Signals
Vol. 12, No. 18—September 26, 2006
440 Maple Avenue East, Suite 201, Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-4670; Fax 703-242-4675

This issue of the CSAA Signals is brought to you by our sponsor:



Please visit www.hidcorp.com for information about its products or click on the banner above.

Please thank our 2006 CSAA Annual Meeting sponsors: ADI (Exclusive Sistine Chapel Tour); Alert Alarm of Hawaii (CSAA Board of Directors Dinner); Altronix (President's Dinner Dance Reception); Bosch Security Systems (Tuesday’s coffee break); Digital Security Controls (DSC) (Opening Reception wine & beverages); DMP (Key cards); GE Security (President's Dinner Dance Dinner); Honeywell Fire Systems (Monday Coffee Break); Honeywell Security (Italian Countryside Dinner wine & beverages and dinner); NAPCO Security Group (President's Dinner Dance band); Security Industry Association (SIA) (General sponsor); System Sensor (Opening Reception hors d'oeuvres); and Underwriters Laboratories (PSLC Committee & AHJs Dinner).

ACTION NEEDED
To Help Us Get "the Consumer VoIP Notification" Provision
in the Port Security Bill, H.R. 4954

CSAA MEMBERS:

Action required Wednesday through Friday, September 27, 28, & 29!

As Congress approaches the election recess, it seems less and less likely that the Telecom Reform Bill (HR 5252) will secure the votes need to be passed in the Senate. Consequently, we are looking at an alternative strategy to address our "Consumer VoIP Notification" provision.

Recently Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, was successful in getting the Senate to accept a E-911 amendment to the Port Security Bill, H.R. 4954. Under the amendment, a new title was added to the bill named, "Title X IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety." The provision requires the FCC to issue regulations regarding access to IP-enabled voice service providers within 90 days.

Because alarm systems are an integral part of the Emergency Service Response network and help to insure public safety, the alarm industry believes that the inclusion of our Consumer VoIP Notification provision should be included in order to help insure public safety.

The bill is now in a House/Senate Conference, which probably won't be resolved prior to the lame duck session. However, we are urging you to call key House and Senate Conferees on the Port Security Bill this week and urge them to include our Consumer VoIP Notification provision, which was included in both the House and Senate versions of the Telecommunications Bills H.R. 5252.

Talking points:

  • The Senate version of the Port Security Bill, H. R. 4954, has included an Internet Protocol-Enabled Voice Communications Emergency 911 provision that is designed to ensure that rules are put in place for Emergency Internet Protocol-Enabled Voice Services.
  • Burglar and Fire Alarm systems are an integral part of the Emergency Response Public Safety Network.
    Unfortunately, when consumers elect to utilize VoIP phone service, they often inadvertently disconnect their alarm systems, which are dependent upon traditional land line phone service.
  • Both the House and Senate Commerce Committees have recognized this is a real problem and have included Consumer VoIP Notification provisions in their versions of the Telecom Reform Bill, H.R. 5252.
  • Because your constituents' lives, health safety, and property are at risk if they install VoIP phone service and don't test their alarm systems, we urge you to include the alarm industry's Consumer VoIP Notification provision in the Port Security Bill.

Under the provision included in both the Senate and House Telecom Bills, VoIP providers are required at number activation and if they install VoIP phone services (most consumers are self-installing VoIP phone service) to:

  • Tell the consumer that if they have alarm services they need to test their alarm system;
  • Tell the consumer that if they have alarm services they need to contact their alarm monitoring company; &
  • Tell the consumer that they need back up battery power to insure that their alarm system will work in the case of a power outage.

While we are pleased with the above provisions, the industry understands that most consumers are purchasing VoIP installation kits from consumer electronic stores and self-installing the systems on their own. Thus, we urge the Conferees to include the same notifications in the packaging instructions that accompany the equipment sold directly to consumers.

Below are some links of interest that you can forward to your congressman and senator to provide them with the background materials they will need to help support our issue.

1. A list of key conferees who need to be contacted

2. A copy of the Chairman Stevens amendment to the Port Security Bill, H.R. 4954, "Title X IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety."

3. A copy of the amendment we would like to see added to the Port Security Bill which would includes not only the notification at installation and number activation, but also the requirement that the same notification be included in the packaging instructions that accompany equipment sold directly to consumers for self-installation.

4. A one-page discussion paper on the VoIP issue.


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