Telecom Trends: Bell returns to home security

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Bell returns to home security

Bell Canada has jumped back into the home monitoring business with an announcement yesterday about a security system that is connected using Bell's highspeed mobile wireless network with an IP-enabled interface. Clients can go online to customize their service by deciding what they want to be alerted about, who should receive alerts, and how - whether by phone, e-mail or text message. It sounds a lot like a user-configurable VoIP service.

In addition to self-monitoring, clients can also opt for response by a monitoring centre.

In late September, I wrote about the quintuple play from western Canadian telcos SaskTel and MTS, with their security products complementing voice, internet, mobile and TV services. At the time, I noted:

With the availability of low cost intelligent, pan-tilt-zoom cameras, it seems to me that there are some interesting opportunities for integration of video monitoring over high speed networks and mobile TV - perhaps a return to this space by the major carriers. It is a natural bundle with telecom services.

Sure enough, Bell's product announcement includes:

Home Monitoring has optional video capability that allows clients to access a live video stream from their personal Web site or have images pushed to them by e-mail or to a cell phone when an alert occurs.

I continue to like the 'stickiness' of security systems as part of a telecom services bundle. People just don't seem to change their monitoring companies as frequently as other services.

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Bell, MTS, SaskTel, Home Monitoring