POTS May Be Put Out to Pasture
ALARM INDUSTRY BEGINS TO RALLY
The following was issued on Dec. 1, 2009: “In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress directed the [FCC] to create a national broadband plan by February 17, 2010, that seeks to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability and … establishes benchmarks for meeting that goal” (FCC Public Notice DA 09-2517, “Comment Sought on Transition From Circuit-Switched Network to All-IP Network”).
The Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) filed comment with regard to the U.S. Congress and AT&T’s recent filing requesting an end to the traditional circuit-switched PSTN (public switched telephone network). In its place will be an all-IP based communication network. AICC membership includes the Electronic Security Association (ESA, formerly NBFAA), Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), Security Industry Association (SIA) and a number of national firms.
The alarm industry as a whole appears to oppose this recent development and the reasons should be obvious. POTS has long carried alarm signals from premise to central monitoring stations. PSTN has more than proven itself capable of carrying critical signals at an affordable price point.
As most of us already know, use of conventional telephones in the home and business place is dwindling. With the advent of affordable cell phone service and the recent implementation of VoIP, the need for conventional circuit-switched service has seen a decrease in recent years. To make matters worse, the cost of these relatively new services is ever dropping, making IP look all the more attractive.
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