VoIP AGAIN

its already in most contracts. not voip specifically but the wording is there.

Understood but I am looking for something a little more specific.

RHC: If you really must use such an unreliable service, then prepare your customer for the worst (and inevitable option) that at some point it won't work. I have the wording you need up on my website to scare the customer away from it....navigate to "VoIP", and scroll to the bottom of the page for the wording that may suit your purposes.

Better yet, just don't use VoIP

RHC

Thanks, I will check it out. The problem I have been having lately is the customer that ignore all notices and then hooks up and then calls and says they want to test. And then I am told that the Comcast Guy said that they have not had any other alarm companies that have had problems.

Kinda lights my fuse if you know what I mean.......................................

On the way to your site. Thanks again.

the cable system voip is pretty solid. it the internet voip u have to look out for.

RHC; Yes, sorry, I should have been more specific. The cable system (Rogers in our area) works fine except that you can't upload/download your panels. I meant the internet VoIP.......

For the past couple of years, I've been putting an insert, typed on bright yellow paper in with my billing, telling my clients the disadvantages to switching to VoIP. I also put out a quarterly newsletter in which I always mention calling me to get information about VoIP, before they switch. I guess since I started so long ago, just about everyone calls me first. I think I've only come across a couple who switched over, oblivious to all my warnings and notices. However, I feel that if some failure should occur with bad results, I'll be able to stand on the fact that I've been sending warnings about it regularly.

Over the telephone I tell them that one of the biggest problems they have to beware of is that the Cable technician either wont connect or will incorrectly hook their alarm system up. So they are going to have to be at home when they arrive and that they must test the alarm system to central before the techs leave. One thing that I find that they do on a regular basis is back feed the dial tone through a house jack. This causes the dial tone to go to the output terminals of the alarm panel. The panel senses a dial tone so the line cut sensor doesn't trip but when an alarm occurs the line side of the panel loses dialtone and it can't dial out.

I tell them that they will lose line seizure, ( always have to explain what that is)

To be sure to get a UPS power supply for the modem.

That there's a stong possibility that (if their panel has telephone line fail detection) that the cable telephone often goes down at night for maintenence and the alarm panel will begin beeping. So it's likely that I'll have to de-program the telephone line fail detection, which puts them in the position of not ever knowing if their alarm system has the ability to communicate, nor will the system react to a line being cut.

I also have a form that they sign that says all of the above with the recommendation that ( in our area) Verizon is the best and proven choice for communication of alarm signals and that if VoIP is chosen in spite of it's short comings, then a backup radio link is recommended also.

And one more thing with my Napco panels. Through the years, I've always programed them to touch tone dial with rotary backup. Since VoIP doesn't do rotary, I've got to go out on a service call or try to do a download to change it to all touch tone dial, other wise the panel would only get one shot at dialing out. So .... I do get $95.00 out of it. But it's still a PIA.

Even with all of this, I'd guess that close to half my accounts have switched.......... anyway. With only a few getting the backup radio.

So much for the old saying " The educated consumer etc etc ...."

The Cable system VoIP works pretty good in my area, as far as communication and downloading goes. It's just all the other things that the actual hook up and annoying outtages and bad service by the cable company, that's the problem.

Comcast has spent alot of time and money with the security industry unlike any of the others. The installers for Comcast, down here anyway, are pretty intune with security systems. The only thing that I hate is that they run two shift and are out switching phone services at 10:00 at night. Then I get the call to test the system. Better than not calling at all I guess. Even though the cable system voip is better for us than the internet voip, the backbone is still up and down which causes concerns.

Les,

email me your info to snipped-for-privacy@Bellsouth.net and I will send you the form I use.

Bob W.