Getting Fibre ?

Will my monitored alarm still work?

• Most monitored alarms rely on a traditional copper connection. A standard Fibre installation means that the old copper cabling gets removed. If you have a monitored alarm system you need to take a few extra steps

You might be able to keep the copper line intact. (At least for now)

• Each fibre laying company has its own policies on the removal of copper lines when fibre is installed. For example, Chorus automatically remove it if not explicitly asked otherwise, but sometimes they will leave it. Of course if they leave it you still have to pay for it
• Note that leaving the old copper cable is different to a “simulated analogue line” I’ve known no alarm that worked reliably on a simulated analogue line. I don’t know enough about telecomms to understand why – just saying, every alarm I’ve seen connected to a simulated analogue line has been unreliable, – or simply didn’t report at all

You can upgrade your alarm to an IP alarm

• They aren’t common – the mainstream security industry brands mostly aren’t IP, although there are a few “consumer electronics” brands which are. We are industry people, we don’t install non-industry hardware. I don’t want to denigrate any product, but the brands we install and support have been manufactured for decades, and have countless hours of R&D evolution behind them.

You can install a digital communications module

• This is what most people are doing. There are several different formats, multiple brands, some are generic, some are proprietary, as well as “multi path” options for higher security applications. So there are many choices, and we can install all of them. We will advise you, depending on your requirements, and identify the salient points of each module, so you can choose which one is right for you. Lets put the price up as this is the most commonly asked question – digital comms modules start from $350 + GST installed

The 3 brands we install most commonly are

• Radionet GPRS: This is a generic product (it’s the one I’m holding in the photo at the top of this page) it’s robust, secure, quick to install and reports fast. It’s reliable, and works on virtually every modern alarm. It’s also our cheapest solution and it’s not an accident this is our biggest seller. It contains a SIM card, operates on the cellular network, and because of this there is a SIM card fee, which is a very affordable $4 + GST per month. The modules come preprogrammed to report to your monitoring station, so it’s an easy matter to install and test. For more details
• Permacon IP communicator, and dual SIM (3g & IP): This is also a generic product, which comes as an IP communicator or a dual path. The big benefit of a Permacon over the Radionet is it allows for remote alarm upload / download which makes minor service work, code changes etc easier. The monthly SIM card fee is double the price however. Permaconn PM45 , Permaconn Pocket Secure
• Inner Range – T4000 – Multipath 3G/IP Communicator: is another generic product – will work on any Contact ID panel, as well as IRfast panels. Uses dialler capture for all panels, and also has a serial connection option for Inner Range panels, which can provide high level remote control of different areas.
• Proprietary IP modules: These are connected to your router so we need to run an ethernet to there (not always easy or attractive) and you need the same brand of module as your alarm, which means we need to program your alarm, which means we would require the programming code. Easy if it was us who installed it, harder if it wasn’t. IP modules report using the internet so don’t have an additional monthly fee, but they’re vulnerable to internet variability, power outages, and networking changes. For all that they are a convenient solution. In particular if they are used with a backup path