Jump to content
Security Installer Community

jimcarter

Manuf/Distrib/Whole
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    573

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by jimcarter

  1. jimcarter
    I've just returned from a trip to Sydney where we are setting up WebWay Australia. The market for Alarm Transmission is reportedly in the region of a million monitored systems, however unlike the UK they are not driven by Insurance nor strict adherence to standards compliance. There is the Australian & New Zealand AS2201 standard, their equivalent to EN50136 (in some respects). At present there is no concept of a confirmed event and Police response is on request of the Keyholder or Guarding company on a single activation.
    What is impressive in Australia is the radio coverage. 4G is prevalent and there is a national program of Broadband roll out. The aggressive spread of 4G services means that 3G has almost been bypassed. 4G has greater reach and building penetration and is suited to the far and remote areas that are common place in Australia. I'm told you can get 4G up the top of a mountain in the middle of the desert!
    For WebWayOne, the dual technology cells are perfect for the deployment of our Mk6 platforms enabled for 3G and intelligent roaming. If you want to "play" in the Australian market, then you need 3G as a minimum, otherwise its not worth bothering. This really is a peak into the future for our market. The network operators are now actively "farming" data from 2G services to enhance the consumer 3G and 4G experience and this is already having an impact on ATS services in certain regions.
    The Operators are calling this the "Sunset period" of 2G services with 2020 a stake in the ground where 2G will no longer be offered on new contracts.
    The decision we took 12 months ago to standardise on a 3G platform was definitely a "good call". Changing a GSM module is a significant hardware deviation. The upshot is, if we had stuck with a 2G module we would have been faced with a re-submission of the product for testing and 3rd party certification. That's a severe investment in time and cost avoided.
    Our industry relies heavily on mobile technology and there will need to be a cultural change before long, particularly in view of the rapid growth of data services and the demands of consumers. Our industry is conditioned to product lifetimes of 10 to 15 years, but this is a dynasty in mobile technology terms. At WebWayOne we are now at a Mk6 release, with at least 4 of these determined by a change in the GSM module, all having been 2G up until the release of the Mk6. We have managed to maintain costs over these transitions, no small feat when you compare this to the consumer world.
    Consider back in 2005 when we first began to roll out IP/GPRS systems. The Nokia 9300 was released, you'll no doubt recall it was a clam shell design with full qwerty keyboard. It was the same year the Motorola RAZR was launched. It was another two years before the iPhone first made an appearance. We swop, change, upgrade our mobiles every few years, but we expect our signalling devices to last 5 or 6 times that length of time.
    We are actively looking at the next generation of modules now, with 4G likely to be available in Q1 next year, but with the price of 4G modules being high, I don't expect these to be viable for our market for some time. But never say never. 3G is, we are told, not going to "die" for the foreseeable future, but 2G certainly does have a life expectancy and it is not that far away.
    We have upgrade programs are in progress with a 3G plug-on in the pipeline for Mk5 boards and full board updates for roughly the same cost as an HG antenna. By the way, the data re-farming issues cannot be solved with an alternate antenna.
    So my advice is to be prepared. Start reviewing your 2G deployments soon, and make sure they have an upgrade path. Think seriously about the deployment of any new 2G devices, look for future proofing your signalling now. The alternative could well be a swop out of the 2G device in around 5 years time, if not sooner. Attached is an article on the subject of 2G farming, it's worth a read.
    Sunset for GPRS final.pdf
  2. jimcarter
    If you have been in data communications as long as I have you will know that remote diagnostics and maintenance are nothing new. I remember back in 1992 watching in awe as our technical director (Phil Meredith) was stood next to some ISDN Back-up kit hooked up to a monitor running a windows application.
    On the screen, a cursor flicked over the menus and it was obvious somehow the system was being configured. “How are you doing that Phil?” I asked.
    “I’m not, its one of the support guys in Germany”.
    A more extreme example of remote maintenance occurred on the 19th December 2014. BBC news reported that International Space Station Commander Barry Wilmore was in need of a ratchet socket wrench. “Made in Space” is the company who supplied a 3D printer that is installed in the ISS. They heard about this and set about drawing up a solution on their CAD machine. They emailed the drawings up to the ISS and Commander Wilmore duly printed out a useable wrench!
    Upload; Download. A phrase that is used in our industry to describe the remote connectivity and programming of an alarm panel; comprised of a remote signalling device connected to a data network and software loaded onto the users PC that manages the panel configuration.
    All sounds pretty simple but more complex in communication terms, especially when using low bandwidth data networks such as dial-up PSTN or 2G/GPRS. Indeed its not just the communications networks that are the problem. For the designer of a signalling device there are many challenges, especially where hardware is concerned.
    The vast majority of installed panels have a PSTN dialler capability and this has been seized as an opportunity to use what is commonly termed “Dialler or Modem Capture”. In this method the communicator will have an interface that emulates a telephone line, presenting dial tone and line voltage.
    The panel modem “thinks” it is connected to a telephone line. The interface will “capture” any transmission from the panels modem and convert it to a digital signal and transmit over the alternate network. This is usually an IP connection over radio or Broadband.
    Whilst quite “neat” it is a technique that is suited to older panels that do not support a data interface. However there are a number of problems to overcome when designing a dial capture interface.
    Alarms & UDL Combined
    Panels that utilise a PSTN modem for communication cannot transmit alarms whilst a UDL connection is in session. So there needs to be a mechanism where the panel will “tear down” the UDL session if there is an alarm to transmit. This will take time and may add a delay in transmission time that puts the solution outside the ATS delivery requirements.
    Transmission time
    Modems have to “train” with their counterpart modem at the far end of the connection in order to transmit data. This can take a number of seconds and there is an inherent delay before the SPT has processed the alarm through the DCM mechanism and prepared it for transmission. This time delay could also fall outside of the permissible alarm transmission times associated with high-end security ATS requirements.
    Alarm Acknowledgement
    The panel has an alarm to send. It dials via its modem and the SPT picks up the alarm through the Dial Capture mechanism. The SPT will even acknowledge that it has the alarm, so as far as the panel is concerned alarm delivery has been successful.
    However the alarm is still with the SPT. What if the SPT cannot send the alarm because one or more of its circuits are down? How does the SPT tell the panel that the alarm has not gone anywhere?
    In ATS terms, if all routes to the ARC are down, they should know about it when the reporting time has been reached. You can use clever mechanisms like removing dial tone or line voltage from the DCM, but how quickly should this be actioned by the SPT and how should it report to the panel?
    Technology
    Modem design has evolved over many years and is generally handled in “soft modems” these days. Indeed the hardware components are becoming increasingly scarce and in danger of obsolescence, which in turn increases the cost of manufacture.
    The range of protocols both standard and bespoke in modem communication design is vast. The Dial Capture Interface has to mimic a “local exchange” and support a compatible “receiving” capability. The sending of alarms is not too difficult to achieve but UDL is a completely different matter. If you end up with an incompatibility between the sending and receiving modem, the solution simply won’t work.
    Over the years Alarm Panel manufacturers have developed their own transmission protocols in order to provide security and an ability to communicate with their own maintenance software. This means when transmitting data in a UDL session the developer will need to have obtained, understood and enabled the communicator to identify these different protocols in order to utilise them. This is not a simple exercise.
    The real difficulty is coping with all these variants, because if you want a truly generic modem capture that covers all panels then your communicator will have to accommodate a vast library of protocols. This requires memory, and lots of it, as well as processing speed. If you don’t have these in your SPT, then you will end up producing individual comms devices for individual panel manufacturers.
    Serial Data Connection
    A Serial data interface to the panel is my preffered solution. However the designer of the communicator must include a number of hardware interfaces (the most common being; RS485, RS232 and TTL a derivative of RS232) as well as understanding the individual panel protocols.
    One would expect the speed to increase in a UDL session but this is not always the case. Where panels have changed little in their communication techniques over the years we find data buses that still run at archaic speeds. For example our SPT will run up to 115k in the serial bus, but invariably the panel bus is as slow as 9600.
    It is worth noting that some panels suffer from the same inability (as PSTN) to transmit alarms when a UDL session is running when connected to the serial data bus and it is advisable to check whether this is the case.
    Once the integration with a panel is complete one may expect that’s “job done”, onto the next. But that is not the case. Collaboration with the panel manufacturer at the development level is crucial. If either party updates the production software of their device there should be a period when the solutions are tested before release. In reality there are many instances where this may not happen and incompatibilities creep in. Managing these is complex and the development team has to be right on the button to deal with any problems, quickly.
    From my point of view, being able to support both Dial Capture and a Serial bus connectivity should be standard for any SPT. Wherever possible the Serial connection to the panel has to be favoured over dial capture as it is more elegant but less complex and overall more reliable for our critical data applications. Dial Capture will not go away anytime soon but it could be argued that if the panel only supports PSTN, then it may well not be compliant and needs replacing anyway.
  3. jimcarter

    Why 3G?

    By jimcarter,

    Last week I was involved in a product refresh with the senior engineers of one of our UK National security companies. We covered off our new SPT.6 hardware in both its “Pro” and “Mini” versions which was all very nice, but it was the 3G capability of the new devices that drew much attention and I thought it would be useful to share some of the topics we covered.
    When you are in the business of data communications you have to constantly revisit and re-evaluate the old technologies, how they compare with the new and what operational differences there may be. Looking back on my piece written around radio installations I realise that some of what I wrote at the time (3 years ago) may not be relevant to today!
    What is apparent is that the wireless data network is improving with the release of 3G and 4G. Incidentally I saw a development 5G device on the BBC news website last week, its worth looking up. I am not about to go as far as saying that wireless will take over from broadband anytime soon, it will be quite a few years before mobile communications will mirror the last mile resilience and data speeds of a fixed line circuit. But from what I have seen, 3G is enough to consider radio only communications favourably for critical data transmission where circumstances require it and with a potential to reduce reporting times below what we would consider a 2G device capable of.
    Let us take a look at some basic comparisons between 2G & 3G. The switch from analogue GSM services to digital took place in the 90’s or in generation terms, from 1G to 2G. 2G was designed as a voice service with a basic data transmission capability, primarily for text and very limited Internet connectivity. Bandwidth is low but suited to applications where the packet data is small, such as a poll or alarm message in an alarm transmission system. However error correction is quite poor and inefficient and it is often necessary for devices to resend and validate data that has not been correctly received. This can lead to extended download times or a “timeout” to occur where the devices can no longer continue to communicate in the same “session”. This means the communication process has to begin again.
    2G requires the last mile (between the base station and the module) to be stable, reliable and have a very good quality of service.
    3G differs in that the service has been constructed around mobile data operations as well as voice. It came into its own when the rise in smart phone demand exploded. It is a protocol that has vastly improved error correction (less retries and “timeouts”), improved building penetration and at least double the download speeds. Resilience is improved too; a fall back to Edge (2.5G; or the stop-gap between 2G & 3G) and GPRS when 3G is not available maintains data connectivity.
    In operation, 3G (so my Development team tell me) is like DAB radio in that if you have a “signal” (literally any signal) it will work, where as 2G is more akin to Long Wave radio where signal and direction are required to obtain service.
    Translate this into a Security application and we find that our usual indicators are not entirely valid. For example signal strength has been used as a guide to 2G service availability (although not an entirely reliable one). On a scale of 1 to 10, anything indicating 3 or below could suggest a potential problem. In 3G terms, signal strength is meaningless. If the module has a good connection it will work as long as that connection is “up” regardless of signal, whether it be a 1 or a 10.
    How do we survey a site of this is the case? It can be argued that a survey is obsolete in its own right as the device has an ability to intelligently roam between service providers and incorporates a secondary roaming feature that can hop between technologies and frequencies (which makes jamming almost impossible by the way). But there are tools we can utilise and what is even better they are free! The network providers publish coverage maps on their websites. Some include service availability notifications as well. Or there are Apps that you can download to your Smartphone such as “Open Signal”. This App uses data gathered from its users to populate a service coverage map based on actual availability data as opposed to what the operators would like you to believe. It constantly updates, shows local serving cells and the more users there are the better the data mapping becomes.
    Building a next generation mobile data module into a security product has several challenges. Cost is the leading factor. New generations of devices carry a premium and it has only just become viable for WebWayOne to incorporate a 3G module as standard and retain a competitively priced SPT. Migrating to 4G will come but it will be the module price that determines when this will be.
    Next are the changes in software. You cannot simply bolt a 3G module onto a piece of hardware and expect it to work. The Development team have to “tame the beast”, working with the modules design teams; not only to make it work, but to maximise the features that the module can support, for example the ability for the module to manage the SIM cards connectivity to the network.
    Operationally the results are quite staggering. 3G coverage is excellent and the download speeds for a 650K file are 25 minutes on 2G compared to 6 to 8 minutes over 3G.
    Let me provide you with some hard information. I have two test SPTs at home, both are operating in radio only mode, both are configured for a 3-minute reporting time, have the same software and a Telefonica Roaming SIM card installed. I can share with you the comparison over the past month of testing that is revealing.
    My home is a particularly good testing ground as I live in a rural part of Berkshire with very poor radio reception and just two providers available, O2 & Vodafone. Below is the diagnostics I can retrieve from the SPT showing 3G operation on a 900 frequency band with a signal strength of just 2.



    And here are the comparisons in signal strength over the past month (scale 0 to 10 where 10 is the maximum signal). You will see they are very low, generally below 3.




    3G Signal






    2G Signal


    The 2G device is obviously struggling to maintain a connection and since the 22nd November it has lost registration to the core network to all services, whereas the 3G device has been online all of the time. This is reflected in the circuit availability.





    2G network availability for the month is 81%






    3G network availability is 99.79%


    When you translate the availability figures into the number of failures that would have been reported to the end user the scale of the difference is aparent. The 3G device would have reported just 3 fails (of which 2 of these were during tests I carried out with the device), compared to 385 fails from the 2G device.
    I would not advocate rushing out and installing 3G only with 3 minute reporting times or consider replacing broadband devices with radio only. But certainly where longer reporting times are concerned and a landline is not available or impractical then the stability figures we are seeing gives confidence. Coupled with a fixed line circuit, especially Broadband provides an incredibly robust solution.
    Looking to the future, the speeds that are being achieved and the reliability of the circuits demonstrate that high bandwidth applications can access the 3G to. Where Imaging or CCTV is concerned the speed in which you can transmit images to an operator is critical and therfore 3G is a viable backup path to broadband.
    So to conclude. 3G:-
    Supports faster Upload/Download speeds - future applications such as Imaging and CCTV have access to a viable backup network
    Has better building penetration
    Signal strength is not as operationally critical
    Will automatically drop to Edge or 2G if a 3G service is unavailable
    Frequency hopping renders jamming almost impossible
    Global SIM cards provide additional resilience in network roaming
    Additional software controls on the module allow for intelligent roaming (as opposed to letting the SIM card and network operators determine connectivity)
    Network coverage is excellent, before the ability to roam providers comes into the equation

    But remember; it is the GSM module and not the SIM that determines what technology can be accessed.
  4. jimcarter

    What We Do....

    By jimcarter,

    Interesting that the Risco cloud service was disrupted by a problem with the Microsoft Azure cloud service and so I thought this would be an opportunity to describe what we as Alarm Transmission Service providers (ATSP) “do” and how we got here.
    An ATSP is not just about providing a piece of hardware that attaches a fire or intruder system to a network. It’s also the receiving equipment at the ARC, redundancy and resilience of that equipment, the provision of suitable SIM cards for radio network coverage, technical support for engineers in the field and for the ARC operation, disaster recovery when networks fail and continued development of systems and processes to cope with network evolution and new services.
    WebWayOne began trading as a designer and manufacturer of data communications equipment in 2000, before the company evolved into an ATSP and right now I think I can be bold enough to say it’s in the top 3 in the UK in terms of connections as we approach 50,000 in number. Of those top 3, we are the only one to have our own hardware and software development team and retain all manufacturing within the UK.
    Our core team came from a company called Controlware. A UK subsidiary of a German firm that the team ran from the early 90’s through to 1999 when we sold our share back to the parent company. But we kept the UK development group who were designing ISDN based communications equipment, which included a terminal adapter called a “WebWay”. In those days the Internet and World Wide Web was in its infancy and the only way to get on it was to use dial-up technology.
    Dual path transmission was nothing new to us as at Controlware. Through the 90’s we had been providing leased line backup services for blue chip Finance and Network providers to ensure their data networks kept running and we practised remote maintenance and diagnostics on this equipment to. So it was quite a shock when we realised that the Fire and Security Industry did little of either and was clinging onto out dated data communications using PSTN and modems.
    It was quite an achievement for our small team to win the contract to supply the National Lottery with ISDN terminal adapters for 30,000 lottery machines and the management platform to maintain the operational system. We also supplied Vision Systems (now Xtralis) with ISDN TAs for Adpro Fast Scan, VU and Trace products before broadband became widely available. BT RedCARE was “the brand” at the time and we incorporated the AIMs protocol into our ISDN terminal adapters and became the largest supplier of ISDN equipment to RedCARE.
    But then, as now, we were looking to the future and we could see that Broadband and radio services would become the norm and we set about building an “IP” based ATS. RedCARE were not interested, wishing to stick with PSTN and cast doubt over the reliability of Broadband whilst the BT parent was selling and promoting the service to Businesses and you and I alike. We were flabbergasted, but we decided it was time to go our own way.
    2005 saw the first major roll out of an IP based ATS when we delivered a system to Dixons. It is still in place today.
    As for today we have 30 employees covering Product & Software Development, Production, Sales & Marketing and Technical Support. We have operations in Scandinavia, Europe and recently Australia.
    Looking after these systems is a huge responsibility and building in redundancy and resilience to cope with the type of system failure that Risco experienced is just part of the day job. As is providing a level of technical excellence and expertise that takes problem ownership away from the on site engineer. Our support team are 7 in total and they have to understand not only the way our hardware operates, but also how it interacts with 3rd party equipment that we have integrated into the ATS. So that means documenting and learning the programming and troubleshooting of our partners’ equipment.
    Identifying trends in network behaviour through support often leads to discussions with the network providers. In providing a SIM card with a device that supports radio is not just about cost or service availability. It’s also about support and operational considerations. WebWay have in excess of 40,000 SIM cards in operation with Telefonica. That gives us huge experience and breadth of knowledge in how the radio network operates and is evolving. More importantly it means we are engaged at a very high technical level that has (in the past) lead to us identifying problems with network delivery that Telefonica have taken note of and fixed. They have reciprocated in providing us advice and guidance when we are developing software that maximises the use of the roaming capabilities of their SIMs whilst not disrupting the network or causing problems elsewhere.
    Having our own developers is a huge asset. It means we can react very quickly to add in new features to the product range in both hardware and software terms. We were the first to roll out large IP/Radio based ATS services, the first to introduce integrated remote diagnostics and UDL support over the ATS and we have become the first to deliver 3G as a standard service for the radio path. But we don’t stop there and the exciting thing about having a development team is to turn ideas into reality and then deploy and see them in operation.
    From an Operational perspective I am certainly proud of the fact that we are a privately owned UK company that is able to manufacture technically advanced telecommunications equipment at home in the UK and at competitive prices. I do not foresee this situation changing any time soon.
    So being an ATS provider is not simply about making a printed circuit board that fits into an Intruder or Fire panel, that’s just one small part of the equation. It’s about service delivery from the protected premises right to the ARC. Future proofing our systems through strong development and innovation keep us ahead of the competition whilst ensuring that operational systems are robust and ready to cope with the worst that can be thrown at them, and then recover gracefully. I almost forgot adhering to Standards, but that’s another story.
  5. jimcarter
    I recently read that the rise in mobile connections is growing at a much faster rate than landlines. It was suggested that mobile comms have been proven as a replacement for a landline connectivity and this trend would continue. I think this is a huge generalisation.
    Let me take a typical household. There are 5 mobile devices in my home and one Broadband circuit. I would suggest that my families’ use of the available networks is fairly typical in that when at home (or at any opportunity), they automatically connect their mobile device to the Broadband circuit.
    Why?
    The broadband is faster and more reliable than the radio path, and they do not begin to rack up the data useage on their SIM. We are “naturally” using the reliable fixed line path by default and the radio as the “backup” when we cannot connect to Broadband.
    Familiar?
    Yes; a vast number of us with Broadband at home do just that, and with the rise of wireless access points in public places, getting connected to Broadband at the earliest oppertunity is (dramatically) on the increase. In business, from SME's to large corporates the trends in usage are the same Wired or wireless connectivity to the LAN and a Broadband delivery to the office for their critical data applications, with mobile devices used primarily for voice but capable of data backup connectivity when needed away from the office and wireless LAN connectivity. (at WebWayOne we have 2 Broadband lines and approx 25 mobiles)
    Alarm transmission is critical data and therefore a predictable and reliable network is desirable. If there is a fixed line available it should be utilised for alarm transmission. PSTN is still available but it is expensive (I was quoted 26p just to set up a call recently) and increasingly the older modems are exhibiting intermittent faults due to the changes to the core network.
    Broadband has become the natural successor to PSTN for data transmission across the globe and in all manner of applications and therefore if it is available it should be the default alarm transmission path.
    Radio is a perfect back-up for Broadband and partner for PSTN. It is a truly diverse network but it is a more unpredictable network over the last mile (from the gsm module to the base station). The radio networks are evolving and getting better all the time but the number of mobile devices in the field puts massive pressure on the radio network from a contention perspective. 2G as a network technology will come under pressure from the consumer’s appetite for 3G & 4G data and so will become more suited to non critical data applications. 3G & 4G is already becoming the norm for critical data backup and a solution that is capable of utilising any provider and any technology
    Many used to (and still try to) suggest that an IP based network is hampered by IT departments taking down the network out of hours to carry out maintenance. The same argument can be applied to radio (or any network for that matter). As the radio network evolves to 3G & 4G the operators perform maintenance and upgrades to their systems resulting in loss of service for the duration.
    When do they do this?
    At night, when the vast majority of us are tucked in bed and a time when property is most at risk.
    The unpredictability of the radio last mile means that 2G radio as a monitored alarm transmission network is not best suited to the shorter reporting times associated with high security installations, but can lend itself to the lower grades when it is used in isolation. 3G on the other hand has far better error correction and building penetration that lends itself to more stringent monitoring and data transmission. However, because we are looking at critical alarm data, radio only installations are best suited where access to a fixed line, predictable network is not available.
  6. jimcarter
    For those of you not connected to either me or Chris on Linkedin, I have reproduced our SPT.6 release text here...
    Today we're solving the price performance problem that plagues installers of monitored connections.
    "Cheap products are attractive, but can lock us into old retiring technology. The lack of productivity features make the end user ask for lower prices, squeezing our margins. Buying cheap means we end up paying twice to get out of the problem."
    To break the cycle we took a different and radical step two years ago. We said that to escape low margins and customer dissatisfaction we had to change technology and the way the signalling supply chain operated.
    Our new products and services are the culmination of our fifteen years in the security communications business, the result of a twenty four month development program and fourteen years man effort, designed to change the way you sell and manage security signalling. You can buy them on line today.


    3G roaming across our radio signalling range
    We are IP signalling and our goal is to connect every security system to IP (broadband or radio) technology to deliver better solutions. We're the market leader in IP signalling by far. We provide you with products that can use PSTN, but we've enabled every one with IP technology on board for when you want to switch. From a pricing point of view we're not referencing any of the legacy analogue providers. We've built our model based on the cost of the new equipment and how much it costs us to run and continually innovate our systems. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
    we've invented a new single path signalling category
    The products and services we are releasing today are the most technically advanced on the market, built to last for innovative installers. They are not "light" or "air" versions of what went before, they are not a re-spin of legacy technology. They are totally re-engineered for performance, memory, power and reliability. Designed to do more for you and save money. We've even invented a new category of single path signalling with Recovery Channel for the most reliable and lowest operating cost of any digi replacement service.
    your own private alarm transmission service, on line
    The new devices are accompanied by your own on line service WebWay World. WebWay World is specifically designed for users that are mobile. As the owner of an installation company you and your engineers are always on the move and need the tools at your fingertips to manage your service. WebWay World uses the power of smart phones and tablets to enable you to order, configure and manage WebWay signalling wherever you are. It's your own private window on your alarm transmission system with detailed diagnostics and alarm history.
    more reliable than a cumbersome centralised NOC
    WebWay World get's the detailed information about your sites from our distributed receiving architecture. Distributing host servers is more scaleable, secure, reliable and more responsive to local users than a cumbersome centralised Network Operations Centre. We've built out an architecture of servers in the UK, Spain and Australia to service clients around the world.
    What's new?
    3G roaming as standard
    The biggest update is our move to 3G roaming for all devices which use a radio path for signalling. With a fifth of the UK (and a similar situation abroad) having poor mobile coverage, our new devices off the broadest radio footprint of all. Your devices now have access to all local operators and their 3G, EDGE and GPRS services. Benefits include an enhanced cellular footprint, improved indoor signal, faster transmission and UDL speeds, reduced congestion caused by Smart Meters and other M2M devices and increased protection from jammers. We're the first and only signalling provider to offer 3G roaming as standard. You can check other providers hardware for 3G operation yourself with our handy guide.
    Ready for a verified world
    Unique to WebWay is our integration with IP camera manufacturers and the ability to associate input driven or SIA events with pre, post and trigger event JPEG images. Every WebWay IP signalling device has 2 camera Imaging capability built into the hardware price ready now or for use in the future. Images can be sent over radio in the event of IP failure.
    Improved performance, lower power
    The new devices have forty times greater speed and memory than their predecessors. This means we can handle more security applications, transmit data faster (utilising 3G to the full) and store more on the board (up to 4000 640x480 JPEG images) for a complete audit trail and long lived update cycle. But because we have re-engineered the devices these performance advances come with a 50% reduction in power consumption (to circa 50mA).
    Largest integration library
    We were the first to integrate to alarm panels for SIA and UDL, which means we have the most experience and best relationships with panel manufacturers. We've got the largest range of intruder, fire and camera integrations and this back catalogue is available across the range of our new devices. We support Contact ID, SIA, UDL and RRI over broadband and radio.
    Meet the devices
    Smart. The smallest, smartest dual path signalling device.
    Smart replaces our G-Series devices. Smart has a new mini footprint of just 89x107mm and is available in 3G/PSTN (with IP on board) or IP/3G formats. You can select from a 18 Input version, Modem Capture and Serial or just serial bus connected range of devices.
    Go Plus. The first of it's kind. Single path signalling with unique Recovery Channel.
    Go Plus IP uses broadband as the signalling path. But if power, equipment or service fails the 3G roaming Recovery Channel is active to enable you to send alarms and diagnostics. Go Plus is upgradeable to Smart dual path signalling at any time.
    Go Plus PSTN uses 3G roaming as its signalling path but monitors the local line voltage and dial tone of the telephone line for faults or cuts. The site won't miss a thing if the intruder is likely to attack the line before entering the premises rather than jam the radio path. Go Plus PSTN is the real digi replacement solution by identifying PSTN attacks and using the radio path for signals and UDL at the lowest ongoing cost.
    Go. Our single path signalling solutions with the lowest ongoing fees.
    Go IP and Go 3G are based on the same mini hardware as Smart but with just one path activated. Go IP transmits alarms over broadband and provides UDL and Imaging. Go 3G has all the same functions, but has IP ready on board.
    Communicator Pro. The ultimate integrated signalling platform.
    We've updated our larger format device (the Communicator) too. Its the same size as its predecessor, but has additional expansion capability. It has the same fast processor and large memory as the Smart and Go ranges, but physical data connections are increased from 2 to 3 and there is USB on board too.
    There's so much more we could tell you about the benefits of our signalling devices and WebWay World, but we'd like to do that in person. To find out more contact us, we're here to help.
  7. jimcarter
    A number of WebWayOne Support calls are related to radio service delivery at the protected premises and there are common issues and solutions that I am sure will be interesting to the forum that are not just related to our services.
    Happily radio service throughout the UK is very good from all of the providers, but we know there are locations where this is not so. My home is one. Stand in the drive and I can get voice and data to the handset, walk in the house and service is almost non-existent.
    There a number of factors that affect service delivery. The most obvious is the local serving cells, where they are located in relation to the handset, how many are available, and indeed what services they support. But then there are the contours of the land, the construction of the building and where the SPT (Supervised Premises Transceiver) has been installed within said building. With regard to the last point, the location of the SPT within the premises is the most common cause of radio signalling issues. Many support calls establish that the SPT is installed next to the Intruder panel, in the basement of the building. I often ask during my training sessions, “would you go into the basement of a building to make an emergency call”. The answer is always “no”, so why should an Intruder detection system be treated any differently?
    There is a solution to this issue. Alternative antennas are available and despite the inevitable loss of effectiveness in relation to the length of cable run some can be installed up to 20M from the SPT. These antennas are often referred to as “High Gain” and a common miss-conception is that aerial “boosts” the signal. This is not normally the case. The Antenna does provide some improvement, but its “special” qualities are that it can cope with the longer cable runs that allow it to be placed some distance from the GSM module. It is not unusual for a support call to determine that whilst a site with poor radio reception has been fitted with a “high gain” antenna, the aerial remains bolted to the wall next to the SPT with the cable coiled neatly underneath and there has been no noticeable improvement since fitted.
    Another common miss-conception is that the antenna has to be located inside the protected area. This is simply not the case. The NSI advise a common sense approach. If the client has purchased a dual path system all means of providing two communication paths should be investigated. It is obviously preferable to install the aerial in the protected area but if service remains inadequate then an external mounting is allowed with alternate means of protection deployed by making the aerial inaccessible.
    What if someone attacks the aerial when externally mounted? Monitored systems should be checking the radio interface every 10 seconds with a reporting time of the interface failure relevant to the Grading of the Alarm Transmission System (ATS). This will include signal strength checks and whether the on board radio module is operating and can register to the base station. Therefore an attack on the aerial or an attempt to locally jam the radio path will be detected rapidly.
    Where the SPT has a serial interface to the control panel the SPT can be located away from the panel. For example, an RS485 serial connection to a panel will allow an active cable run of many meters. Therefore alarm systems located in a basement can remain in place whilst the SPT can be moved to a position closer to an external wall. Obviously this will require a cable to be installed, but there is a legitimate case for additional charges to install a working system.
    Signal strength Indications and Site Surveys are commonly relied upon as a good representation of Service Availability. However this is not entirely correct. We are often asked what the minimum signal strength we would recommend before installing alternate antennas etc (WebWayOne devices indicate signal from 0 – A, (where A = 10, the maximum strength)). There is no clear answer; one has to combine the signal strength indication with circuit availability before you can come to an informed decision.
    The Signal Strength and network registration indication is picked up from the base stations located by the SPTs gsm module. However this does not mean that data can be transmitted any further than the base station or that the module has successfully registered onto the GSM network. It is only the transmission of live data to the receiving end and a successful acknowledgement that the data has been received that can provide a true indication of circuit availability. A good example of this is cell overloading, which is indicated to your handset by three sharp tones. You will have good signal and your mobile is registered to the cell, however the cell is congested and unable to complete the call. This demonstrates that simply checking local signal and registration is not a guarantee that communication can be established.
    The more frequently you monitor the radio interface and send data end to end (poll) the more accurate your statistical analysis of circuit availability becomes. At WebWayOne we monitor the availability of all of our circuits constantly, and poll both the interface and the circuit (end to end) very frequently. Our statistics show that both the fixed IP paths and GPRS paths do indeed provide very stable communication platforms with average availability figures of 99.8%. Where GPRS is concerned, these statistics can be obtained on systems that average a signal strength of 2 (on a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 the being the “best”), whilst we have some locations that have excellent signal (higher than 5) that have a circuit availability of below 95% (which equates to just over 18 days of circuit downtime in a year!).
    Site Surveys have a place, but they simply provide the surveyor with a “snapshot” of the signal at the moment he carries out the test. Engineers often mention that a survey was carried out and the location of the SPT provided, but come the actual day of commissioning the system there is no mobile service available! It is within the last sentence that one word stands out as the source of the confusion; “mobile”. As users we are used to walking and driving about with our mobiles. We occasionally use them and for the majority of the time we can hold a full conversation without interruption of service. Driving about we notice service disruptions more, and we tend to get to know where the “black spots” are. However our SPT is screwed to the wall, it is not mobile and it wants to communicate all day long with the local base stations and consistently send data (polls) to the receivers. Refer back to my scenario at home. Occasionally my phone will suddenly gain service whilst indoors and I receive a call or a text message. Indeed I have been able to hold a full conversation via my mobile whilst in my kitchen, but more than often the call will fail. Now if I were a Surveyor taking a reading at that moment, I may decide that I have good signal and the location for the SPT should be the kitchen? Some locations are not as bad as my home, but the problem is the same although not as acute. The mobile reception is (as we discussed back at the beginning) influenced by many factors, even the weather and the seasons and not to mention the times when the network providers take down their service (usually in the early hours of the morning when we are tucked up in bed and not using our personal mobiles). But remember, the SPT should be trying to communicate, whatever the time of day.
    The differences between voice and data services invariably have engineers confused. GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communications) is the global term for radio services. Running over the GSM network are voice and data services. WebWayOne SPTs utilise the GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) data service for all communications, this is effectively an IP based service, the voice network is not utilised at all. Therefore, the fact that an engineer is making a voice call from a premises and he has adequate signal does not mean that the GPRS data service is present or can be transmitted reliably.
    Human beings have the ability to listen and make some sense of broken voice transmissions. However data services have limited powers of deduction. A device sending data over a network requires a response to every data transmission it sends. If it does not receive a response it will continue to send the same data for a number of re-tries. There will be a defined number of these before the device ceases to resend the information, known as its “time out”. Therefore electronic communications equipment requires a much more stable network connection than we humans need in order to exchange information.
    Roaming, or World SIMs will clear up the vast majority of issues by providing access to multiple provider networks. However the considerations I have provided here remain the same and indeed there may be some sites where there no coverage at all can be gained.
    WebWayOne Command Centre software is utilised by our 1st Line Support. This provides accurate statistics with regards to network service availability, signal strength and registration. Where IP / GPRS is being utilised the radio status indicators from the site are updated every 30 seconds. Therefore the historical data and statistics that are available to Support are very accurate. Command Centre is available to Installers and End Users to.
    In conclusion, radio, and GPRS in particular is a solid medium for the transmission of alarm information when associated with a secondary path via a fixed line. GPRS with PSTN back-up has a place but utilising the PSTN network brings in a number of limitations where polling and shorter reporting times are required. IP/GPRS provides enormous capabilities. Frequent polling, identifying failures within the tightest reporting times, providing accurate circuit availability figures and fault diagnostic capabilities that our industry has never had before.
  8. jimcarter
    It’s already been a long week having travelled to Leeds for an hour long (but very productive) meeting that spanned 8 hours in the car and plenty of time to think. No peace for the wicked as it is off to Helsinki tomorrow to meet with our partners ISS. I make no excuse to mention that we are currently replacing an old “National” PSTN based RedCARE type service for IP/GPRS. Domestics, SME’s, Corporate’s they’re all in there. The estate is already over the 3000 site mark and growing by several hundred systems per month.
    However, Certification and regulation has been on my mind this week. Now, I realise that many forum readers are in the “Un-regulated” sector of the market but even so, I think regulations and certification can help this sector as well as the “regulated” market. I meet with many installers of all sizes, and I think in general there is a good grasp of technology and a keen interest in things new. In my world, (Signalling) I think there is a lot of miss-information, but lets leave that alone for now.
    I read a post that suggested our UK market is over-regulated and that the rules were written for the sake of rules. I disagree. All of our European counterparts rely on the EN standards and prefer to recommend products that have been certificated. I think that where there are a number of different products or services available to an installer or client, the ability to specify something that has been independantly certified gives added value and credence to the advice that as a supplier you are providing.
    Just today I read a superb piece on info4security that described some of the positive aspects of regulation and certification. It is by Carl Gibbard who is MD of Concept Smoke Screen. The comments made are very comparable to my own experience of signalling regulation and the negativity around IP based systems. There is a link at the end of this piece.
    So whilst on this, you may have noticed that my company has just been acredited with LPCB approval for Fire. All well and good, and we are very pleased with this. However it is the forthcoming LPS1277 Certification (currently in Draft ) for Intruder Signalling that for me is the most eagerly awaited. LPS1277 is not new, and indeed in the past signalling providers have met and used this as their benchmark with regards to insurance approval. Their documentation relates to it, and their arguements against IP based systems have been based on lack of insurance approval etc. This is about to change, and it would appear, so too have the attitudes of analogue signalling providers to this accreditation scheme and the signs are that they are revolting against it. I wonder why?
    Finally, I read another comment regarding IP based signalling over PSTN. The “gist” being that Inspectors who have over 10 years experience specifying systems to clients based on risk still prefer and advise PSTN over IP. In my lifetime, and in particlar experience of telecommunications over 10 years (and more!) I have learned that experience is transitory. You should never stop learning and adding to your experience bank. A blind faith in old communications technology is a little like clinging to the railings of the Titanic, as she slips below the cold surface of the Atlantic and still firmly believing she is un-sinkable.
    Link to Carl Gibbard’s piece:
    http://www.info4security.com/story.asp?sectioncode=9&storycode=4126757&c=1
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.

  I accept