Getting into the House
Technology helps broadband providers participate in the residential game
- By Ravi Sharma
- Nov 01, 2010
Chances are good that your local broadband
service provider will soon be offering home
security and monitoring services along with
bundled TV, voice and Internet connectivity. A convergence
of new network technologies, digital homes
and entrepreneurial security startups has given service
providers an opportunity to wrestle a big slice of the
$6 billion market away from the traditional security
alarm vendors.
uControl has developed a security, monitoring and
automation system designed to be sold and managed
by broadband providers. Following successful trial deployments
in hundreds of homes, the company is set to
announce major deals with some of the nation’s biggest
cable, telco and DSL companies by year’s end.
The SMA system includes a variety of wireless
sensors -- such as motion, smoke and glass-break
detectors, door and window contacts, key fobs and
keypads -- and a touch screen controller that serves as
an alarm system, communications gateway and home
automation platform all in one.
All components are wirelessly enabled using the
ZigBee and IP networking standards. ZigBee is a lowpower
wireless technology that lets devices talk to
each other -- known as machine-to-machine communications
or M2M -- while IP is the network protocol
that powers Wi-Fi networks and Internet communications.
These wireless technologies are critical to the
system’s simplicity and reliability. They’re also a key
reason why service providers are able to get into the
home security game now.
One in four homes -- about 28 million -- already
has a home security system of some kind, with threequarters
of those being monitored by ADT and other
telephone-controlled alarm companies. A majority of
customers typically change or sign up for home security
services only when they move. Yet studies show
that these homeowners tend to call their local cable or
telephone providers first before they even think about
home security, giving these service providers a signifi-
cant marketing advantage.
A simple-to-install wireless SMA system enables
broadband providers to leverage their field technicians,
who already are doing in-home installations of
their broadband and other services. ZigBee technology
means that uControl’s sensors, devices and control
panel automatically self-configure themselves. The
mesh networking feature of ZigBee technology also
can be leveraged, if needed, in the future to extend the
network within and even outside the home.
Mesh networks help overcome interference and
signal degradation in in-home wireless environments.
The redundant paths of mesh networks ensure alternate
data path routes and eliminate any single point
of failure should a node on the network fail.
The uControl control panel serves as the ZigBee to-
IP communications gateway to the provider’s
broadband network, which ultimately connects them
to the provider’s security call center.
ZigBee’s resiliency and automatic self-configuration
solves one of the biggest deployment hurdles
for broadband providers. It also makes maintenance
easier. Sensors and devices in in-home security systems
typically sleep for much of their life and wake
only on activation or for periodic status updates. Zig-
Bee was specifically designed to take advantage of the
low-power requirements of these sleep-and-wake environments.
Consequently, SMA sensors do not have to be wired or plugged into the home’s electrical system, but rather can operate
flawlessly for years on inexpensive batteries. ZigBee technology also is designed to
scale to support up to thousands of devices. This means broadband providers can
easily extend the SMA system with new devices without having to worry about
overburdening the network.
The SMA system also can work with traditional alarm systems that may already
exist in the home, such as Honeywell or DSC products. All the existing
keypads, sensors and peripherals continue to operate normally in conjunction
with the SMA system. This not only eliminates the barriers of resistance for
customers who already have installed systems, it enables them to dramatically
enhance the features and capabilities of their home security system without
wasting their investment.
The technology’s remote manageability is another key capability enabling
broadband providers to enter the market. The SMA system uses Ember’s ZigBee
chips and software. Ember’s technology provides a two-way messaging capability,
enabling broadband providers to continuously upgrade sensors and devices
remotely by simply downloading the software to the control panel, which then
pushes it to the appropriate devices wirelessly.
Any time a wireless technology is deployed to protect the home, wireless security
is a natural concern. Many believe wireless networks are inherently vulnerable
to malicious security hacks and threats. Unlike other wireless technologies, ZigBee
provides strong security capabilities. The ZigBee standard requires a security policy
to be designed into all ZigBee devices. It is based on a 128-bit AES algorithm
and incorporates the strongest security elements of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard,
making it virtually hacker-proof.
Broadband connectivity also gives the system a security and reliability advantage
over alarm systems, which have traditionally relied on some form of telephone communications.
The fact is, the telephone is the wrong communications path for security
systems for several reasons. Telephone lines can be cut. And many homeowners
use only cell phones. SMA provides redundant connections via Ethernet broadband
and built-in GPRS cellular backup communications should the broadband connection
fail. The touch-screen device also contains a 24-hour battery back-up, continuing
to power the cellular backup in the event of a power outage.
And unlike traditional alarm systems, homeowners gain many more options for
monitoring and controlling their home security systems, and can be accessed not
only from the touch-screen control panel, but from their TVs -- through integration
with the service provider’s set-top box -- mobile phones and Web-connected devices.
For example, customers can access their systems remotely via the Web or a mobile
phone to arm or disarm the system, and see the current status of their home. They
can set up e-mail and SMS alerts about events in the home such as a child returning
from school or a window being opened. They can view a historical summary of all
the events in their home and see live streaming video from security cameras.
Perhaps most appealing to service providers is that they can continually add
new revenue-generating services, which can be integrated with the rest of their
bundled services. It also is an open platform, meaning third-party developers can
build products and services that work with it.
For instance, the control panel is a natural integration point for in-home energy
management, home automation, entertainment and home health monitoring applications.
Homeowners can control lighting, monitor temperature settings and
energy guzzling appliances, and set up automated rules to conserve energy consumption.
They also can control music and video devices throughout the home.
And health monitoring features like blood glucose monitors, motion sensors and
pill dispensers can help families keep a watchful eye on the elderly.
With increasing broadband penetration in homes and new home automationenabling
technologies like ZigBee, broadband providers are in an ideal position to
enter the SMA market. The most logical first step in this strategy
is security, since it is already well established, well understood and
ripe for innovation. Once in the home, broadband providers can
use its security platform as a launching pad for a host of new
services limited only by their imaginations.to be wired or plugged into the home’s electrical system, but rather can operate
flawlessly for years on inexpensive batteries. ZigBee technology also is designed to
scale to support up to thousands of devices. This means broadband providers can
easily extend the SMA system with new devices without having to worry about
overburdening the network.
The SMA system also can work with traditional alarm systems that may already
exist in the home, such as Honeywell or DSC products. All the existing
keypads, sensors and peripherals continue to operate normally in conjunction
with the SMA system. This not only eliminates the barriers of resistance for
customers who already have installed systems, it enables them to dramatically
enhance the features and capabilities of their home security system without
wasting their investment.
The technology’s remote manageability is another key capability enabling
broadband providers to enter the market. The SMA system uses Ember’s ZigBee
chips and software. Ember’s technology provides a two-way messaging capability,
enabling broadband providers to continuously upgrade sensors and devices
remotely by simply downloading the software to the control panel, which then
pushes it to the appropriate devices wirelessly.
Any time a wireless technology is deployed to protect the home, wireless security
is a natural concern. Many believe wireless networks are inherently vulnerable
to malicious security hacks and threats. Unlike other wireless technologies, ZigBee
provides strong security capabilities. The ZigBee standard requires a security policy
to be designed into all ZigBee devices. It is based on a 128-bit AES algorithm
and incorporates the strongest security elements of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard,
making it virtually hacker-proof.
Broadband connectivity also gives the system a security and reliability advantage
over alarm systems, which have traditionally relied on some form of telephone communications.
The fact is, the telephone is the wrong communications path for security
systems for several reasons. Telephone lines can be cut. And many homeowners
use only cell phones. SMA provides redundant connections via Ethernet broadband
and built-in GPRS cellular backup communications should the broadband connection
fail. The touch-screen device also contains a 24-hour battery back-up, continuing
to power the cellular backup in the event of a power outage.
And unlike traditional alarm systems, homeowners gain many more options for
monitoring and controlling their home security systems, and can be accessed not
only from the touch-screen control panel, but from their TVs -- through integration
with the service provider’s set-top box -- mobile phones and Web-connected devices.
For example, customers can access their systems remotely via the Web or a mobile
phone to arm or disarm the system, and see the current status of their home. They
can set up e-mail and SMS alerts about events in the home such as a child returning
from school or a window being opened. They can view a historical summary of all
the events in their home and see live streaming video from security cameras.
Perhaps most appealing to service providers is that they can continually add
new revenue-generating services, which can be integrated with the rest of their
bundled services. It also is an open platform, meaning third-party developers can
build products and services that work with it.
For instance, the control panel is a natural integration point for in-home energy
management, home automation, entertainment and home health monitoring applications.
Homeowners can control lighting, monitor temperature settings and
energy guzzling appliances, and set up automated rules to conserve energy consumption.
They also can control music and video devices throughout the home.
And health monitoring features like blood glucose monitors, motion sensors and
pill dispensers can help families keep a watchful eye on the elderly.
With increasing broadband penetration in homes and new home automation enabling
technologies like ZigBee, broadband providers are in an ideal position to
enter the SMA market. The most logical first step in this strategy
is security, since it is already well established, well understood and
ripe for innovation. Once in the home, broadband providers can
use its security platform as a launching pad for a host of new
services limited only by their imaginations.
This article originally appeared in the issue of .