Digital Monitoring Products is pleased to be featured on the cover of the April 1, 2001 issue of Security Systems News. The article focuses on DMPs UL-AA listed Internet Monitoring, and is also available at www.securitysystemsnews.com.
UL OKs web monitoring, DMP garners listing
By Andrea Gural
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-Digital Monitoring Products, a company that has led the technological race toward Internet-based monitoring of alarm signals, crossed the finish line when it became one of the first companies to have a product UL-listed under new Underwriters Laboratories rules for high-line security communications via the Internet.
The new listing, which the company received for its XR200 control panel and SCS-1 receiver, paves the way for low-cost, high security Internet-based transmissions to a central station, said Mark Hillenburg, marketing manager for DMP. Alarm owners can now connect the alarm panel into their business' existing DSL, cable modem or T1 connection, which for many will eliminate monthly charges for a dedicated phone line that can run between $150 to $200 per month and more than $1,000 to install, he said.
Technology has become so advanced that some forms of IP-based communication can be as secure as the traditional line security of dedicated lines and some encrypted radio systems, said Isaac Papier, a UL department manager who oversees all fire and burglar alarm product categories.
The rules allow DMP dealers to issue UL certificates for systems that use the Internet or a private Intranet as the supervision medium to a central station. The revised rule also includes acceptance for remote programming of the control panel over the Internet, according to DMP.
"This is a major stepthat's going to radically change the way security is monitored and data is transported," said Gregory Torre, president of Electronic Security Corporation of America, a UL-listed central station and installation company in Woodland, Pa. Torre's company also received the high line listing and will install listed systems in a string of eleven jewelry stores. The company expects to install about 350 Internet-based systems this year, he said.
For DMP, UL's recognition of the secure Internet transmission will likely be a huge windfall, with the company expecting sales to likely double by the end of the year. But the revised rules will also open the market to a flood of competitors, making the high line security market more crowded and competitive than ever before.
Papier said he couldn't comment on how many companies have applied for the high line security listing since the revised rules were posted, but said there were "quite a few" and that is was likely many companies were "actively working on this."
The final rules are expected to be published by UL later this year.