Forced communication changes to cellular — stemming from POTS’ elimination — along with the mobile capabilities it is enabling is producing a new breed of PERS offerings.
Formally stated, Newton’s third law is: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. There are several “actions” generating change within today’s personal emergency response (PERS) offerings, all coming together in new offerings that are more responsive and capable than ever.
As plain old telephone service (POTS) and the public switched telephone network (PSTN) lines are increasingly phased out, the PERS industry’s response is the utilization of new communication technologies, including GSM and cellular. In turn, the mobile opportunities enabled by the cellular and GSM additions are untethering PERS from its previous limitation to the home. The domino effect is opening new opportunities for dealers in the space. Adding cellular is a key focus for manufacturers and central stations — and is an important feature for dealers to look for in a system.