Selecting the right alarm communicator for your security system is a decision that can impact the long-term reliability and performance of your customers’ system. However, replacing or upgrading older systems can come at a substantial cost. With current and rapid advancements in communicator technology, it’s important to consider your options carefully, so that you can benefit from modernized, advanced devices — while keeping costs low. This guide will help you make the best choice for your needs while ensuring seamless upgrades and integration in the future.

Time to Upgrade

Mitigating the 3G Sunset: With cellular networks phasing out 3G technology, it’s critical to replace communicators that rely on these networks. Failing to upgrade could leave your system unable to transmit alarms to monitoring stations, leaving your customers’ property unprotected. Opting for a security solution that supports both LTE and IP to fit your customers’ needs is essential to keep the system running smoothly after the 3G sunset.

5G-Ready Solutions: Cellular networks are upgrading at a rapid pace, and keeping up with these accelerating advancements is key to ensuring your customers’ security systems and maintain high performance. Look for an alarm communicator that offers 5G ready capabilities, to ensure that your current upgrades will continue performing as intended for many years to come.

Remote Control & Interactivity

Remote Interactivity with a Full-Featured Mobile Keypad: Look for a communicator that offers mobile access for remote panel programming and basic user programming capabilities for both dealers and users. This supports the ability to program or arm/disarm remotely and more, using a mobile keypad.

  • For dealers: Simplified programming is key. Remote programming for panels like the DSC PowerSeries or Honeywell Vista Series can reduce labor cost, time, and unnecessary service calls.
  • For users: Select a security solution that offers remote user programming through a fully functional mobile keypad that offers remote arming, disarming, and managing of user codes.

Remote Access & Control: Having remote access and control over one’s security system can create substantial peace of mind for your customers. When selecting an alarm communicator and cloud platform, look for the following remote features:

  • Support for different arming methods (stay, away, night, and no entry delay) to suit your customers’ lifestyle and preferences.
  • Remote bypass, un-bypass, and group bypass/un-bypass.
  • Ability to view zone definitions and statuses in near-real-time, including open, closed, in-alarm, trouble, or bypassed statuses.

Remote Diagnostics: Select a product line that provides remote diagnostics, monitoring, and sends a wide range of troubles and alerts to dealers and CMS. System status, supervision alerts, and daily reports are important criteria when choosing a solution. These features will help you troubleshoot issues quickly and efficiently, thereby reducing downtime and the need for service calls.

Simplified Installations

Installing an alarm communicator should be simple. Look for a communicator that:

  • Has an expedited installation process, with little to no programming required and remote programming capabilities as needed.
  • Can be supported with remote system setup by office staff to significantly lighten the installer’s workload and reduce the time and labor cost needed for lengthy site visits.
  • Has a compact design that can be installed even in tight spaces. Smaller communicators reduce clutter, allow for discreet or flexible placement, and take up less storage space in warehouses and delivery vehicles.
  • Has universal compatibility with all vendors and alarm panels, so you don’t have to carry multiple types of communicators for different jobs.
  • Offers substantial training, technical support, and installation manuals to provide support with installation issues as needed. This can reduce labor and training costs, and time spent with service calls.

Connectivity & Monitoring

Connectivity: Flexible connectivity options can be incredibly useful in situations where cellular service is limited. Choose a communicator that provides a variety of connectivity options such as LTE or IP (Ethernet and Wi-Fi) to best suit your clients’ needs. This provides options for reliable communication with the central station regardless of network connectivity availability.

Monitoring: Opt for solutions that support multiple monitoring options such as the ability to monitor through keybus, dial capture, and legacy panel monitoring. Having flexible monitoring solutions ensures that you can provide monitoring services on all panels by any vendor.

Compatibility & Integration

Universal Compatibility: Choose a security device that is compatible with all alarm panels, regardless of manufacturer, for ultimate flexibility over your customers’ security upgrades. Universal compatibility is also incredibly helpful for reducing costs by eliminating the need to buy multiple types of communicators for different situations.

Integration: Choose a solution that easily integrates with both central monitoring stations and third-party vendors.

  • Central Monitoring Stations (CMS): The ability to integrate with the automation software of all CMS provides secure and efficient monitoring of your customers’ alarm systems.
  • Third-Party Vendors: Integrations with third-party vendors allow for a complete solution of access control, video, and security systems. This provides a more comprehensive offering.

Competitive Pricing

An alarm communicator monitoring service should be both cost-effective and comprehensive, providing innovative features and remote interactivity without unnecessary expenses. Looking for a communicator that provides premium features and functionalities, as well as a cloud platform at a competitive price is key to avoiding costly overhauls.

Certifications & Compliance

When selecting an alarm communicator, it’s essential to prioritize certifications such as UL, ULC, FCC, IC, and PTCRB. These certifications are not just a stamp of approval — they are a guarantee that the device has undergone rigorous testing and meets or exceeds industry standards for safety, performance, and reliability.

UL and ULC certifications confirm that the communicator is built to withstand the demanding conditions of fire and security systems. FCC and IC certifications ensure that the device operates without interference and complies with federal communication standards. PTCRB certification ensures compatibility with North American cellular networks, verifying that the communicator will provide stable and uninterrupted service.

Reliability is non-negotiable when it comes to protecting your customers’ homes or businesses.

Commercial & Residential Monitoring

An advanced, UL/ULC certified alarm communicator should be able to be used for UL/ULC installations to provide reliable monitoring, remote diagnostics, notifications, and supervision for both residential and commercial premises. Supervision can vary from one minute to one hour depending on the level of security needed; high-security installations such as financial institutions, jewelry stores, and fire monitoring may have shorter supervision requirements.

User & Device Management

Modern and advanced communicators are increasingly becoming cloud-connected, allowing for easy management of users and devices on the cloud platform. Whether it’s enabling and disabling user access, adding or removing devices, or performing other functionalities, comprehensive user and device management facilitates installations and saves time.

Cybersecurity

In the IoT era, cybersecurity is a must to ensure enhanced protection and privacy for your customers and processes. Opt for a solution that focuses on providing substantial protection against digital threats using cybersecurity features such as encrypted signals, multi-factor authentication, and role-based user access controls and permissions.

Easy CMS Configurations

Customizable Event Forwarding: Select a communicator that allows for customizable event forwarding to your CMS. This provides flexibility and control over the events and signals directed to your CMS, saving you costs based on device signals sent.

Unified Receiver & Account Numbers: Different communicator models often require different receivers and line card numbers, making it difficult to keep track of devices and corresponding receivers and adding unnecessary time and labor costs. Choose a communicator with a cloud platform that unifies all hardware and account numbers in the same place. Having all devices available on the same receiver, regardless of vendor or age of panel, can simplify operations and allow for endless upgrades or expansions hassle-free.

Unified Platform for Diverse Roles

For security dealers: Choose a solution that offers support for multiple user roles and permissions based on the level of access that each user in your organization needs. This ensures improved control over who can view, modify, add, or delete information on the dealer account and improves the security of the platform.

For users: Since your customers’ system may be accessed by multiple users, it’s essential that the communicator supports various platforms (e.g., mobile, desktop) and allows the assignment of different user roles, giving each authorized user the access they need while maintaining security.

Notifications & Reports

Customizable Notifications: Having reliable and customizable notifications ensures that you and your customers are kept notified of any events or issues with their systems. Select a solution that provides support for customizable notifications, including the ability to be notified by email, SMS, push, or audible notifications.

False Alarm Management: Choose a solution with advanced notifications to alert your customers of near-real-time events, so that they can cancel false alarms before emergency services are dispatched. This unique approach minimizes unnecessary disturbances and costs to the CMS, dealer, and user.

Connection/Disconnection Statuses: Maintain awareness over your customers’ systems by receiving notifications on the connection status of their devices, allowing you to be quickly informed if disconnections occur.

Daily Summary Report: Choose a solution that provides daily summary reports in addition to more extensive reporting features, to get a quick glance at the status of your customers’ systems. Solutions that provide email reporting can enable enhanced control and convenience for you and ensure your customers’ systems are performing as expected.

Comprehensive Reporting

Make sure your alarm communicator has robust features for alarm, supervision, and trouble reporting. This includes the ability to report specific issues such as power trouble, poor cellular connection, IP network failure, and others, to provide you and your customers with detailed information on their system’s health. The most important reporting capabilities to look for when selecting a communicator are low cellular signal strength and Wi-Fi signal failure, as well as connectivity to the cloud platform, ensuring your customers’ systems are well-maintained.

Partition & Zone Management

Choose a communicator that supports multiple partitions and zones and can automatically map out each partition and related zones without any programming or input required. The best solutions are flexible and scalable; look for communicators that support setup for as many as 64 zones and 8 partitions as needed.

Automation

Choose an alarm communicator that can provide the ability to program outputs for automated tasks. Automation adds an extra layer of convenience and efficiency to your customers’ security system, involving the ability to automatically open / close doors and gates, turn on sirens and strobes, and more.

Conclusion

Why pay more for less? The right solution for you and your customers isn’t just a replacement for the 3G sunset; it’s an upgrade and investment into your customers’ security — without breaking the bank. Selecting the right alarm communicator and bundled cloud platform requires careful consideration of current and future security requirements.

Don’t settle for a communicator that can only be used for CMS signal transmission. It’s important to consider solutions that are not only reliable and feature-rich but also future-ready and adaptable. Advanced solutions should be able to not only meet but exceed your customers’ security needs, with a modern cloud platform, app, and innovative features surrounding a full-function mobile keypad, remote interactivity, control, diagnostics, and more.