Cox, partners test home security system in Vegas

Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001 | 11:22 a.m.

Cox Communications and a Texas company have begun testing a home security system in Las Vegas that delivers information over the cable network and will enable users to look in on their homes remotely via the Internet.

William Glasgow, chief executive officer of Austin, Texas-based @Security Broadband Corp., said if tests and improvements are implemented as planned, the system could be available to consumers in a year.

The @Security system incorporates existing technology in one of the fastest-growing segments of the home security industry -- video monitoring with the use of a cable television system's broadband backbone.

"Our view is that we're confident of the platform and we're curious to see the different ways people will use it," Glasgow said of the test, which involves 85 Las Vegas residents. "Some are interested in it to look in on their pets, some check up on their kids. Everyone has a different thought process as to why they would want to look in on their homes."

The security system uses the broadband capability Cox already has installed in its Las Vegas network to transmit real-time audio sounds and video images that can be accessed through an Internet site.

"Las Vegas is a great market to test this," said @Security Chairman Jerry Lindauer. "Cox has great technology and great demographics for us to run the test."

@Security's system incorporates some of the traditional home-monitoring technology available -- window, door and motion sensors with microphones that trigger alarms -- but its audio and video capabilities also will give law enforcement agencies the opportunity to verify a problem and prevent a false-alarm call.

That, said Steve Schorr, a vice president with Cox in Las Vegas, is probably the greatest feature of the @Security system.

"In a meeting we had with law enforcement personnel in Las Vegas," Schorr said, "one of the things they all agreed to is that with the audio and visual verification that comes with the system that those calls would be treated as a 'crime in progress.' That's a huge step.

"If the law enforcement agency sends somebody out to the home for verification, it's to check an alarm," he said. "Under this system, the police can hear the cracking glass and see the intruder in the house."

Another feature of the system is that when an alarm goes off, the cameras and sound system automatically record what is occurring in the house -- giving police an audio and visual record of events.

@Security said recent studies show that about 99 percent of home-alarm calls are false alarms.

"Current home security systems use phone-line technology, which limits the ability to provide anything more than automatic calls to the police," Glasgow said. "The result has been unreliable service, an unacceptable high false-alarm rate, increasing police response times and growing skepticism about the effectiveness of home security products."

Glasgow said pricing hasn't been determined, but based on preliminary estimates, he said cable systems should be able to offer the product for about $30 to $40 a month. The cost of installation also hasn't been determined, but some elaborate installations can cost hundreds of dollars or as much as $1,000, industry professionals say.

The price, he said, could be influenced by the number of cameras installed in a home. The test homes in Las Vegas are using three cameras; he said it's possible the system would be offered with a single camera with price increases for additional camera coverage.

Glasgow also said he envisions the possibility of cable systems offering the home security system as part of a bundled package of services that would also include the cable entertainment system and high-speed Internet access.

He said the Las Vegas test already has given his company some experience with the installation process and interviews with the 85 consumers testing the product will allow the company to further refine features.

Founded in June 1999, @Security last month struck partnership deals with Cox and seven other cable operators representing 50 million homes in the United States, Canada and Europe.

In addition to Cox, cable participants include Comcast Corp., Adelphia Communications Corp., Coditel, Cablevision Systems Corp., Charter Communications, Rogers Communications Inc., and Shaw Communications Inc. The companies did not disclose the amount of their investments in @Security.

The @Security cable partnerships isn't the first operation to use a cable television system to transport images. The technology, introduced five years ago, was successfully marketed by several companies in 1999 and 2000.

"A lot of them started popping up last year," said John Mesenbrink, a staff editor with Security and SDM magazines, home security publications geared to consumers and industry professionals, respectively. "The industry seems to be running pretty strong now."

Other companies that provide home-security applications on cable systems and on high-speed digital subscriber lines include RemoteVideo.com, Irvine Calif.; iMonitoring.com, Mountain View, Calif.; Eyecast Corp., Herndon, Va.; and PlanetCCTV.com, San Diego.

Local home security companies say they can install comparable video monitoring systems using telephone lines.

Sprint, the dominant local telephone provider in Las Vegas, offers digital subscriber line service in most of its service area and the company's lines have been used for video monitoring systems.

The company hasn't announced any alliances with home-security companies and a company spokeswoman said today there are no immediate plans to introduce service.

"The marketplace dictates what products and services Sprint provides and if there is a demand for this kind of service, Sprint is going to meet that demand," said Detra Page of Sprint in Las Vegas.

The Greenspun family, which publishes the Las Vegas Sun, is a minority owner of the Cox cable system in Las Vegas.