It’s a move likely to be mirrored across the alarm industry as suppliers move to get in step with consumer demands for bundled services across standard home phone lines.
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The latest version of NAPCO PCD-Windows Quickloader (4.4 or greater) is designed to optimize to use of VoIP through the NAPCO Gemini series of control panels.
Even without the upgrade, NAPCO says the Gemini panels can properly report signals to the central station through VoIP. They say the panel must be configured to report to the central station using the contact ID reporting format.
The increasing use of VoIP among residential customers is raising compatibility concerns among alarm companies, monitoring centers and manufacturers.
While NAPCO says it hasn’t tested its panels with all <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />U.S. broadband providers, it has conducted testing in its lab and in the field that confirms its panels’ compatibility.
However, NAPCO still warns contractors test panels on VoIP lines to be sure they are communicating with the central station. The manufacturer also recommends a back-up method of communication and to be sure the plain old telephone system (POTS) lines have been disconnected from the telephone wiring after the customer converts to VoIP
