Recently a company announced that they have developed a home security system that has no monthly fees attached to it. It certainly does sound like a great idea. After all, nobody enjoys paying monthly fees to a security service provider. Everyone assumes that it’s just necessary restitution to pay for advanced home security protection. Therefore, knowing that there’s a company out there that is offering no monthly fees certainly piques everyone’s interest. How is this type of deal possible?
First understand why monthly fees are necessary. Essentially, monthly fees pay for a professional monitoring service. Without this option, a home security system is cheap, self-contained and very limited in what it can do. A monthly fee allows the company to keep a live monitoring service up and running 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, with no interruption. Paying customers are supporting a full staff of trained operators as well as new advanced technology that allows communication to continue even in the event of a call drop or power outage.
The only way that a company could offer a no monthly savings plan is if they did away with this monitoring service-or simply took the massive cost of operating its centers out of its own wallet. (Highly unlikely) The new company that is offering a home security service with no monthly fees has a different technology, which in essence simulates a call center, by automatically phoning four pre-set emergency numbers upon signal. It also sets off a circus of sirens and flashes lights that disrupts the neighborhood.
The problem with this good idea is that there is no promise of reliability. Compared to a standard home security company, the system is lacking some of the most important features that make live monitoring worth the money customers pay. For one thing, their security system doesn’t even call police management officials. It can only dial the numbers of friends or family, and hopefully, they will call the police after assuming the worse. Second, there is no dedicated call center that guarantees emergency management with multiple phone lines and connected networks. That means call drops are a threat, as are power outages, busy signals and other technical difficulties. Third, with this “free” type of service you are putting the responsibility of your house in the hands of your friends and family-not in the hands of law enforcement officials. This type of system offers no protection against false alarms and no smart sensors that track interior movement. Lastly, it cannot protect your house against non-invasive problems like flooding, fire, carbon monoxide and various other “hidden” threats to your life.
The standard security system with live monitoring remains the safest buy, as it guarantees police involvement as well as fast and effective emergency response. (You can actually speak to another human being) If there is a breach of security, police, or other officials, are immediately called. With automated, self-contained systems there is no waiting for four pre-set numbers to be automatically dialed-and only to have the emergency call be ignored due to extenuating circumstances.