The fire alarm industry is never short on excitement, and fire alarm control panels prove just that.
Between the 3G sunset and the disappearance of plain old telephone service (POTS) lines, it has never been a more interesting — and maybe hair-pulling — time to work in the fire alarm industry. If technology in the security industry is always changing, consider the fire alarm industry a line of work where one misstep can mean life or death.
“POTS analog alarm transmission is outdated, unreliable and unsustainable, particularly with the rise of 5G technology,” says John Beckwith, senior director of offering management, fire and life safety systems, Honeywell Building Technologies, Atlanta. “Support and service are being discontinued while monthly costs continue to increase. This can leave sites vulnerable without the ability to transmit fire alarm signals to the central station. Localized panels are losing the networks that they used to push signals to outside entities, and, again, the signals will not be sent.”