Fiore honored , makes industry strides on The Hill

VIENNA, Va.--Lou Fiore has seen it all. As former president of the Central Station Alarm Association, and the current chairman of the Alarm Industry Communications Committee, he knows what the industry can accomplish, and knows that it still has much to do. At CSAA's annual meeting last fall, Fiore received the 2005 Stanley C. Lott award, which is presented to an industry member who has made proactive contributions to CSAA and the industry. As chairman of the AICC, which monitors developments at a federal level on telecommunications technology issues that affect the industry, Fiore is responsible for the industry's representation before the Federal Communications Commission and Congress. AICC's membership has doubled to include associations, alarm companies and manufacturers of telecommunications products since Fiore has led the group. The group's current initiatives include work on Voice over Internet Protocol compromise, an analog mobile phone service sunset clause and pushing through reciprocity legislation. "We represent the whole industry, we go beyond paying dues," said Fiore. "This group feels they have to do more, like have representation in Washington." The committee is in negotiation with the providers of VoIP and the FCC to try to get VoIP legislation favorable to what the industry needs. "We want indication from these VoIP companies that it could be a problem," he said. "There needs to be an up-front warning for customers to see, like the kind you see on cigarettes and alcohol."