Take a closer look at TMA’s Level 1 and Level 2 (NEW!) training programs – known as the gold standard in operator training. Make them a part of your center’s employee training plan.
The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center (HRECC) went live with Vector Security and Rapid Response, on Monday, June 29th followed by Security Central, Affiliated Monitoring, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Guardian Protection, Vivint, the National Monitoring Center, Brinks Home Security, Protection One, Richmond Alarm, and ADT.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reiterated his call for congressional repeal of the T-band auction mandate while also circulating a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would take the next statutorily required step to implement this mandate to his fellow commissioners.
“An FCC auction of the T-band is a bad idea,” Pai said. “But as of today, the law mandates that we do it. It’s unfortunate that commission resources must be dedicated to laying the groundwork for an auction that will likely fail. This is especially true at a time when we are making every effort to keep Americans safe and connected, including allowing expanded temporary use of this very spectrum to help first responders save lives.
“Fortunately, there is bipartisan legislation in Congress to repeal this mandate, including bills that couple repeal with 9-1-1 fee diversion reform as reported out by the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation of the U.S. Senate and the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives. I hope legislation passes soon, so first responders who rely on this spectrum no longer need to worry about a potential loss of or significant disruption to their mission-critical radio systems. I remain committed to helping Congress in any way I can to ensure that such harms to public safety operations do not come to pass.”
In 2012, Congress passed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act requiring the FCC to reallocate T-band spectrum used by public-safety and private wireless licensees and “begin a system of competitive bidding” for reallocated spectrum by 2021. The FCC has compiled a record on the T-band that demonstrates that an auction is unlikely to yield sufficient revenue to cover the costs to move public safety users out of the band.
Pai first asked Congress to repeal the mandate late last year.
In the last few weeks, TMA joined with ESA and SIA to conduct a nationwide survey of members in order to better gauge the impact COVID-19 has had on electronic security and life safety businesses. This survey confirms the electronic security and life safety is being negatively impacted despite its role as an essential service in our economy.
Quick Figures:
A cross-section of the industry represented itself in the responses as follows:
| Market Segments | Responses |
| Residential Integration | 27% |
| Commercial Integration | 49% |
| Monitoring Center | 11% |
| Manufacturer | 41% |
| Distributor | 11% |
| Manufacturer Representative | 5.7% |
| Individual/Specifier/Consultant | 19% |
| Other Security Solution Provider | 19% |
Across the country and in every vertical, our industry is experiencing negative effects on revenues from state and local executive orders for residents to practice social distancing. Survey respondents reported a median loss of revenue between 21 and 30% due to the executive orders. More than 60% of respondents reported losing this much or more of their revenue.
While most companies are experiencing declining revenues, some are impacted more than others; about one in five respondents reported a loss of more than half their company’s revenue.
Although revenues have dropped, most companies are not hindered from doing business due to “shelter-in-place” and business closure orders. Less than 4% of survey respondents reported that their businesses were denied access as an “essential service” in their jurisdictions.
More than 56% of respondents reported having to reduce hours or layoff less than 10% of their employees. On the other end of the scale, 13% of all respondents were forced to reduce hours, furlough or layoff more than 90% of their employees. Less than 4% of survey respondents reported that their businesses were denied access as an “essential service” in their jurisdictions.
The median reported revenue loss due to COVID for residential and commercial integrators was 21-30%. The majority of integrators – more than 70% – lost less than half of their revenue.
The denial of access seems to contribute to income loss for most integrators, as more than 80% report some level of interrupted access.
Some business owners might wonder which verticals are faring better than others, as many companies have already pivoted into the commercial space. According to the survey results, the differences are significant but not as drastic as you might expect. The median loss of revenue reported by residential integrators was 31-40%, while the median loss of revenue reported by commercial integrators was 21-30%.
The reported levels for denial of access to job sites for service/testing/inspections/maintenance in each segment correlate with these figures, with residential integrators reporting a median denial rate of 31-40% while the median denial rate for commercial integrators was 21-30%.
Survey responses confirm the observation many have already made: gaining access to residential customers’ homes has been more difficult during this time than access to commercial properties, many of which are unoccupied due to social distancing measures. This could contribute to lower demand for residential services during the pandemic.
When asked how industry associations could continue to help businesses weather this storm, respondents most frequently expressed their desire for opportunities to connect and continued updates on the latest information related to winning business strategies, economic assistance and industry trends.
Visit TMA’s COVID-19 Resource Center. We encourage regular review of the resources we offer, and we will continue to keep members informed on all the latest developments that impact your business.
The Electronic Security and Life Safety Industry Associations call on state leadership to ensure that essential emergency services are not suspended or impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
The Electronic Security Association (ESA), Security Industry Association (SIA), and The Monitoring Association (TMA) have partnered to circulate a letter drawing state public safety leaders’ attention to the essential emergency services provided by electronic security, fire, life safety and monitoring companies and ensure that those who depend on them are not adversely impacted during the evolving situation with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The letter, which has already garnered more than 450 signatures from industry CEOs, company owners and leaders, highlights the critical functions of alarm response centers for monitoring, saving first responder resources, alerting businesses to potential break-ins or troubles, monitoring and notifying customers of health emergencies, following industry standard best practices and more.
The letter’s two requests for state leaders are to:
[Note: TMA is continuing to collect signatures from executives at firms in the security industry. To add your firm to the letter, please provide your information online. If you have any other questions, email TMA Executive Director Celia T. Besore at cbesore@tma.us and affirm your consent to sign.]
Find out what steps U.S. state and local governments are taking to combat the spread of COVID-19.
A link to the state-by-state tracker has been added to TMA’s dedicated repository of information and resources to assist and support members.
As developments around the coronavirus COVID-19 continue to evolve, UL has been asked how health risk mitigation techniques might impact Alarm Service Certifications, especially those that involve quarantine, social distancing, work from home, and similar.
At UL, our driving mission is to help create safe living and working conditions for all of our constituencies. This value shapes our Standards and program policies. The emergence of the COVID-19 virus presents a new challenge, but by working together, we can find ways forward.
As in the past, after natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina, superstorm Sandy and others, actions taken to maintain monitoring operations may temporarily be out of sync with the current language of UL827, Central Station Services. In emergency situations like these, know that UL’s primary concern is for the health and safety of your staff and customers. If circumstances prevent you from complying with the written requirements of the Standard for staffing a station, we simply ask that for now, you document your station’s alternate procedure and when it went into/out of practice.
UL is working with industry to develop reasonable guidelines and alternative operating methods for scenarios such as the current COVID-19 outbreak. An initial draft is attached to this statement and will be updated as improvements are identified. These guidelines will eventually form the basis of revisions to UL827 to address pandemic-type scenarios better.
Please note that for US based stations monitoring National Industrial Security System accounts, any deviations from UL827 language need to be discussed with and approved by the relevant US federal security agency with jurisdiction.
UL’s current understanding is that due to the high risk nature of these systems, many Federal Security Agencies will not approve of monitoring outside a UL Certified Central Station operating room. If such monitoring is not available, it is likely defense contractors will have to react in the manner prescribed by the applicable security manual for instances where monitoring is not available or not employed.
At this time, we encourage monitoring stations to make contingency plans for operating in environments where operators are not able to physically come together to monitor signals in a central station operating room. There is a meaningful risk that the rapid spread of COVID-19 could trigger governmental movement and assemble recommendations/controls that would preclude normal station operation.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Steve Schmit, steven.a.schmit@ul.com, 847-420-8032
In the current COVID-19 mitigation environment, central stations may be challenged to operate in strict compliance with UL Standards. UL expects that stations will make every reasonable effort to exercise options available in UL standards. However, in cases where delivering ongoing monitoring services requires alternate procedures, we request that stations document those procedures and be prepared to share them with UL if/when necessary as a basis for maintaining their UL Certification.
As a last resort, some stations may be considering use of home based operators to process signals. Based on input from industry, UL recommends considering the following guidelines.
Note – For US based stations monitoring National Industrial Security System accounts, any deviations from UL827 language need to be discussed with and approved by the relevant US federal security agency with jurisdiction.
UL’s current understanding is that many Federal Security Agencies will not approve of monitoring outside a UL Certified Central Station operating room. If such monitoring is not available, it is likely defense contractors will have to react in the manner prescribed by the applicable security manual for instances where monitoring is not available or not employed.
VIRTUAL WORKPLACE GUIDELINES
These guidelines are designed to provide procedural guidance to operators who perform job duties at alternative work sites, most specifically at home offices. The virtual work arrangement requires remote operators to be self-motivated and work well with minimal supervision. The following guidelines apply to the virtual environment:
Download PDFs:
The U.S. Chamber has compiled CDC’s coronavirus recommendations for businesses and workers across the country. American businesses are encouraged to follow data-based guidance from the CDC and state and local officials. Visit the link below to find a shareable graphics based on the CDC’s latest guidance for businesses and employees. Share these assets on social media, websites, and other channels, and send them to your colleagues and employees.
By John Hendel POLITICO
02/10/2020 01:59 PM EST
President Donald Trump is proposing that Congress provide an approximately 80 percent spending boost for the Commerce Department’s NTIA to help prepare the agency for 5G and other technological changes.
In its fiscal year 2021 budget request, the White House is asking for $72.2 million for NTIA, which has a lead role on 5G and telecom policy matters for the administration. That’s up from the roughly $40 million annually that the agency has generally received in recent years.
The request said $25 million would be slated for “modernizing spectrum management systems” and “proposes an increase to fund NTIA’s spectrum research for 5G and other evolving advanced communications innovations.”
The funding boost to spectrum management programs includes a focus on spectrum IT systems, which could help enable the government to identify federally held airwaves that could be freed up for commercial use.
The budget request is also in line with Trump’s crackdown on Chinese telecom companies like Huawei and ZTE, which the administration regards as a threat. NTIA would receive more money for efforts to “mitigate, and manage supply chain risks to our nation’s telecommunications infrastructure,” which it said would “enable NTIA to drive and support the nation’s efforts to promote and protect our economic and national security in the fast approaching 5G environment.”
Lawmakers will have to decide how much to defer to the budget request.
NTIA has lacked a permanent administrator since the sudden resignation of David Redl last May.
