TMA Overflow Extension Room Block at The Westin Maui Resort & Spa

A recent pace report shows that TMA has sold 141% of our contracted room block at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua for our 2021 TMA Annual Meeting and that figure has now held steady for two weeks. Since the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua has only limited rooms remaining over our meeting dates, and they are fully sold out on the final night of our meeting and for several nights after that, TMA has reached out to see what alternative properties might be available for those wishing to extend their stay in Hawaii. We have found that several other nearby properties are sold out or are near sold out status.

The Westin Maui Resort & Spa has agreed to provide us with a limited block of rooms for the nights of Wednesday, October 13, Thursday, October 14 and Friday, October 15. Rates may be available for 3 days pre and post subject to availability. Only 28 total room nights have been secured in our Letter of Agreement.

The rate for these limited run-of-house rooms will be $709/night.  A Daily Resort Fee of $40.00/night plus 14.16% tax per day will also be charged.  The resort fee and taxes are distinct and separate charges from the room rate of $709/night. All guests reserving under the TMA/Westin room block will be responsible for full payment of these charges and any other expenses incurred at the property.

A deposit equal to two (2) night’s is required to hold each guest’s reservations. Deposits are refundable if notice is received by the hotel at least seven (7) days prior to arrival and a cancellation number is obtained.

Reservations for all guests must be received on or before Monday, August 16, 2021, (the cut-off date). After the cut-off date the resort will release all rooms for sale to the general public and at the resorts discretion will accept reservations at the TMA rate on a space and rate available basis.

The Westin Maui Resort and Spa is roughly 6 miles from the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua.

The Monitoring Association (TMA) will not be responsible for any charges incurred by its members/non-members at The Westin Maui.

Reservations in the TMA Overflow block at The Westin Maui Resort and Spa can be booked using the following link:

https://book.passkey.com/go/monitoringassocwestinmaui

New Standards Subcommittee Will Address NFPA 730 and 731

NFPA 730 – Guide for Premises Security and NFPA 731 – Standard for the Installation of Electronic Premises Security Systems are two documents of interest to TMA and its membership.

 

TMA has created a sub-committee within the Standards Committee to monitor and influence these documents. Rick Sheets, who has been involved with these NFPA documents since 2005 and is a current sitting member of the Technical Committees, will lead this effort as the Chairman of the TMA NFPA 730/731 Subcommittee.

 

If you would like to take part in assisting TMA by volunteering to be on the TMA NFPA 730/731 Subcommittee, please contact Bryan Ginn at bginn@tma.us. If you have any questions about NFPA 730/731, please contact Rick Sheets at Rs8486@att.com or 940-390-6989.

 

We will schedule a meeting once the TMA committee members are onboard to begin reviewing the current public comments and discuss TMA’s position and any comments TMA should submit on behalf of our membership.

 

Below is the NFPA schedule for the documents:


Next Edition: 2023


Revision Cycle: Fall 2022

 

First Draft

• Public Input Closing Date: January 6, 2021

• First Draft Report Posting Date: October 27, 2021

 

Second Draft

• Public Comment Closing Date: January 5, 2022

• Second Draft Report Posting Date: October 5, 2022

 

Motions Committee Report (NITMAM)

• NITMAM Closing Date: November 2, 2022

• NITMAM Posting Date: December 14, 2022

Legislative News from AICC, July 20th

HOUSE EYES FIGHT TO MANAGE AMERICA’S AIRWAVES — The House Science Committee will today dive into the thorny issue of how much wireless spectrum is needed for earth and space sciences. But the session is likely to raise tougher underlying questions — how the U.S. governs its airwaves and steps that the Biden administration and Congress should take to fix what’s increasingly proven a messy system.

— Spectrum wars among U.S. agencies dominated the Trump era , partly a consequence of competing demands for a limited resource. Spectrum is needed not only for feeding data-ravenous wireless demand — you can thank 5G and the rise of Wi-Fi — but also for satellites, intelligent transportation, GPS and other critical infrastructure needs. These disagreements have pitted the FCC, which regulates commercial airwaves, against federal agencies including the Commerce, Defense and Transportation departments.

— The Biden administration, however, has yet to name leaders to spearhead the management of this resource at two critical agencies — the FCC as well as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which manages government-held spectrum on behalf of the executive branch.

— Witnesses will sound the alarm about the state of spectrum affairs: One witness is the author of a Government Accountability Office report, released Monday, that makes 11 recommendations for improving the United States’ chaotic management. It notes “protracted interagency disagreements” that create confusion over what global telecom positions the U.S. even holds.

And EchoStar Senior Vice President Jennifer Manner will urge lawmakers to have the FCC and NTIA meet more frequently, according to written testimony shared with MT. She’ll also lament that U.S. representation in global telecom standards bodies “is often outnumbered by our Chinese competitors.”

— GAO “makes clear that a number of federal agencies have a lot of work to do to improve the process,” committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson(D-Texas) will say in her opening statement. “This Committee will be asking for accountability from both federal science agencies and the FCC as we all learn to live in a more crowded spectrum neighborhood.” Her panel had requested the GAO review following concerns over whether commercial 5G in the 24 GHz band would disrupt weather forecasting.

— Although the administration has said it wants a comprehensive spectrum strategy (as the prior one did), it has yet to unveil anything. “NTIA needs to drive the bus on coming up with that whole-of-government strategy,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Congress more than two months ago. We’ve already seen the lack of Biden nominees snarl Senate-side efforts to reform U.S. airwaves management.

Pasco County FL ECC is the 90th To Go Live with ASAP Service

The Pasco County FL Emergency Services 9-1-1 Communications Center is the 90th ECC in the United States and the 10th ECC in the state of Florida to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Pasco County went live on Tuesday, June 13th and Wednesday, June 14th with Vector Security, Rapid Response Monitoring, Securitas, Affiliated Monitoring, AT&T Digital Life, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Security Central, Protection One, National Monitoring Center, Vivint, Stanley Security, Guardian Protection, Alert 360 and ADS Security. Brinks Home Security and ADT will be brought online at a later date.

Jody Kenyon, Technical Support Manager added “Pasco County Emergency Services 9-1-1 is continually and consistently looking for ways to increase efficiencies and reduce call-processing times. ASAP delivers a method to help us achieve these goals by providing a service that improves efficiencies in the processing

Important info – Companies Operating in 540 Area Code

To: Security & Alarm Companies doing business in the State of Virginia 540 Area Code

View information for the Virginia 540/826 Area Code Overlay as it related to providers in the 540 Area Code.

The 540 and 826 area codes cover the northwestern and southwestern portions of Virginia. Some of the larger cities include Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Culpeper, Fredericksburg, Front Royal, Harrisonburg, Radford, Roanoke, Salem, Staunton, Waynesboro and Winchester.

As co-chairs of the Industry’s Virginia 540/826 Area Code Overlay Relief Implementation Committee, we ask that you read the attached information and distribute as needed within your organization.  We want to ensure all Alarm Companies and Security Providers have the information attached and are prepared with the dialing changes required.

If there are questions, you should reach out to your local service provider for more detailed information.

Co-Chairs for the VA 540/826 Area Code Industry Team:

Rita Schmitz, rita.schmitz@lumen.com

Chanda Brown, chanda.brown@verizon.com

TMA Joins in Appealing CA Background Check Legislation

On July 15th, TMA joined a diverse group of over 20 trade associations and businesses in signing on to an amicus letter to the California Supreme Court, requesting that the Court reverse a lower court decision on a background check decision.

If left standing, this decision would render most employment in the state severely delayed, and in many cases, they will no longer be possible at all. The amicus effort was led by the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) and the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA).

On May 26, 2021, the California Court of Appeals, 4th A.D (starting from Riverside County) called for the removal of significant identifiers (date of birth or driver’s license number) from criminal records.

Why is TMA involved?

You, our members, as well as others in our industry, protect people’s lives and property. Every day, businesses and families in California, as well in other states, trust that the people working in our industry are reputable and trustworthy people. Anything that would hamper our members’ abilities to conduct background checks could cause irreparable harm to our members’ customers. Drivers’ licenses are the most commonly used form of identification. Removing date of birth and driver’s license numbers as data identifying criminal defendants will handicap you and background check companies from being able to have a complete picture of an individual and be able to screen out those who should not be entrusted with people’s lives and property.

There is not likely a certain date by which the Court will decide to accept, or reject, the request. If that changes, TMA will alert you. In the event that the Court decides not to take this case, CDIA and PBSA will coordinate a strategy to seek redress by different means. That work will again require a large coalition of support.

View the full list of signatories on TMA’s website at http://tma.us/tma-joins-in-appealing-harsh-ca-background-check-legislation/

If you have any questions, please contact TMA Executive Director Celia T. Besore at cbesore@tma.us or (703) 660-4913.

Amicus signatories included:

  • California Bankers Association
  • California Chamber of Commerce
  • California Credit Union League
  • California Financial Services Association
  • Checkr, Inc.
  • Coalition for Sensible Public Records Access
  • Electronic Security Association
  • Lyft, Inc.
  • Moco Incorporated
  • National Consumer Reporting, Association
  • National Public Records Research Association
  • Public Records Retrieval Network
  • Security Industry Association
  • Southern California Rental Housing Association
  • Sue Weaver CAUSE: Commit to Always Using Screened Employees
  • The Monitoring Association
  • Tribal Gaming
  • Protection Network
  • Uber Technologies, Inc.
  • Vector Security, Inc.
  • Western Burglar Alarm and Fire Alarm Association.

DMP’s X1 Series™ Introduces New Access Control Solution

DMP’s X1 product line delivers a solution that’s simple to program, installs in minutes, and is easy to use.

What’s Different About the X1? 

  • Network and cellular-based connectivity – customers’ access control functions are never vulnerable to normal network outages.
  • A system that scales easily – up to 1,000 doors on a system can be managed in the cloud. To add more doors locally without adding multiple X1s, the new X1-8 is a cost-effective solution.
  • Add-on module for PoE power.
  • Support for Wiegand and OSDP reader protocol on any or all readers.
  • Fully programmed in Dealer Admin™ and maintained in Virtual Keypad™.
    Frictionless access control using Bluetooth readers and mobile credentials.

The X1 also includes network and cellular-based connectivity, ensuring a customer’s access control functions are never vulnerable to normal network outages. And, unlike other access offering, the X1’s optional cellular module can be used as the primary or backup for an entire system to ensure constant communication with the cloud.

While the X1 Series is cloud managed, all programming including up to 10,000 credentials, 99 schedules and 999 permission levels are all stored locally in each X1. Therefore, if the customer’s site were to lose network connectivity, the system will continue to function like normal.

What Does All This Mean to Security Companies

The X1 offers a solution to help security companies expand their businesses in the stand-alone access control market now and into the future. And, since this product line provides customers with an app and browser that they can use to manage the systems from anywhere, integrators are now able to create new RMR off of access control applications they previously didn’t have.

For more details about the X1 Series or to schedule a webinar, visit DMP.com/X1.

Michael Venoit Joins Continental Access as Division’s New Vice President of Sales

Continental Access, a division of NAPCO Security Technologies, Inc., is pleased to introduce Michael Venoit as the new Continental Access Vice President of Sales. Michael comes to Continental with a successful track record of strategically driving sales and growing revenue in security and access control, having worked for several well-known industry manufacturers. Reporting to Stephen Spinelli, SVP of Sales for all NAPCO divisions, Venoit is a proven team leader, who will be responsible for managing the Continental Access Regional Sales Managers and accounts, as well those of industry icon, Scott Schramme, Continental’s VP of Business Development.

Stephen Spinelli said, “We are happy to welcome Michael aboard, he’s got great energy and experience in the field and should be an ideal fit for managing the entire Continental Sales Team and developing that business.”

Based in greater Boston, Michael’s career spans over 15-years in the electronic security industry. And as Continental is a broad single source provider for mobile, cellular, cloud, wireless locks, embedded & enterprise solutions, currently forming a new national dealer program.

DICE Announces Expansion Into Latin America

The New DICE Corporation is bringing its technology, products and services to Latin America. Phase one will consist of introducing software as a service that enables interactive and advanced video monitoring services with video analytics that includes artificial intelligence for enterprise end users, guard companies, central stations and integrators.

While DICE Corporation has always been a global company, there is now an increased focus and resources for the region based on the company’s successes in the U.S. and Canada.

This expansion brings the company’s investment in new technologies, new products, and new services that include IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, analytics, integrated audio, and video into Latin America. These technologies offer opportunities for command centers and integrators to provide automated and smart video alarm services

“Latin America represents an important role in our global market development plans,” stated the New DICE Corporation’s co-president Avi Lupo.

For more information, visit www.dicecorp.com.

 

TMA Dispatch, Summer Issue, Now Available

The summer issue of the TMA Dispatch is now available to read online or download.

In this Issue:

  • Cover Story – Discover the latest trends in video monitoring and how can your company leverage the various technologies to grow your portfolio and bottom line.
  • Technology – Uncover the potential value to be gained by using cloud-based alarm monitoring. Is making such a change right for your alarm monitoring business?
  • Law – Preview the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA). See how your company may be impacted.
  • Research – You’ve heard the rumored rise of consumer demand for home-based health monitoring services. Get the real picture of this potential RMR, with metrics you can trust to make smart business decisions.
  • Plus, more!

READ IT NOW!