CPI Security Partners With Lumos to Offer Fiber Internet in the Southeast

CPI Security announced a partnership with high-speed fiber internet provider Lumos to offer homeowners in the Southeast with Wi-Fi that will better support their customized smart home security systems.

Lumos is the leading all-fiber optic internet and total home Wi-Fi service provider in the Mid-Atlantic region, according to the announcement. Based in Charlotte, N.C., CPI Security is the largest privately held security and home automation company in the Southeast.

Video surveillance is becoming more integral to home security, with more than 70 percent of homeowners adding video devices to their home security systems, the announcement states. Integrating multiple video streams and Wi-Fi-enabled smart security devices increases the demands put on home Wi-Fi networks. Lumos’ fiber optic Internet connection allows families to use home security systems, while having an abundance of remaining bandwidth to work from home, stream movies, upload large files, play video games and more.

“Our goal is to give our customers the best possible experience, and that’s why we are partnering with the best Fiber Optic Internet provider,” CPI Security CEO and Founder Ken Gill said. “Lumos’ high-speed internet services, combined with our cellular technology, will help our security systems perform more efficiently, and we can introduce Lumos customers to the best in smart home security.”

Lumos is building an all-fiber optic infrastructure that delivers up to 385 times faster upload speeds and 30 times faster download speeds than a cable connection, the announcement states. Additionally, fiber is more resilient against disruptions from heat, bad weather and power outages.

“Homes with Lumos’ fiber service, particularly a gigabit connection, will have more than enough bandwidth to support CPI’s cameras, locks, and monitors, while also allowing residents to seamlessly work from home, stream online classes in high definition, take advantage of advancements in telemedicine and more,” states Lumos CEO Brian Stading.

PPVAR announces newly appointed Board of Director for the 2023-2024 term

PPVAR is happy to announce that Mark McCall of Immix is the new PPVAR President. Mr. McCall takes over the position from David Holl, Director of Public Safety for Lower Allen Township, PA who will now be on the board as immediate past-president.

Mr. McCall commented on his new role at PPVAR “I have long believed that PPVAR is in a unique position to bridge the gap between the security industry and Public Safety and push forward topics that were important to both. They certainly have proven that over the past few years, as evidenced, in part, by pushing for and working with TMA in the creation of the AVS-01 Standard. I am honored to be a part of PPVAR and look forward to working with our members to advance our mission.”

Kristy Johnson of ADT has been voted in as the new PPVAR Secretary. Ms. Johnson remarked, “The electronic security industry plays a vital role in protecting life and property. However, it is just one piece of a larger picture, heavily reliant on collaboration with law enforcement and public safety partners. When I joined the industry in 2012, I discovered a significant issue concerning false alarms leading to unnecessary police dispatches. This realization motivated me to work passionately on bridging the gaps within our industry and in my various roles throughout my time in the industry, I’ve remained dedicated to correct this discrepancy. My mission is to enhance the sector by focusing on solutions that make the best use of our combined resources and form true partnerships with public safety. My commitment to prioritized and verified alarm responses drives my enthusiasm to assume a more formal role within PPVAR (Priority Partners Verified Alarm Response) and actively contribute to these ongoing efforts.”

PPVAR ‘s Board of Directors is comprised of experts in Public Safety, Law Enforcement, Emergency Communications, the Electronic Security and Monitoring Industries, and consultants to these fields. We collaborate with all members involved in the alarm response process to maximize the effectiveness of all resources required to protect life and property.

The New DICE Opens ULC-Compliant Data Center for Canada

The New DICE UL data center at its headquarters is now ULC compliant for Canada, meaning any central station that has dealers in Canada and the United States can now be hosted in the DICE center and operate in both countries simultaneously.

Even central stations that are not using Matrix Interactive, or any other DICE product, can take advantage of the ULC compliance, the company announcement says.

DICE’S Bay City data center is already UL Compliant. Previously, UL did not have a hosting standard in the U.S. They based and built the UL 827A standard on DICE’s data center.

As Canadian companies began hosting at the DICE data centers, they began pushing to use the UL standard that was built in the U.S. However, ULC chose to develop their own standard.

“Even though they based the new standard on our data centers, we had to make a lot of changes, which took about two years,” says Cliff Dice, president, CEO, & founder of The New DICE, in the company announcement.

“We spent quite a bit of time and money, but what helped is the fact that our sister company, IPtelX, is a registered Canadian carrier and ISP provider,” he says. “In fact, we are not only an infrastructure and security company, but also the backbone for most of the smart home systems in Canada as well.”

How DICE Data Center Became ULC-Compliant

To develop the Canadian standard, ULC looked at every detail of the DICE data center, including how the building is built, how the fire suppression systems work, redundancy, backups, failovers, power and infrastructure networks, telecom, receiver management, software management, and the disaster plans and procedures that are in place.

“Now those central stations that do not want to make the investment of building their own data center, can now use the DICE data center,” says Dice in the company announcement.

Join NAPCO in Congratulating Dave Sheffey on His Well-Deserved Retirement

After 31+ years with Napco Security Technologies, as Western VP, and later, SRVP of Sales, for all the Napco RSMs across North America, Dave Sheffey will be retiring, having handed over the reigns and team to VP, Michael Venoit, earlier this year.  Dave has long been a key part of Napco Security Sales Management, an accomplished leader, industry icon and driver of Napco security sales and distribution channels.

Anyone who knows Dave, as most in the industry do, recognize the amiable, modest, super-intelligent guy who is comfortable speaking to virtually everyone, and always knows how to get things done and with whom. Never one to shrink away from a challenge, Dave is extremely knowledgeable and well-versed in all aspects of technology, applications, and product (as well as science, astronomy, and fine art, too).  Dave’s extensive security experience and industry knowledge have served him, his accounts, and NAPCO well. But two of Dave’s idiomatic phrases, sum up much of what may be his work philosophy, “I have a curiosity”, and on the flip- side, “Don’t poke a sleeping bear.” For those of us who know Dave, the neat part is, he seemingly always knows which to apply and when.

After decades of traveling across this great country and Canada, representing Napco, attending countless tradeshows and events, and visiting and supporting security professionals and distributors all along the way; for his well-deserved retirement, Dave is literally going to sail off (well, motor off) into the sunset of the Great Lakes on his boat, at least for a little while. Bon Voyage, Dave. You deserve the best- Enjoy retirement with your lovely wife, Beth and the cats. Stephen Spinelli, SVP, Sales, NAPCO Security Technologies, Inc, added, “On behalf of all of us at NAPCO, it’s been our pleasure to work with you.”

Axis Communications Opens New Experience Center in Cincinnati

Axis Communications is celebrating its newest Axis Experience Center (AEC), located in Cincinnati. The new facility marks the company’s 16th experience center in the Americas and the second AEC location in its Mid-Atlantic Business Area.

The new location demonstrates Axis’ continued commitment to providing local customers, partners and business leaders with on-the-ground resources and support to test advanced security technologies in a simulated environment, according to an announcement.

The 6,924-square-foot Cincinnati AEC is located on the 11th floor of the Scripps Center in the heart of Cincinnati’s riverfront business district. The facility features panoramic views of downtown and overlooks the Great American Ball Park and Paycor Stadium, home to the Cincinnati Reds and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Notable design elements of the space include a scoreboard video wall, security operations center (SOC), a 2N/Axis intercom wall and dedicated training room. Most importantly, the space will allow customers and partners to demo the latest solutions, including new use cases for analytics, multi-sensors, audio and Axis’ newest video surveillance advancements.

The company’s expanded presence in the region will allow it to provide greater support to an array of local clients across industries, including retail, sports, entertainment and government, the announcement states.

“Ohio is home to six major cities and offers a robust and diverse economy — so it’s no wonder many Axis customers, integrators, and partners, and we’re thrilled to be growing our presence in the Cincinnati area,” said Paul Winsker, business area director, Mid-Atlantic at Axis Communications. “With security technology advancing at a rapid rate, our expanded presence in the Queen City gives us the opportunity to meet more end users and provide them with the opportunity to test the latest Axis innovations. We look forward to working with new and existing partners to solve their business challenges and help them achieve their goals.”

Axis and local dignitaries and partners will celebrate the grand opening with a three-day event and a formal ribbon cutting on Aug. 3. Guests will be able to participate in a partner showcase with Axis ecosystem partners Genetec, Milestone, BriefCam, YourSix and Wasabi. Attendees will also have the opportunity to explore the Mid-Atlantic Axis Experience Vehicle (AEV), a mobile technology center, which will be parked across the street at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

TMA Louis T. Fiore Electronic Communications Scholarship Now Open for 2023-2024 Student Application

The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce that the application period for the inaugural Louis T. Fiore Electronic Communications Scholarship is now open. The Scholarship is open to anyone studying an electronics curriculum, specifically electronic communications, or software development related to electronic communications, regardless of financial need. Students seeking such a degree in electrical engineering or an associate degree in electronics at any nationally accredited educational institution may apply. Established in 2022, the scholarship honors Mr. Fiore’s enduring contribution to the alarm industry and the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) and is intended to promote careers in electronic communications. The application deadline is Sept. 15th.

“We are honored and thrilled to recognize Lou’s immeasurable contributions to the monitoring industry with the presentation of this Scholarship,” stated TMA President Morgan Hertel. “Our goal is to present this Scholarship to a student who embodies Lou’s own passion for electronic communications and drive for professional excellence.”

The winner will be selected by a panel of TMA leaders and members, including its namesake, Lou Fiore. The announcement and presentation of the Scholarship will be made at TMA’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Maui, HI in early November.

For more information on this scholarship and application, go to https://tma.us/louis-t-fiore-electronic-communications-scholarship/

 

Alarm.com Announces Innovations to Visual Verification

Alarm.com announces new solutions that will empower monitoring station operators to make more informed decisions and expedite emergency response while supporting service providers with industry-leading solutions. For more than 20 years, Alarm.com’s technology has protected homes and businesses from intruders, vandalism, theft, and unexpected activity. Over the last year, Alarm.com has built a robust portfolio of Visual Verification features that enable a central station operator to more rapidly and thoroughly assess the emergency situation and expedite the appropriate response.

With the evolution of Alarm.com’s Visual Verification interface, operators will now have contextual indicators, live video feeds, and Video Analytics tools to help identify if there is a person or a perceived threat at a given location. By leveraging multiple data sources to understand the activity surrounding an alarm event, Alarm.com distills the information for the operator in the form of a Person On-Site Likelihood Indicator so that the operator may relay this critical information to first responders dispatched to the location.

“The Person On-Site Likelihood Indicator is the latest addition to Ambient Insights for Alarm Response, built to recognize activity around a property and deliver contextual information to monitoring stations in the event of an alarm. Leveraging the robust data set from our systems and making it easily digestible for the operator improves the experience and response for all involved during those critical moments,” said Adam Brandfass, Director of Product Management, Partner Tools and Operations at Alarm.com.

Alarm.com will continue to build on its Visual Verification interface with new indicators and proactive response options coming later this year. One of the enhancements, Unexpected Event Indicators, uses system data in and around the property to flag if events occurring during the alarm match normal behavior.

“Alarm.com continues to push the security industry forward by incorporating both response and deterrence options. The ability to seamlessly add video to the alarm process deters crime, reduces false alarms, and helps us catch more offenders,” said Trey Alter, President and CEO of Dynamark Monitoring.

The collective offerings enhance Alarm.com’s integrated security platform and complement ongoing initiatives by security industry committees to speed and streamline alarm response, including The Monitoring Association’s Alarm Validation Standard (AVS-01).

Alarm.com-powered systems are professionally installed and monitored and are also available in select international markets. For more information on the broader Alarm.com ecosystem of products and services, visit https://alarm.com.

Johnson Controls acquires FM:Systems to support building automation services

Johnson Controls has acquired FM:Systems, a provider of digital workplace management and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for facilities and real estate professionals.

The base purchase price for the transaction is US$455 million, plus additional payments to be made subject to the achievement of post-closing earnout milestones.

“FM:Systems’ powerful, predictive workplace management platform will build on our best-in-class building automation services, OpenBlue, to offer a one-stop solution that helps customers accelerate their digital transformation journey, improve building efficiency and reduce operational costs,” said Johnson Controls chairman and CEO George Oliver in a statement. “Coupled with our building asset solutions, energy management offerings and global field network, this acquisition further differentiates Johnson Controls’ leadership in the fast-growing segment for autonomous and digitally enabled buildings.”

FM:Systems is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., and owned by Accel-KKR. The company has more than 200 employees and 1,200 customers, representing more than 2.4 million users across 80 countries.

FM:Systems’ software products provide workplace solutions like space-scenario planning, asset management and facilities maintenance, supported by security protocols, floor plan scenario modeling, bi-direction integration with AutoCAD and Revit models, and advanced workplace analytics capabilities.

FM:Systems’ capabilities will support Johnson Controls OpenBlue suite of software, which uses artificial intelligence and digital twin technologies to improve building performance.

FM:Systems CEO and chairman Kurt von Koch will join Johnson Controls’ digital business in a leadership role.

 

Ubiety Technologies Unveils Eckleburg: A Groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence Platform

Ubiety Technologies Inc., the creator of HomeAware™, the first digital presence monitoring solution, has announced the public launch of its Artificial Intelligence engine codenamed: Eckleburg. Eckleburg serves as the backend intelligence engine behind all Ubiety product and service offerings across the residential, commercial and community security and safety industries.

The result of several years’ investment of R&D, Eckleburg is Ubiety’s custom developed AI platform that is purpose built to consume high velocity radio frequency data streaming from the RF signals emitted by digital devices in an area. Eckleburg combines a state of the art data streaming capability built on the latest cutting edge technology with advanced Machine Learning algorithms trained on Ubiety’s internal and proprietary data sets to produce a set of ‘presence detection’ capabilities that no one else in the world can offer today. Eckleburg’s first assignment was to distill an overwhelming ‘wall of noise’ of RF data down into a set of meaningful and actionable insights in near real time. Since its inception, we’ve also grown and modularized Eckleburg so that it can add different types of data to expand its insights in new areas.

Eckleburg is ingesting high velocity data in real-time from several different wireless protocols (e.g. cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth) emitted by a wide range of devices including mobile phones, laptops & tablets, smart devices, wearables, and many other IoT devices. In each unique deployment, Eckleburg is able to learn and establish known devices and what represents ‘normal’ activity patterns in order to identify anomalies and generate alerts based on the traffic it observes. The custom graph structure for data processing in Eckleburg allows us to make multiple predictions and inferences about each unique packet of data that flows through the network. Combining the insights from each node of the network and all individual predictions allows us to critically score the value for every potential alert and only relay the most important information to the end user.

In residential security and awareness, Eckleburg can detect anomalous devices entering a home that don’t belong. For example, if all members of a family use Apple iPhones and a Samsung phone enters the home, Eckleburg alerts the homeowner to an unknown device without requiring that device to connect to their WiFi. Similarly, if parents are out for the evening and expect their two children to remain home, but Eckleburg recognizes there are 6 additional phones present, Eckleburg alerts the homeowner. And critically – all of this is possible without installing cameras or microphones in the home.

“I am extremely proud to release the next generation of Ubiety’s Artificial Intelligence engine into the residential and commercial security markets. Existing AI products in security are not capturing the vast dataset available from Radio Frequency emitting devices and Eckleburg is the first solution to bridge that gap” said Joe Loftus, Director of Data Science at Ubiety. “We have internally trained a set of Machine Learning models to accomplish a wide range of tasks such as device categorization and classification, device counting, and anomaly detection. Our Artificial Intelligence capabilities allow us to build a complete profile of device presence and human activity purely by analyzing passive RF signals. This produces a unique and valuable set of insights that would otherwise be invisible and be ignored by any other offering in the market today. We believe that these insights will augment traditional security and smart home systems and will greatly enhance both the customer experience and the efficacy of conventional physical security offerings.”

Mik Cox, Ubiety’s Chief Technology Officer, added “Eckleburg is built on some of the world’s most advanced ML and streaming tools, including cutting-edge open source platforms that are used by over 80% of the Fortune 100 and are developed rapidly and collaboratively by dozens of the world’s most innovative tech companies. The Ubiety team purposefully built Eckleburg to be a high throughput, high availability, and highly scalable platform for real-time stream processing, and watching its evolution over the past couple years has been staggering. I believe that Eckleburg’s capabilities will act as a catalyst to the security industry, expanding the boundaries of what is possible. Combining existing industry data with Ubiety’s novel RF detection and AI insights will unlock a host of new features never before seen in the security and IoT industries.”

Keith Puckett, Ubiety’s CEO said: “The security ecosystem has historically only had access to binary, blind alerts – things like motion sensors, door/window contact sensors, glass break detection, or video camera technology. All of these input methods can be extremely valuable, but often lack crucial context about what is actually happening, and do not generate situational awareness in an automated, scalable manner. For example, video cameras are terrific tools, but still often require a human in the loop or heavy video processing algorithms for interpretation – both of which are subject to error and bias. Additionally, OEMs, security dealers, and monitoring centers are aiming to adhere to updated industry standards such as TMA AVS-01.”

Nacho Andrade, Ubiety’s Chief Product Officer shared his perspective: “Innovation in the security industry has been very video-centric in recent years, and while these solutions have unlocked a ton of value, they have left other areas unexplored. While we see Eckleburg making a transformative impact on residential security today, it’s really only the tip of the iceberg for what is possible. Eckleburg was designed to work with many types of data, this means we can plug in information available from security solutions today to do even more amazing things. Eckleburg could ‘see’ that the residents left the house, but the smart door locks aren’t engaged. In that situation we could automatically lock the doors and arm the security system. The products we are building at Ubiety are the types of innovations that product people dream about, where instead of trying to carefully craft a use case to fit the technology, one of the biggest challenges we face is deciding which use case to tackle first”

Eckleburg is the backbone that powers Ubiety’s product offerings, HomeAware and SignalWise. From the moment a customer enables their Ubiety solution, Eckleburg will begin to learn from the local signaling environment, and after an initial “learning and settling” period, begins to generate meaningful insights and security alerts based on observed behavior. As we continue to build and develop new features on top of Eckleburg we look forward to expanding the capabilities to ingest new sources of data and create an even more holistic picture of presence and context. In the future we are building there will be far fewer unknowns to the anxious homeowner when they receive an urgent call from their security provider. To learn more about Eckleburg and what we are building at Ubiety Technologies please visit www.ubiety.io.

To learn more about Ubiety’s home security product, please visit www.homeaware.com.

Interface Celebrates 20 Years of its Monitoring Centers Being Recognized as TMA Five Diamond Certified

Interface Systems, a leading managed service provider of business security, actionable insights, and purpose-built networks for multi-location businesses today announced that its Interactive Security Operations Centers (iSOCs) have received the Monitoring Association (TMA)’s prestigious “TMA Five Diamond Monitoring Center” designation for the 20th consecutive year.

This designation is granted to monitoring centers that satisfy all of the requirements of the “five points of excellence”:

  • Commitment to ongoing job-related education and testing by having 100% of its monitoring center operators certified using the TMA online training series on industry best practices.
  • Commitment to random inspections and quality criteria standards by a nationally recognized testing laboratory such as FM Approvals, Intertek/ETL, and UL.
  • Commitment to raising the industry standards through TMA membership and participation in its activities.
  • Commitment to reducing false dispatches.
  • Commitment to the highest levels of customer service.

TMA’s Five Diamond designation means, in particular, that a monitoring company has demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of responsibility to its local community and its
customers by investing time, money, and commitment to quality operator training.

Operators serve as the life-saving link between businesses and police, fire, and emergency services. The TMA Monitoring Center Operator course covers virtually all
phases of monitoring center communications with customers, police, fire, and emergency services communications centers. In order to achieve the Five Diamond designation,
every Intervention Specialist at the Interface iSOCs has not only passed the course but also has to recertify every three years and demonstrate:

  • Proficiency in alarm confirmation process to reduce false alarms Proficiency in communications with Public Safety Answering Points, such as
    the Emergency 911 centers
  • An understanding of the codes and standards of such organizations as Underwriters Laboratories, Factory Mutual, the National Fire Protection
    Association, and others
  • Proficiency in the area of emergency preparedness under a wide scenario of possibilities.

“Our interactive Security Operations Centers (iSOCs) leverage advanced monitoring technologies, and our trained security professionals are the best in the industry. I am
proud of our team for their relentless commitment to excellence and customer service,” said Brent Duncan, CEO at Interface.

There are approximately 2,700 monitoring centers in the United States that communicate and interact with police, fire, and emergency services agencies. Of this group, fewer than
130 monitoring centers have achieved the Five Diamond designation, setting these companies apart.