Reassigned Numbers Database Available for Beta Testing, 7/1

A public notice came out last week announcing a beta test of the Reassigned Numbers Database from July 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. Callers can use the database free of charge during this time. If your company does telemarketing, you may want to test it.

Please contact Salvatore Taillefer <sta@bloostonlaw.com> for more information.

PUBLIC NOTICE

TMA Welcomes its 89th ECC to ASAP Service

The Mecklenburg County VA Emergency Communications Center is the 89th ECC in the United States and the 17th ECC in the state of Virginia to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Mecklenburg County went live on Monday, June 21st with Rapid Response Monitoring, Vector Security, Richmond Alarm, Stanley Security, Guardian Protection, Affiliated Monitoring, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Vivint, National Monitoring Center, Brinks Home Security, Protection One, CPI Security, Security Central, and ADT. Those companies will be followed by Securitas at a later date.

Director Ben Duncan stated “ASAP to PSAP is a fantastic new addition to our Dispatch Center. We are constantly seeking innovative ways to get the calls for assistance out to our responders in a timely and efficient manner. The ASAP interface gives us the ability to dispatch alarms that took minutes in the past to seconds now.”

FCC Votes to Create Online Portal for Robocall, ID Spoofing Complaints

The Federal Communications Commission has voted in an amendment Thursday to make it easier for people to submit complaints about suspected robocalls and call spoofing directly to the agency’s enforcement bureau.

Section 10(a) of the Traced Act, which is the agency’s tool to fight unlawful robocalls and spoofed caller ID, was enacted in a vote by the FCC and creates an online portal on the FCC website for individuals to submit information suspicious calls and texts.

The FCC will ask the complainant to provide information as to what ID information is displayed, the phone number, date, time, the complainant’s service provider and description of call or text.

“The new online portal will allow such entitles to alert agency investigators of concerning incidents, including floods of robocalls like those that have been known to clog up hospital lines,” according to an FCC news release.

The portal requires approval from the Office of Management and Budget before it takes effect, which is expected within 30 days.

Congress ordered the agency to develop a streamlined process for private entities about unlawful spoof calling and robocalls.

Commentators suggested that the FCC consolidate the new portal and existing complaint process to better distinguish the two.

With these concerns, the FCC has decided to adopt the SAFE Credit Union’s suggestion to include language that explains its use and helps distinguish the portal from the existing informal consumer complaint process.

The FCC stated in a report that timely and thorough information from private entities is crucial to mitigate robocall incidents and help bring swift enforcement.

Join the quarterly OPS discussion, June 30th

Learn something new! TMA Education will host its next quarterly OPS discussion group via Zoom on Wed., June 30th beginning at 1:00PM/ET.

Mark your calendar and plan to take part in this open exchange with your counterparts and subject matter experts. The topic of the day will be about mobile monitoring using GPS technology.

No pre-registration is required. Join at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89785094641?pwd=MlhzTGNjdU52SUp0TzdaakNlWEJsZz09

National Monitoring Center Celebrates 20-Year Anniversary

National Monitoring Center proudly announces the 20th anniversary of the company’s founding. In those years, NMC has evolved from a single 10,000 square foot facility to two fully redundant leading-edge monitoring centers located in California and Texas.

“We are thrilled and honored to have reached this milestone,” said Woodie Andrawos, President, National Monitoring Center. “Our longevity in the monitoring business is testimony to our continuing investments in technology, personnel and relationship-building. Our customers have always been our first priority, and this objective has informed every step we have taken as an organization.”

NMC was founded in June 2001, shortly before the events of 9/11 changed the country and the security industry forever. Beginning in January 2002 with their first 150 accounts operating out of California, the company continued to grow rapidly over the next several years. 2007 marked one of many significant milestones, when NMC built a second central station in Texas mirroring the California facility and allowing for full redundancy and geodiversity to better serve their customers.

Over the next several years NMC continued to update and evolve their facilities and offerings, building a new center in California in 2013 to house monitoring, support and education operations. In 2018, the company merged with Netwatch, opening up new business opportunities and bringing a vital new offering, Proactive Video Monitoring, to their customers.

In 2021, with the business having grown to hundreds of thousands of accounts, NMC continues to lead the industry in delivering monitoring services that proactively protect users while supporting business development objectives for dealers.

“This continues to be an exciting industry, with fast-moving technology that helps people and organizations maintain a lower risk profile,” said Andrawos. “We’re looking forward to our next 20 years.”

Micro Key Solutions Partners with The New DICE Corporation to Offer an Integrated Matrix Interactive Video Platform to Millennium Monitoring Central Stations

Micro Key Solutions and the New DICE Corporation have partnered to provide central stations who are using Millennium Monitoring automation software with the ability to add interactive and advanced video services with AI analytics.

While the two companies both offer monitoring and video solutions currently, the partnership allows central stations powered by Millennium Monitoring to take advantage of interactive video services offered by Matrix Interactive.

With the overabundance of cameras and recorded video, the industry is seeing a greater rise in video monitoring. By integrating with Matrix Interactive, Millennium Monitoring meets that demand in a new way.

 The Matrix Interactive engine uses several third party multi-billion-dollar technologies embedded into the platform, providing true AI analytics going beyond motion detection and basic video verification. These technologies include object detection, human behavior detection, and object filtration.

 Verified automated scheduled video tours are another service made possible through Matrix Interactive. The platform analyzes, understands, and prioritizes the video stream in real time. If nothing is detected during the tour, there is no need for operator intervention. The priority level determines if the video is sent to an end user, a central station operator, and/or recorded.

“The change in focus from our video partners, including DICE’s Matrix Interactive, has positioned video monitoring into a more useful and sellable security offering. With analytics being right at the core, DICE’s solution embraces the changing needs in the market and delivers actionable information when dispatchers need it most, separating that data from the deluge of video information that floods a monitoring center,” said Chuck Speck, Executive Vice President of Micro Key Solutions.

“Micro Key continues to partner with best-in-class solutions to provide real revenue and growth opportunities to our customers and help them separate themselves in their competitive markets. Solutions like this fit solidly in that mission and we’re excited to add them as a partner.”

“We are proud to partner with Micro Key Solutions and are enjoying a great working relationship,” said New DICE Corporation Co-President Avi Lupo. “Thanks to an open and generic platform DICE developed for industry players, the solution is an opportunity to add value for Micro Key central stations and their customers by providing them with advanced interactive video monitoring. Plus, it is an excellent new RMR generator with initial minimal investment for Micro Key central stations. The platform is scalable, but they can start off with the entry level package that provides ROI in no time and then add more cameras, services, and modules when ready.”

For more information on the Micro Key Solutions monitoring platform and adding interactive video services, visit www.microkey.com or call 407-870-0040.

Calipsa’s Video False Alarm Reduction Platform Selected By Sirix

Calipsa, a market-leading provider of deep-learning-powered video analytics for false alarm reduction, announced Sirix, a leading Canadian remote monitoring station operator, is using its False Alarm Filtering platform. Calipsa’s artificial intelligence-based analytics reduce false alarms by more than 90%.

Quebec-based Sirix offers public and private organizations solutions for remote video monitoring, cloud-hosted access control, remote intercom response, alarm video verification and infrastructure uptime monitoring. Calipsa’s video analytics software is deployed in the Sirix operations center, providing an added layer of intelligence to protect its customer’s sites.

Calipsa’s cloud-based analytics use deep learning technology to focus on human or vehicle movement within live video feeds. Nuisance factors, such as wind-blown foliage, are filtered out, significantly reducing false alarms and improving Sirix agents’ response times to genuine security threats while improving their overall efficiency.

“After evaluating and testing the different solutions on the market, we found the Calipsa AI engine was the most powerful but also simple and intuitive,” said Daniel Cyr, chief executive officer, Sirix. “Even though almost all cameras connected at our operation center have built-in advanced analytics, Calipsa was able to reduce multiple false alarms, which allows our operators to be even more efficient in their work. It was important for us to get the best AI technology on the market and we have that with Calipsa.”

“Sirix became a leader in the Canadian video monitoring market by constantly looking to integrate state-of-the-art technology that exceeds industry standards,” said Brian Baker, chief revenue officer, Calipsa. ‘We’re excited to help support Sirix’s growth and I’m confident we’ll have a successful partnership for years to come.”

Click here to learn more about how the Calipsa false alarm reduction platform can make central monitoring stations more effective and cost-efficient.

COPS Acquires Wholesale Monitoring Business From Security Partners

On June 8th, COPS Monitoring announced that it has purchased the wholesale monitoring assets of Security Partners LLC at auction on May 27, 2021.

Upon completion of the acquisition and subsequent preparations, the alarm companies and their 100,000+ subscriber accounts will be migrated to COPS and monitored by its network of six UL listed and TMA Five Diamond certified monitoring stations located throughout North America.  The migration of the Security Partners dealer accounts is scheduled to be completed by early fall and will bring COPS’ total monitored account base to more than 3.5 million.

“We are extremely excited about welcoming the Security Partners dealers to the COPS Monitoring family,” said COPS Monitoring’s president Jim McMullen. “We look forward to contributing to each company’s success by delivering exceptional service and a stable foundation on which they can continue to grow their businesses.”

AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile settle with FCC over location data standoff

By John Hendel  POLITICO

AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile will each pay $100,000 to settle FCC investigations into the wireless carriers’ noncompliance with 2015 rules mandating they supply more granular customer 911 location data in the country’s 25 largest markets by this past April, the agency announced on Thursday.

Looking up: The FCC had demanded carriers provide more specific information to 911 call centers about how high up a caller might be, which can be vital context when a person calling 911 is in a tall building.

All three carriers had sought to waive this year’s April deadline, however, citing technical struggles during the pandemic and obstacles involving third parties like handset manufacturers and operating system developers. The wireless industry has also argued that 911 call centers aren’t yet fully equipped with technology to receive such data.

These arguments didn’t seem to persuade acting FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, who in April complained of “little progress” over the last few years and launched an inquiry.

The settlements announced Thursdayresolve those probes and deliver what the agency calls “life-saving commitments” from the carriers to now make available such vital consumer information within the next few days.

What the settlements require: The carriers now have to begin providing the best available customer location information, including how high up a caller might be, to 911 call centers nationwide within seven days of the settlements’ Thursday release. The companies also have to designate a compliance officer within the next 30 days and develop and implement a compliance plan.

The date by which carriers must “fully comply” with all 2015 location data requirements is now April 3, 2022, a year after the original deadline, according to the settlements. Carriers must certify such compliance with the FCC by June 2, 2022.

What Rosenworcel is saying now: “These settlements accomplish what has evaded the agency for too long: They ensure that the FCC, public safety and wireless carriers work together to immediately start delivering this information to first responders without further delay,” the acting chair said. “They also ensure that we are improving our 911 location accuracy capabilities everywhere in the country and not just in the top 25 markets. “

Alarm Detection Systems Appoints Amy Becker as Chief Operating Officer

Bob Bonifas, Founder and CEO of Alarm Detection Systems, Inc. (ADS), is pleased to announce the appointment of Amy Becker as Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately.

As COO, Becker will oversee the company’s day-to-day operations, which includes responsibility for all of the functions at the Illinois and Colorado locations.

Bob Bonifas notes that “Amy brings proven leadership both within the alarm industry and at ADS. She has worked tirelessly alongside industry veterans to establish best practices and offer the highest service levels to our customers.”

“With her great balance of leadership and business skills, we look forward to Amy Becker guiding our company to an even more successful future,” he said.

Amy started with Alarm Detection Systems in 1997 as the Accounting Supervisor for the Company and progressed to the position of Controller. Amy accepted the responsibility of Vice President of the Company in 2015 and Chief Financial Officer in 2019.

Amy is a graduate of Aurora University with an Accounting Degree. She is both a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant. While with ADS, Amy’s ever-increasing responsibilities have included oversight of the company’s financials and executive leadership.

“Daily, our employees display expertise and commitment to our operations. I am proud to be counted among them. In my new role, I can draw from the best traditions ADS has established over the past 53 years. At the same time, our goal is to work as a team to achieve even greater success. We are a resilient business group who has a passion for delivering outstanding customer service,” says Amy Becker, Chief Operating Officer of Alarm Detection Systems, Inc.