIVo, satellite television systems, PBX, Centrex, other private telephone networks, or computer modems. You waive any claim against xxxxxxx for interference with or disruption of these services and equipment, as well as any claim that xxxxxxx is responsible for any disruption to your business, if applicable. 

Here is what is listed in the FAQ section of another VOIP Provider.

Will my home security system work with xxxxxxx phone service?
While xxxxxxxxx does not guarantee the use of home security systems with its phone service, many home security systems will function with xxxxxxxxxx phone service. Your security company will need to test the system following installation. You may want to maintain a separate phone line for your security system.

Important Questions Concerning Your Alarm System and VOIP Phone Service
 
What is VoIP/Digital Phone Service?

The on-going development of new technologies offers today’s consumers a wide range of new communications services, which are generically called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or Digital Phone services. These services are provided by cable companies, telecommunications companies and, in some cases, independent providers that rely on the Internet connections that are already present in the home. While all these technologies provide a form of telephone service, there may be differences in their range of features and reliability*.

Will switching to VoIP/Digital Phone service affect my security system?

It depends. For a VoIP/Digital Phone service user who elects to also keep a traditional telephone line, there should be no effect on the operation of their security system if they keep their alarm panel connected to their traditional telephone line. However, in many cases, subscribers considering these new technologies plan to disconnect the traditional telephone line that has been used to provide telephone service to the home. Before disconnecting their traditional phone line, homeowners should understand that some VoIP/Digital Phone services may expose them to additional risk of potential signal failure, such as the risk of losing operation of the security system during a power outage. In some cases, some types of VoIP/Digital Phone service may not properly transmit signals from the home security system.

How does my security system work?

Most alarm system control panels communicate with customer monitoring centers through a telephone line. During an alarm event, the control panel seizes control of this telephone line ("line seizure"), which should allow an alarm signal to be sent even if a telephone receiver in the home is off the hook. Regardless of your telephone service provider, your security system must be wired properly for line seizure to occur. With some VoIP/Digital Phone services, the ability to receive an alarm signal may be impacted if there is a power outage at your home or if the VoIP/Digital Phone service is temporarily unavailable due to scheduled or unscheduled network outages. These risks vary widely among the VoIP/Digital Phone technologies used today.