How to Bridge the Digital Divide Between Advanced Communications and Analog Alarm Monitoring
Alarm monitoring, such as fire or burglar alarms, communicate critical information to first responders, helping to keep your employees and customers safe. But with the aging copper infrastructure that is at the heart of these alarm systems being phased out, and the lines of communications moving to data and cellular solutions, businesses are left in the dark on how to bridge the divide.
A Look Back
For over 100 years, telephony communications were delivered by wires and lots of them. Wires to your business, in your business, around your business, in one large, seemingly endless bowl of spaghetti. But the advent of wireless communications quickly took over and replaced the need for those wires. By the turn of the century, POTS users were moving to wireless communications in droves, straining the ability of the local exchange carriers (LECs) to manage the last mile of the copper wire. The cable industry jumping into the fray effectively put the final nail in the coffin for the copper wire infrastructure, and the LECs began to petition the FCC to remove the maintenance requirement.
The Current State of the Wire
As technology advanced, businesses adopted new ways of communicating beyond just the voice. Fax machines, which enabled secure document sharing between physically separate locations, and alarm systems that could notify first responders before anyone on-site knew there was a problem, all relied on the copper wires of the PSTN to transmit their information. But the advent of the internet, wireless, and cable infrastructures forced a significant shift in every type of business and personal communication. Fax machines soon began to fade from existence as users migrated to email and cloud solutions to share and collaborate among the different departments. Alarm solutions were unable to migrate from the traditional copper wires to alternative communications paths were increasingly challenged to survive. A solution was needed to bridge the incompatibility between our current monitoring systems and the fast-changing communications landscape.
POTS IN A BOX® Bridges the Digital Divide for Alarm Monitoring
DataRemote saw how businesses struggled to meet the need for more advanced and affordable communications solutions while maintaining the crucial alert and monitoring solutions that keep their business safe. They knew something was needed that could bridge the compatibility gap between the new communication technology with that of legacy technology needed for the critical alarm monitoring systems. So DataRemote created a solution that provides a transparent method for any legacy device currently using traditional analog dial tone to access the PSTN network. The POTS IN A BOX® uses LAN or cellular connections to transmit the analog signals from the alarm and monitoring systems over secure data lines, effectively bridging the gap between newer digital communications solutions and the dial tone needs of analog fire and burglar alarms.
MIX Networks is Now Offering DataRemote’s POTS IN A BOX® Devices
Continuing our effort to help businesses meet their communications needs in a way that meets their unique needs, MIX Networks is proud to offer DataRemote’s POTS IN A BOX® Devices. The best-in-class solution will help you keep your business safe while meeting the demand for technologically advanced communications your customer requires.
