by Ana María Restrepo
The old data transmission systems are ceding ground to wireless systems, which have entered the electronic security industry positioning themselves as the most necessary to transmit in distant or very wide places.
Two or three decades ago, Latin America did not know the Internet and computers were composed of large monitors and towers that weighed tons; today, computers can be taken anywhere, music is heard on small players; wiring allows the link of several nearby points; security video can be sent to cell phones and IP technology allows monitoring and sending information to very remote places.
All these technological advances that have been carried out today are due to the formation and expansion of large companies, the accelerated growth of cities and the phenomenon of globalization, factors that have forced security systems to migrate to other forms of transmission different from those already known and widely used, such as UTP coaxial and twisted pair cables.
In order to review the issue and analyze what is happening in Latin America, VENTAS DE SEGURIDAD spoke with some experts in the sector, who explained how the accelerated pace of life and business needs demand greater speed and quality in the transmission of data.
A key assessment and in which the four professionals consulted agree, is that the coaxial cable, the most used a few years ago, has begun to show a decrease in its applications due to its limitation in distances, its little flexibility due to the width of its diameter and its vulnerability to external interference, so it is being replaced by the UTP.
Distance, speed and quality
In the field of transmission, distances and speed are imperatives that are making the difference between media and transmission technologies. According to Alfonso Arenas, RBtec's support director for Latin America, while some years ago there were means of transmission such as the UTP cable and the coaxial cable that allowed linking places that were between one or 100 meters maximum, today means such as fiber optics or satellite transmissions are used that allow reaching more distant places. However, as he states, "with the global expansion there was the mixture of media and local or global data networks were generated, which make it possible to install a system and monitor it from anywhere in the world."
For his part, Jorge Mario Lenis, project manager of El Fuerte, Seguridad y Vigilancia, believes that the current evolution in electronic security occurs both in transmission systems and in the use of them, which is important because it expands the orbit of communications. The new systems have very short and long response times, they process signals quickly, support the convergence of multiple protocols, and enable the integration of various platforms and security mechanisms.
Regarding cable transmission and the reasons or characteristics that make it continue within the security market, Carlos Leschhorn, vice president of sales for Latin America of Infinova, affirms that this has been the preferred one due to its quality of the images recorded and viewed, but in the same way it mentions that IP technologies and wireless transmissions have been advancing in quality and have dissipated the delays in transmission.
The safest and most used
Physical or guided means of transmission are cheaper and somewhat safer in that environmental and topographical conditions do not affect their operation as is the case with wireless or unguided media. Therefore, some companies in the electronic security industry have implemented both transmission systems to carry mixed video signals and control data, as Roberto Acosta, security engineering manager at Syscom, assures.
According to Acosta's experience, in Mexico there was a change in trend of coaxial transmission systems to twisted pair due to their costs and immunity to interference; even in some applications where the video must be carried over distances of no more than two kilometers, this type of wiring is used. As for the applications where road safety cameras are linked, fiber optics are used, however it is required to have a budget strong enough to support the dimension of the project.
As we mentioned before, business growth and globalization have potentiated the development of systems that break barriers and access places where previously could not be reached by means of a cable. It is important to note that in Latin America these new wireless systems are still under development and that good solutions are found but at a high cost; for example, in Colombia there are good mobile operators that have a good signal nationwide, but these companies have focused their market on the massive use of voice leaving aside other applications of GSM technology that may be less expensive.
For Leschhorn and Lenis, IP technology and structured cabling are gaining more and more strength, so much so that the rise of IP in the security industry brings a change in the configuration of the infrastructures of the facilities and the use of structured cabling class five and six is being increasingly preferred to interconnect very remote places that require a very wide broadband, trunk information, monitor secluded spaces or join information centers in areas other than the local one.
For its part, the telephone line is a secure transmission method that allows you to reach great distances, however it has as shortcomings its slow speed and that is ceding ground to other technologies; but it should be noted that in Latin America the monitoring of alarms is still carried out by this means. Likewise, the radio frequency although it is still used produces service queues that affect the provision of the security service.
Definitely, according to experts, wireless links and cellular networks are the most requested solutions at present because they exceed distances and speed, however both have some drawbacks in terms of external factors such as sight lines, coverage, interference and saturation of the operating band, which prevent a secure transmission of data.
Situation in Latin America
In Latin America, countries such as: Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia are at the forefront of telecommunications, transmission systems and the adoption of new technologies; however, the physical characteristics of the region have been the greatest limitations in the evolution and implementation of wireless systems.
Alfonso Arenas considers that these topographic characteristics did not get in the way of the development of traditional transmission systems, but these same ones are a disadvantage for the transmission of data by means of wireless systems from a point "a" to a point "b", since such systems were designed in countries where the topographic conditions are different and there are not so many barriers.
It is also important to note that in recent years there has been a boom in communications in Latin American countries, where IP and bandwidth transmission costs have been considerably reduced making them more accessible to the general public; so much so that end users are increasingly interested in migrating their analog systems to digital and wireless transmission systems, which can adapt to changes and modifications in structures, as Leschhorn says.
In general, the implementation of unguided media has made possible a globalization of security systems and the monitoring of distant points from the power plants and the reception of the signal in other places. IP technology and the cellular network have also reduced global distances to local distances and introduced speed and immediacy to the essential characteristics of systems for data transmission.
In the future...
When looking towards the horizon of the security industry and its data transmission systems in Latin America, all experts agree on the same thing.
Jorge Mario Lenis believes that IP transmission systems and cellular networks will be used in the very near future. In turn, Alfonso Arenas assures that the migration in the transmission of data to wireless systems is being strong and that when they reach a greater development and lower costs they will be able to displace any wire system.
For his part, Carlos Leschhorn dares to say that the use of IP technology, GSM technology and fiber optics will increase, but he also believes that wireless combined with structured cabling and fiber optics will be the formula for the transmission of video and data.
Roberto Acosta also assured that the data networks will be the ones that transmit the information to both local and distant areas. "When talking about local networks, metropolitan networks or the Internet, practically all applications are covered and if all of them are added that in all of them you can use twisted pair, WLAN systems (wireless systems), microwave links, fiber optics and cellular transmission, then we will have that all the aforementioned means are being applied but in a digital way. This is the future of Electronic Security, call it alarms, access control or Closed Circuit Television."
