Section 7.2. Alarm Systems and TV Device Phone Links | Talk is Not Cheap!: Saving the High Costs of Misunderstandings at Work and Home

7.2. Alarm Systems and TV Device Phone Links

Certain modern appliances like to "phone home" for a variety of reasons. Most common are monitored alarm systems that use a telephone link to report a problem. Satellite TV and digital recording services such as TiVo, that allow you to order Pay Per View movies by clicking your remote also have a phone connection to send the request upstream and receive the authorization back from the TV provider.

If you forget about these services and replace your existing traditional telephone service with a broadband phone, you may have an unpleasant surprise one day. I just hope it's the lack of a movie rather than a lack of police response if your home is invaded.

7.2.1. Alarm System Advice

The problem hits when you realize your monitored alarm system panel perhaps in your master bedroom closetties into your home's phone wiring somewhere, but you have no idea where. During the alarm installation, the tech or techs found the house phone wires and tapped into the line somewhere. The tap may be near the control panel, it may be near the phone junction box where the phone lines enter, or it may be in the attic where they strung the wire for your alarm sensors.

You will rarely find the point where the alarm system connects, and you will probably have to pay a service charge if you ask a technician to come and find it for you. But it may be worth it, depending on the type of alarm you have and your reliance on monitoring.

If your alarm phone line can be rerouted to connect to your broadband router, you're in good shape. That's a big if, of course. If you get lucky, you can go to Radio Shack and buy a splitter that connects two phones to one plug and so link your alarm system as well as your telephone to your broadband router.

There's a caveat with this. To send alerts, your alarm system must use a method that is compatible with broadband networks or voice over broadband. Talk with your alarm company and see if they have any answers for you. Ask if their equipment has been tested with broadband phones. Even some traditional modems used as dialers back to the service have been configured to handle a broadband connection.

Drilling down, there are various types of command-calling protocols, some of which don't work across broadband connections. Again, check with your alarm company.

You have two options, assuming your alarm company understands broadband phones at all. Two of the major industry players, ADT and Brinks, both handle this issue. Be aware they like to call it "VoIP," so use that term if they don't catch on when you say you have a broadband phone.

ADT offers a customized cell backup that connects to the monitoring center through radio frequencies. This customized cell phone provides all the necessary connections for 24-hour monitoring in locations without a traditional telephone line.

Since I'm an ADT customer, I called and asked how much this service costs. The unit and installation cost $249, or $269.54 with sales tax in my area. My monthly bill will increase by $8 if I order this cell backup option.

Note: Surprising BurglarsOne security expert offered this interesting thought: if a smart burglar cut your phone line to stop the alarm-monitoring system, but you converted the system to run over your broadband connection, your security system would still be active.

Brinks will install the alarm-monitoring phone line directly to my broadband router, no matter where it is, with a new system. Existing systems will require a service call to retrofit, and that price varies. They're confident their system works over a broadband line and doesn't need to dial a modem.

They also have a cell backup unit, but as a backup only, not just to replace a traditional telephone line. Since I'm not a Brinks customer, they wouldn't tell me the exact price, but it's in the hundreds. I bet if I wanted a cell backup for my mansion when smart burglars cut the phone lines, they would set that up for me. Now I just need a mansion.

Some other interesting factoids about alarm systems and broadband:

Some alarm systems use pulse dialing (like rotary phones). Those won't work on a broadband phone line. Check your manual and switch the dialing method to tone dialing.
Alarms use a "seize the line" command to grab a line that's busy when necessary. Broadband phone lines may not respond to that command.
Be prepared for smaller alarm companies to try and warn you off a broadband phone, most likely because they can't handle the change.
If you lose your power without a battery backup on your broadband router and connected equipment, you will lose your monitoring. A traditional telephone line receives power from the telephone company, and your alarm has a small battery backup to handle such situations.

As always, when something new comes and upsets established companies, new companies jump in to take advantage. A company called Next Alarm (www.nextalarm.com) not only handles broadband phone connections for alarm monitoring, they also embrace Internet connections for monitoring no matter what. They will happily take over monitoring your system via the Internet if you drop your traditional telephone line.

On the other hand, leaving a traditional telephone line in place for around $20 per month (your mileage may vary, of course) solves, or at least sidesteps, the alarm issue. It also sidesteps the Satellite TV and TiVo issue discussed in the next section.

7.2.2. Satellite and TiVo Phone Link Advice

If you have a TV-attached device that offers Pay Per View or other interactive features through the use of an onscreen menu and your remote control, that device uses a phone link or a modem. You probably forgot that the installer ran a phone wire to a plug, because the phone connection is behind the entertainment center and you can't see it.

Dish Network and DirecTV, the two major satellite TV providers, use the phone links to order Pay Per View events. Both offer alternatives, but each alternative includes a premium over the event costs:

Dish Network: $1 for phone and Internet orders
DirecTV: $1.50 for using automated phone ordering, and $5 to talk to someone on their toll-free number

If you do a lot of Pay Per View ordering, these extras could add up. Whether they add up enough to make it worth keeping your traditional telephone line is up to you, not me. If you have an alarm and some Pay Per View devices, the workaround options start to add up to the same cost as a basic traditional telephone line. Just start thinking of that line as your low-tech data link rather than a voice line.

TiVo, the well-known Digital Video Recorder, addresses the broadband phone connection issue directly: "Some customers have reported success with voice over IP systems, however we do not currently support this." Hmm.

However, they continue on and admit that with a Series2 standalone TiVo Digital Video Recorder, you can use a broadband connection after you have completed the Guided Setup process. So the trick is to get your TiVo set up properly before switching over to broadband phones. If you can't manage that, borrow your neighbor's phone with a really long extension cord to reach their phone plug.

Forums for the TiVo community (such as www.tivo.com/4.3.asp, www.tivocommunity.com, and www.tivotechies.com, among many) offer help on this issue. In fact, they offer help on an amazing number of topics, so don't start searching if you're in a hurry. I guarantee some messages will pull you in and steal an hour before you know what happened.