Monitoring - NextAlarm/AlarmRelay

Since having my Elk setup for a couple of months now, I'm starting to get interested in getting my Elk monitored via NextAlarm or AlarmRelay. I have an XEP (but no VoIP service). Is an ABN also required?

I can't find any definite information regarding the need of one on the NextAlarm website, but the this page from AlarmRelay seems to indicate that I don't necessarily need one... NextAlarm's site doesn't seem to indicate that they provide Network monitoring, which is where I assume the ABN may be required, but this isn't stated anywhere.

Also, the AlarmRelay FAQ section seems to indicate that they send our a technician for initial setup... can anyone confirm/deny this (particularly for network monitoring)?

I haven't used the XEP exclusively, but I know that both do allow communications via XEP. I used NextAlarm for a while, but am on AlarmRelay now for the pricing of cellular communications.

The initial setup is on the phone, they confirm that your system is communicating properly. I've found them to be very knowledgeable and helpful. Communication with AlarmRelay is directly from your XEP, no ABN required.

standon said:

I haven't used the XEP exclusively, but I know that both do allow communications via XEP. I used NextAlarm for a while, but am on AlarmRelay now for the pricing of cellular communications.

The initial setup is on the phone, they confirm that your system is communicating properly. I've found them to be very knowledgeable and helpful. Communication with AlarmRelay is directly from your XEP, no ABN required.

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Without regard to the cellular pricing, is there one that you would prefer/suggest over the other? If so, could you elaborate?

Hmm, I think so far I prefer AlarmRelay. I like that it's not outsourced - any false alarms can be cancelled directly with the operator that calls and the operator is an employee of AlarmRelay. I felt like NextAlarm was sort of faceless, and the few times I did have false alarms were not canceled in time and the police were dispatched. When I cancelled my account with NextAlarm, I cited that I wanted cellular monitoring and I received a reply that basically said "We have cellular monitoring too. I went ahead and canceled your account."

The disadvantage so far with AlarmRelay is lack of internet account management. Test mode needs to be called in rather than logging into a website and setting/canceling it yourself. Also, changes and additions to zones need to be emailed in along with your account and password. I do have the BoldNet (I think that's the name) account management, but it doesn't really tell me much or give any control.

All in, the customer service is much better, which helps since I'm a DIY'er. Hope this helps.

I put in emails to both companies about 5 days ago with various questions for each. I'm still waiting on responses from both. Nonetheless, GREAT information! Thanks so much for your input!

I can't comment on their pricing, but as long as their CS supports either of the 2 listed units in the XEP firmware docs, you should be OK. They may be using a virtual receiver rather than a traditional unit, so you'll need to ask if their unit has direct TCP/IP integration and emulates the receivers listed.

I received a response from AlarmRelay this morning. Unfortunately, the response (from a Sales Representative) didn't specifically state that they could monitor via the XEP directly (even though I think that's the case), but here is a portion of the email I received:

Internet Monitoring Rates:
1[sup]st[/sup] year of Service:
$8.95/mo. + $35.00 set-up fee = $142.40 total for the year

2[sup]nd[/sup] year of Service:
*$9.95/mo. = $119.40 total

3[sup]rd[/sup] year of Service:
*$10.45/mo. = $125.40 total

I use alarm relay with the xep only, so I can confirm that alarm relay supports it. My big gripe is that they don't do heartbeat monitoring as far as I know, so if the link between you and them goes down, you don't find out until after it comes back up again (when the xeo sends the restore signal)

tadr said:

I use alarm relay with the xep only, so I can confirm that alarm relay supports it. My big gripe is that they don't do heartbeat monitoring as far as I know, so if the link between you and them goes down, you don't find out until after it comes back up again (when the xeo sends the restore signal)

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Thanks for sharing

Nextalarm is basically a clearinghouse for a couple of CS's to offer service to end users while hiding within the cloud. Some of their technologies and methods are definately suspect if you are within the industry. The largest item I've heard consistently is their lack of response to issues/outages from end users. Basically, almost all of the contact with them has to be in E-format.

Does anyone know if a tech on-site is required for the setup of the system? I also understand that they do not do heartbeat monitoring however I was thinking of setting up a system locally (LAN) to verify pings from a server to the XEP and then using an outside server (WAN) to verify the internet is still connected at home. I think Amazon EC2 offers free servers that you could setup a ping script that emails out whenever pings are dropped.