NBN Australia

The NBN Australia - Coming to a town near you?

Steve Nutt of IP Alarms started the following discussion regarding the National Broadband Network in Australia:

Based on the increasing number of inquiries I am receiving, it seems like the NBN is finally gaining some momentum in Australia. I recently did some research on the technical aspects of the NBN "phone port" to find out about it's compatibility with alarm systems, but I was surprised to learn that it is not even available to most NBN subscribers.

From the technical data the NBN have released, the network should be almost identical to those provided by the cable companies in the US. The technical specification says that alarm signaling will work, but the reality is often different.

This will work in favour of the Rebate-Reliant majority and enable them to cling onto their easy money until the bitter end, but it will also provide opportunities for IP-Savvy companies to gain some market share, especially in the residential sector where GPRS solutions are not a cost effective option.

I have found there are some monitoring companies who are refusing IP signaling point blank, yet on the flip side, I have been surprised at the acceptance of a Cloud based approach. This is no doubt where it will all end up, it's just that some will take more convincing than others. What are your experiences with the NBN and migration to IP to date?

A Business Development Manager from Sydney responded

Personally I'm finding great uptake with our GPRS solution in the residential market! Most control rooms are hesitant to IP solutions as they are not experienced in this realm whatsoever. From what I see even there own internal IT support / management is out-sourced!

Steve from IP Alarms continued

It doesn't surprise me that some residential customers will use GPRS solutions as currently most of them are not offered any alternative. GPRS is all that most Australian alarm companies know, so when a customer is told it's GPRS or nothing, of course they will take it. Each site is different. Some will be best suited to GPRS and others to IP. In order for our industry to provide the best possible service to Australian consumers, an Alarm Company should be in a position to offer both. For various reasons, that is not the case right now.

I agree, not all Monitoring Companies or installation tech's are IP savvy, but the consumer should not be made to suffer because of that. It's down to the small number of pro-IP companies to get out there and educate consumers and let them know that there is an alternative to GPRS. This is starting to happen now that the NBN is gaining momentum.

An IP Solutions provider from the UK joined the discussion with a warning

IP has been publicly available for around 10 years. If you haven't got the skills by now - prepare to wind down the business and shut up shop.

Beware - an increasing number of IT companies are turning to Security and with Alarm Receiving Centres/Control Rooms as they see a big opportunity for enhancing the customer experience with better security, secure remote management, remote servicing and lower costs.

It is only a matter of time for IT companies to enter this market. There are so many things to monitor in addition to the Alarm System and they can all be encapsulated within one secure service.

The owner of a Monitoring Company in New Zealand shared his experiences

Just installed new servers SQL/Win Server in preparation for shift to NT Software. ICT's ArmorIP receiver currently running for IP alarms. ICT has universal board that can be used with any alarm transmitting PCID. We are converting fram Security Information Systems "Alarm Center" product in favour of NT's ADSW. IP also handled by Sur-Gard Series III. Micron provided a small piece of software specifically for the task. We simply installed it on a redundant PC. Ran tests with Micron and it was ready to go.

A group member from Sydney gave an Alarm Installers perspective

The way I see it, there's currently a few problems in the Australian market; firstly, most companies out there are not up-skilling their technicians in networking basics. I have spoken to a lot of techs that couldn't PING an IP address, let alone change the IP address of their laptop.

Secondly, I don't see the current IP transmission platform in Australia capable of providing a reliable signal path back to base for companies to successfully market and sell IP monitoring solutions. Here at home I am using an ADSL2+ connection and it is flaky at the best of times, I am currently in an uphill battle with both my ISP and Telstra as both are not claiming fault. I personally believe it's the age of the copper. So until the NBN rolls out, the attitude in the market is "meh, why bother pushing it".

Finally, we don't seem to be moving away from Jurassic technology. The industry keeps creating a demand for out-dated technology. In this day and age we are still manufacturing and selling dialer panels that require a PSTN line to operate.

The UK IP Solutions provider continued with another warning

Be careful before blaming pour performance on the ADSL. The issues are often with connections to the World Wide Web (WWW) and not the Internet - two completely different applications. IP applications solutions are using neither the WWW or your PC. An IP communicator will often work when connections to the WWW will not.

New IT technology should never pose a problem for the Installer as long as the Alarm Transmission Service Provider is offering a service, and not just equipment. These days nobody expects to configure anything, Iphone, IPad etc they all work first time. This is about the same with a good IP/GPRS signalling solution.

The Sydney based installer explained his situation further

Totally understand what you're saying. However, I'm talking about experiencing DSL sync issues and poor line attenuation due to the degradation of existing copper. There are times my sync speed is 20Mbs and at times it's only 3Mbs. Lately, with all the rain we've had, I have been getting no connection at all. With the NBN delivering FTTH, I believe it will open the market for a lot more products and services, such as VSaaS, that are currently not economical at the moment.

The owner of IP Alarms commented

The "should we, or shouldn't we" question that Alarm Companies are faced with on whether or not they should embrace IP is an interesting one. You state "most companies out there are not up-skilling their technicians" as being a problem. This is true if you look at it from a Security Industry perspective, but if you look at it from an individual or business perspective and if your tech's are skilled, then surely it becomes an opportunity.

Addressing your second point regarding the reliability of broadband, this is definitely a problem for solutions providers like myself. Not because we agree that there are technical issues but because if you, as the owner of an installation company with 1000 accounts monitored over PSTN believe that IP is unstable, then that's 1000 customers that will not get upgraded for quite some time.

On the flip side, I don't know if any IP providers have experienced this in the UK, but over in the US many customers take matters into their own hands if they disconnect their landline and their Alarm Company does not offer them a number of affordable options. With Telco's being so agressive in the Security space and technically lacking Alarm Companies unable to compete, many are predicting the demise of non IP savvy installation companies.

I have changed my approach and have long given up trying to convince Alarm Companies that they should embrace IP. The group member from Sydney is a perfect example. He is a very technical guy who knows his stuff and has been in the business a long time. He's made his decision and will stick with it. There are thousands more that have made the same decision and I can't say I blame them.

That creates a situation whereby millions of alarm monitoring subscribers do not have the option of migrating their systems to IP with their current Alarm Company. Sounds like a hopeless situation doesn't it? Well, not if you are a Telco that sends a monthly bill into many of those properties and you offer a promotion that free's up the Customer from their landline.

Another thing that the alarm industry in the US and Australia are notorious for is the never ending desire to "steal" accounts off their competitors. IP is their favorite new weapon in this ongoing offensive. Even though the numbers are still small, there are enough companies that have embraced IP already and they are out on the prowl. Once this gets in full swing, I think that a lot of PSTN-only companies will lose out big time.

A Monitoring Centre owner from Sydney joined the discussion

The average turnover of a mobile handset is 2-3 years and there is *nobody* with a handset older than 5 years. Nobody. What this means, is that network carriers can simply kill off a transmission method after 6 years and not incur a single dropped call. This is quite different to the closure of analogue mobile networks, the PSTN, FM radio etc. all of which require legislated sunsets etc. Carriers can do as they please, and they will, rather than carting the horse of old technology.

What does this mean for machine-to-machine and alarm signalling devices? Well, as one carrier expert told me: "The days of hanging an alarm on a wall and having it communicate to the central for 20 years, are over". There are three 2G GSM 900/1800 carriers in Australia - Telstra, Optus (owned by Singtel) and Vodafone. It's generally accepted that Telstra have the biggest network coverage. A smaller fourth carrier - Three, have a 3G only network and roaming arrangements in place. Obviously there are a number of resellers and providers further down the food-chain.

Based on what happened with the now defunct CDMA network, I don't think they will simply 'throw the switch'. Rather, it will die gradually. With CDMA, Telstra managed to convince the government that their GSM network was as good, particularly in the rural areas. Remember, you can convince governments of lots of stupid things... Usual arguments about "too expensive to maintain" etc.

Then there's the potential for public backlash - you'll always have pensioners and veterans ringing the talkback radio jocks to complain that they're being forced to buy a new phone. However this is easily addressed by free (subsidised) handsets. Whereas you won't get the same sort of lobbying for telemetry and alarm monitoring applications. Just not newsworthy in my opinion.

Having said all that, Australia can be like the Old Folks Home for a lot of technology (notably cars) so it could take a *long* time for any new tech to become dominant. It's also incredibly expensive to deploy wireless due to our huge landmass and thin population density over much of this area. In Europe or America, a few towers could rapidly cover a million paying subscribers. In Oz you'd need to burn a lot more money before you can start making it back. That's partly why our Internet speeds are so terrible and why wireline-only IP monitoring is not yet reliable.