TMA Members Contribute to ASAP 3.0 Next Generation Fund

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TMA announced on Wed., June 26th it had signed a a multi-year managed services agreement with Mission Critical Partners (MCP) to power the future growth of its Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) Service.

The partnership with MCP will expedite the rollout of the next-generation of the ASAP Service and drive the development of a new, cloud-based solution. The next-generation solution will allow for the real-time sharing of rich data, including camera video streams, live location, health information, photos, and interior blueprints, dramatically improving situational awareness for emergency responders.

The primary goal for the Service is to achieve 80% coverage of the populating by 2028.

This partnership and technological advancements have been made possible by the generous support and commitment of TMA members that contributed to our ASAP 3.0 Next Generation funding program. TMA extends its gratitude to the following donors:

  • ADT, LLC
  • Affiliated Monitoring
  • Alarm Detection Systems, Inc.
  • Alert360
  • AvantGuard Monitoring Centers
  • COPS Monitoring
  • CPI Security Systems
  • Doyle Security Systems, Inc.
  • Dynamark Monitoring, Inc.
  • Holmes Electric Security Systems
  • National Monitoring Center
  • Per Mar Security Services
  • Quick Response
  • Rapid Response
  • Securitas
  • Security Central
  • United Central Control
  • Vector Security, Inc.
  • Vivint Smart Home
  • Washington Alarm, Inc.

Learn more about the new partnership and goals for enhancements to the Service by reading the full public announcement HERE.

FYI- Zoom Updates

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TMA received the following message sent to Zoom Customers. Please make note as TMA conducts many of its meetings via Zoom.

“We are reaching out with a reminder that Zoom will be enforcing minimum versions as outlined in our Software Lifecycle Policy on August 3, 2024 (Pacific Standard Time).

This is a quarterly enforcement policy so please check our support article and status page for the table of products and corresponding minimum versions, as well as future enforcement dates. Users who are running an end-of-life version after Aug. 3 will be logged out of their Zoom Client (Desktop, Mobile, and VDI) or not be able to join meetings via the Zoom Client until they update.

As always, we highly recommend you regularly update to the latest version of Zoom software by checking for updates within the Zoom client or by navigating to zoom.us/download.

As an admin or owner you can view the versions users on your account are running through the Dashboard or within the user management portal by filtering by client type.

Thank you for your partnership as we continually work to make our platform more secure and deliver a better experience for our customers. Please feel free to reach out to the Zoom Support team if you have any additional questions or need assistance to update your organization.

Team Zoom”

ESA Calls for Support of School Security Legislation [HR 7357]

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During this 118th Congress, ESA has been monitoring over a dozen bills on the issue of school security. Unfortunately, after they are introduced, they are assigned to a committee and rarely heard about again.

ESA is calling for security industry businesses to call upon Congress to take action on this important legislation. Ask your representatives to support HR 7357, the Securing Our Schools Act of 2024. Instead of being assigned to the House Education and the Workforce Committee, this bill was assigned to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

This legislation would authorize funding already allocated to schools, to be used for the purchase and installation of security and life safety systems. Congress does not need to increase spending at all, just let schools spend the funds on systems that we know would make the environment safer for students.

Our industry has the talents and equipment to make these vulnerable locations safer.

Learn more and contact your representative at https://www.votervoice.net/ESA/Campaigns/115872/Respond

 

Preview TMA’s NEW AVS-01 Operator Online Training

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The first of three new TMA-AVS-01 online training modules for monitoring center operators is now available for preview. Module 1 provides operators with a foundational understanding the ANSI/TMA-AVS-01 Alarm Validation Scoring Standard by explaining the “What and Why.” It is the first in a series of online training modules that will help monitoring center operators to understand the impact and tremendous benefits of the new standard for the professional monitoring industry and public safety community.

By adopting the AVS-01 Standard, monitoring centers can significantly enhance their alarm response processes, improve public safety outcomes, and contribute to industry-wide standardization and efficiency. By using real-time and historical data, AVS-01 provides us with a standardized way to calculate an alarm score that results in a repeatable metric to estimate the validity or potential threat level of an intrusion alarm activation.

The three modules are:

  1. TMA-AVS-01 Introduction for Monitoring Center Operators
  2. TMA-AVS-01 Introduction to Understanding Category Definitions
  3. TMA-AVS-01 Overview of the Call Handling Scoring Process

Preview the first module:

Learn more about TMA-AVS-01 HERE

Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing for Minnesota NPA 507 Announced

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This is a second notice.

Attention: Alarm, Security, and Elevator Service/Equipment Providers

To ensure a continuing supply of telephone numbers, the Minesota Public Utilities Commission approved the addition of the new 924 area code to the geographic region served by the 507 area code. This process is known as an area code overlay.

What will be the new dialing procedure?

The new dialing procedure will require that all calls in the 507 area code that are currently dialed with seven digits will need to be dialed using area code + telephone number. The same dialing procedure will apply to telephone numbers that are assigned in the new 924 area code.

How does this affect providers of alarm and security services and equipment?

As a result of the overlay, a new local dialing procedure requires callers to dial area code + telephone number.

Alarm, security, and elevator services and equipment currently located in the 507 area code and programmed to dial only seven digits must be updated or reprogrammed to dial ten digits (area code + telephone number) for all calls in the 507 and 924 area codes.

Reprogramming of alarm equipment must be completed by July 30, 2024.

To verify that equipment can complete calls to the new 924 area code, a special test number, 924-924-1924, will be in service beginning May 30, 2024, and will remain active through September 30, 2024.

When will the change begin?

Beginning July 30, 2024, the new dialing procedure must be used, as described above. On and after this date, if callers do not use the new dialing procedure, calls will not complete. A recording will instruct the caller to hang up and dial again including the area code.

Beginning August 30, 2024, new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers with the new 924 area code. Anyone with a telephone number in the 924 area code must dial the area code + telephone number or the call will not complete.

DOWNLOAD INFO SHEET

The Palm Beach County FL Sheriff’s Office Implements TMA’s Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP)

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The Palm Beach County FL Sheriff’s Office became the 144th Emergency Communications Center (ECC) in the United States and the 11th ECC in the state of Florida to implement The MOnitoring Association’s (TMA) Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP).

Palm Beach County went live the week of May 13th, 2024 with the following alarm companies: Rapid Response Monitoring, ADT, Affiliated Monitoring, Alert 360, Brinks Home Security, Dynamark Monitoring, Guardian Protection, National Monitoring Center, Protection One/Everon, Securitas, Security Central, Tyco (Johnson Controls), United Central Control, Vector Security, and Vivint.

Learn more about ASAP-to-PSAP on this website at https://tma.us/programs/asap/.

Public Comment Period for the ANSI/TMA-AVS-01 Standard is Now Open, Closes June 9, 2024

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The Monitoring Association’s (TMA) AVS-01 Standard Committee has completed revisions to the ANSI/TMA AVS-01-2023 Alarm Validation Scoring (AVS) Standard and the draft is available for comment. In accordance with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) directives, a 30-day public review period opened May 10, 2024, and will close June 9, 2024.

TMA is a Standards Development Organization, or SDO, accredited by ANSI, which facilitates and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standards and conformity assessment system. As an SDO, the TMA Standards Committee works on standards that benefit consumers, regulators, and the security industry.

View the proposed changes: AVS-01 Markup | Summary

Comment Form: https://tma.us/standards/comment-form-for-avs-01/

Learn more about the ANSI/TMA-AVS-01 2023 standard at https://tma.us/standards/tma-avs-01-alarm-validation-standard/

SSN Interview: Pioneering Standards: Rapid Response Leads with TMA AVS-O1 Validation

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Security Systems News (SSN) Editor in Chief Cory Harris interviewed TMA President Steve Butkovich and TMA Immediate Past President and Standards Committee Chair Morgan Hertel, Rapid Response Monitoring, at ISC West in Las Vegas on the topic of TMA’s standards development initiatives.

View the full interview at Pioneering Standards: Rapid Response Leads with TMA AVS-O1 Validation

TMA/AICC Meet with Congressional Committee on Privacy Act

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AICC attorney John Prendergast, Managing Partner, Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens & Prendergast, LLP, and lobbyist Bill Signer, Carmen Group, Inc., met this morning with House Energy and Commerce Democratic staff to discuss the American Privacy Rights Act. Several issues were raised  – two which are specific to the alarm industry and three which are generic to the bill and will impact any company subject to the Act.

Read update.

Next steps:

  • A memo containing recommendations for modifications and the needed legislative language will be drafted.
  • Outreach to the majority staff has been made.
  • Outreach to the Senate Commerce staff will also be made.

The Passing of Dale Eller Announced

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This morning, we were saddened to learn of the passing of TMA friend Dale Eller on April 29th following a brief illness. Our leadership and staff remember Dale fondly for his kind and thoughtful manner and his many contributions to TMA and the security industry.

Dale served in the U.S. Navy for six years before joining his family business, Glenwood Fire and Security, which was later acquired by Doyle Security. He went on to start his own company ITZ Solutions, a security management company. He was inducted into the Security Sales and Integration Industry Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years and two children, a son, Joshua Eller and a daughter, Diane Sangster (Douglas) in addition to two siblings and many nieces and nephews.

Friends are invited to call at Brugger Funeral Homes & Crematory on Friday, May 3rd from 3 to 7 p.m. A funeral service will also be held at the funeral home on Saturday, May 4th at 11 a.m. Read the full obituary HERE.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations in Dale’s memory be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or the U.S. Navy Memorial.