Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communicates over DSL and cable lines. As the number of consumers who are switching to VoIP for their phone service continues to grow, this continues to create a topic of discussion for the alarm industry. For monitoring companies, the negative aspect of VoIP is that it is said to be less reliable than a POTS line. If the electricity is out, the VoIP router needs to be backed up by battery.
For security companies, as well as VoIP providers, this begs the question of insurance coverage and the company’s liability if a loss or failure of communication to the central station occurs because of VoIP.