by Ana María Restrepo Franco
This type of communication is based on the transmission of electromagnetic waves, which are emitted by antennas in all directions in order to reach the points where there is a receiver that requires the information.
The first indications of wireless technology were given when James Cleck Maxwell postulated electromagnetic waves during the year 1860 in England, 20 years later, in the same country, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz demonstrated the existence of such waves and later the invention of the wireless telegraph by Guglielmo Marconi, who was given the first patent for wireless communications in 1896; since then hundreds of wireless technologies have been developed that are now implemented in computing, entertainment, communications and security.
These wireless networks have satisfied the connection needs of users in distant points, managing to put aside the limitations of space and time, and allowing the location of systems anywhere.
In the field of security, wireless communication has been positioned in the transmission of data from different systems such as CCTV, access controls and alarms, and it is in this last system that we will base ourselves in this article.
Alarm systems
Alarms are passive security equipment that, although they do not prevent or prevent an intrusion if they warn about a break-in in a company, a business or a home.
These elements, provided and monitored by a private security company, are connected to a monitoring center that receives the alarm signals either by telephone line, a GSM/GPRS line, TCP/IP, Internet or by radio frequency.
All these forms of shipping are used today, however wireless are the most handled. To talk about the trends, the present, and the future of wireless alarms, VENTAS DE SEGURIDAD spoke with three experts in the field, José Cuperman, sales director of PIMA Electronics Systems Ltda. For Latin America and Spain; Carlos Araujo, technology coordinator of Eltreoppar/PPA and Roberto Acosta, engineering manager of Syscom.
As if by magic
We could say that for our ancestors the transmission of information without cables is something magical, moreover, any technology of the moment can be seen by them as something unreal and that perhaps it is nothing more than the dream of some mad scientist; however, many years ago wireless transmission systems coexist in our time and space.
At present we find innovative systems such as cell phones or the Internet, which also allow wireless transmission by GSM / GPRS or Internet-WiFi respectively. Both technologies are used by monitoring centers to receive information from protected sites in urban areas or where there is coverage from cell phone operators. According to Carlos Araujo, one of the advantages for monitoring centers that implement GPRS transmission is that they can make use of the wireless network of cell phone companies, so that the company does not incur additional infrastructure expenses.
Likewise, it states that wireless sending provides greater security at the time of transferring the data, since there are no cables that can be cut and as such, it allows monitoring without borders, that is, a company can cover customers in Kuala Lampur from Mexico City based on the web.
New wireless technologies present challenges and opportunities for alarm monitoring companies, because as they state in Electroppar/PPA, they have the challenge of keeping abreast of all technological transformations, having to make investments in equipment, technology change, training technicians and vendors; However, this challenge brings as an opportunity to be at the forefront of the solution, stand out in the market by offering a differential and adding value to the service provided to the client.
The devil knows more by old than by devil
A few years ago, many industry professionals considered that both telephone and radio frequency transmission were sent to collect, however both forms continue in force in the current era, being implemented and used, as well as preferred to monitor certain sectors and places.
Radio frequency was the first form of wireless monitoring that was carried out in the world, this, which is based on a digital transmission on radio frequencies used by the VHF and UHF bands, allows alarm signals to reach the central in 0.6 seconds safely, in addition to representing lower costs for users according to José Cuperman.
Regarding the implementation of the other means of transmission such as GSM / GPRS and IP, radio frequency continues to operate in the world of alarms satisfactorily. According to José, this type of wireless sending of signals to the plant is present and moves very well. "I think it will continue to be the future for many years; the reason is because with radio frequency the monitoring station is the owner of its own communication infrastructure, they do not depend on anyone, the frequency is theirs, the radios are theirs, the transmitters and the equipment". It also states that companies that transmit by GPRS or IP depend on the company that provides the service, whether cellular through the GPRS channel or the Internet company that provides the addresses.
In the same way, Roberto Acosta believes that in Latin America RF continues to be used with very good acceptance and with very good sales.
Cost position
For many professionals, radio frequency incurs more costs for the monitoring company because it must have the radio antennas to be able to transmit, while for GSM / GPRS the companies use the infrastructure of the cellular operator; however that depends on the country and the area as Cuperman explains: "for example in Mexico there is a spectrum of frequencies that are free to use, so the monitoring companies are using them and that is a cost that they are avoiding, what they do depend on is that in some cases when a lot of coverage is required is to put repeaters and a base radio, which is not worth much".
Roberto believes that the prices of the new systems are higher for end users. "The costs to transmit by GPRS are high and on the Internet many times the providers of the companies do not reach to cover all the spaces. When you have a system via GPRS the client is forced to pay a monthly fee for the service, then you have to pay two services, the monitoring of the alarm to the central and the fee to the cell phone company that in the case of Mexico would be an approximate of 100 pesos per month. "
New market niches
The development of society has allowed all wireless technologies to be available in cities to provide users with a wide portfolio of services where he chooses, according to his needs, what is best for him.
In cities, IP and GSM networks provide a service with a very good level of coverage and high speed, advantages that are taken advantage of by monitoring companies to provide their customers with the implementation of new technologies in their alarm systems.
These forms of wireless transmission work with great acceptance in metropolises, but what happens when a client wants to monitor their country house in an area where the Internet, cellular networks or phone line does not enter?
The answer is very simple, the monitoring company uses radio frequency to provide this service, which works excellently when the geographical area is flat, because you can have very good coverage with one or two repeaters.
In some cases the radio frequency is limited by topography, especially in Latin America, where there are areas with high mountains or valleys, for this repetition points are then used that allow to take the radio frequency coverage to what is needed, so that companies cover sites that were not reached before. Roberto says it's important for end users to know that security can reach anywhere and that there are technologies to take them anywhere, such as RF and to the other side of the world via the Internet.
RF and its DOFA matrix
Like all data transfer systems, radio frequency has advantages and disadvantages, strengths, threats, as well as challenges and opportunities for monitoring companies.
For Cuperman and Acosta the advantages of RF are presented in terms of low costs, high transmission speed and less inconvenience, since it is a low-maintenance network, has no problems, is safe, easy to install and maintain, you can transmit the number of alarms you want, you do not depend on a third party, the monitoring station is the one that solves the problems and can cover the blind spots where the cell companies do not reach.
As disadvantages are found few. By RF it is not possible to cover great distances as by IP, because you can not monitor alarms from one country from another, also the transmission speed is not as fast as that of the Internet (when the network is not saturated), although the events reach the central precisely to be able to take action on the matter.
As for the challenges and opportunities, these are presented for the manufacturers of the panels in relation to IP and GPRS technologies, because although the telephone line continues to be handled as primary, the equipment must be prepared to support interconnection with TCP / IP or GPRS, either of the same brand or that the devices accept to interconnect generic transmitters. On the other hand, devices that also transmit by RF are prepared to connect by IP or GPRS.
Another challenge for radio frequency is the power that the Internet has reached and the developments that are being carried out in that matter, because as Roberto affirms the coverage of the network will be much wider with the passage of time, however today it is more expensive to use this technology than the technology vi to radio communication.
Future of the new and the not so new
Although the Internet and cellular telephony were not born five or ten years ago, if they are developments that have been implemented in the security industry for a short time and as such in Latin America their use presents inconveniences due to the shortcomings of the region in terms of infrastructure, in addition to the unfavorable topographic characteristics.
These aspects, unlike the new wireless technologies, are not a problem for radio frequency, since it has a good transmission infrastructure in all the countries of the area and the problems caused by the topography are solved by installing more repeaters. For example, in Mexico and Colombia hundreds of rural sites where cellular, IP and telephone networks do not exist are monitored and monitored by RF.
Cuperman believes that in some Latin American countries IP networks are not one hundred percent developed and lack maturity, as well as believes that there is a lot of saturation in GSM / GPRS technology, and that there is no good coverage, although it also indicates that this depends on the country and the cell phone company that gives the service.
Jose says that due to this saturation problem, events can be lost and / or arrive late at the monitoring center, which means that if for example there was an alarm signal (theft) or a panic signal, it can not be attended to immediately. In addition, "RF is a technology that has been working well for many years, in the present it is fine and I think that will be the future linking it with other types of technologies," he says. He also thinks that currently IP transmission works and adapts very well at the enterprise level in LAN and WAN networks, especially in companies that are self-monitored as in the case of banking and financial entities, shopping centers, seaports, closed housing complexes, industrial estates among others. In the case of residential monitoring, culture and maturity are still lacking.
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