Archive: July 2012

If nothing else, last week's blog on the 2G sunset served to toss another log on the fire in the debate over how long the technology will last in the face of frequency harvesting by carriers. Among the responses I received was an argument that 2G will remain viable in part due to CDMA-based equipment, which could stick around a lot longer than its GPRS and GMS cousins. "I was reading your 2G sunset blog this morning and wanted to point out that many cellular alarm solution providers support T-Mobile...

Last summer panel manufacturer Mercury Security filed a lawsuit against Lenel Systems International concerning a contract dispute and alleged copyright infringement. While there was no mention of the lawsuit itself, Mercury and Lenel on July 30 jointly announced a “long-term agreement for access control hardwar I've called both Lenel and Mercury, but have not heard back yet. I understand that both Frank Gasztonyi, co-founder and CTO of Mercury Security, and Steve Wagner, Mercury's VP of marketing...

YARMOUTH, Maine—This month we're launching a monthly roundup of legislative news, both state and federal, of interest to security and fire integrators, installers and monitoring companies.The reports will be based on interviews with the legislative team of the Security Industry Association, with occasional commentary from other industry sources. The topic of the reports will vary. We may examine a crop of bills pending in Congress, an executive order, or a Department of Homeland Security initiative.And...

PATTERSON, N.Y.—The National Fire Sprinkler Association, the Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association and the new Mexican Fire Sprinkler Association plan to make history next year by partnering to host what is being billed as “the first-ever North American Fire Sprinkler Expo.”The event will be held next April in Las Vegas in conjunction with the NFSA Annual Seminar.“We want to highlight the three countries coming together,” Russ Fleming, the new president of NFSA, told...

First, Alarm.com recently announced a milestone—that it has more than 1 million subscribers. Now the 12-year-old Vienna, Va.-based provider of interactive security services has announced that it has $136 million in new funding, made by a leading provider of capital to growth-stage technology companies. The company says the investment from Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) will enable Alarm.com to continue to develop new products. Here's more from the news release Alarm.com issued today: The...

Cross Match Technologies, one of the largest providers of biometrics, has been acquired by PE firm Francisco Partners. I spoke to David Buckley, when he was named CEO of Cross Match in March 2011. At that time, he said his goal with the company was to “continue the evolution of the company from being just a technology player into providing a full set of solutions for the customer.” Buckley is traveling until mid-August, but I'm hoping to speak to John Hinmon, who's in charge of marketing...

Still looking for clarity about the “2G sunset” and whether you'll be left holding the bag if you don't upgrade your cellular alarm communicators to 3G (or even 4G) right now?  You're not alone. The buzz continued last month at ESX, with manufacturers jockeying to try to sway alarm dealers. Telguard, the company sounding the loudest warning about the sunset, went one step further by announcing a program that gives dealers up to $25 for every 2G cell communicator they replace with a Telguard...

It's now more than a year since California's new law mandating carbon monoxide detectors in all single-family homes with an attached garage or fossil fuel source. However, a new survey shows many residents remain unprotected. Seems to me there's a marketing opportunity here that alarm companies would do well to take advantage of—to not only help themselves but also California residents. It's true that the new law, which took effect July 1, 2011, doesn't require Californians to opt for monitored...

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.—LG Electronics in August announced that it is bringing its security products to the United States and is launching a new line of cameras and DVRs.This is not LG's first venture into the security industry. In March 2011, after parting ways with Samsung, GVI Security partnered with LG to distribute LG's video surveillance products. GVI Security went out of business several months later.“That was more dipping our toe in the water,” John Taylor, VP for LG Electronics...

MEDFORD, Mass.—Netwatch, a global video monitoring company now operating in the United States, has developed proprietary software that the company says will enable its 25,000 cameras to filter duplicative alarms and, in turn, reduce false dispatches and response times for its customers.The new technology, created in partnership with the Center for Sensor Web Technologies at Dublin City University in Ireland, builds on Netwatch's history of reducing “nuisance” alarms triggered by...