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Text service being removed from Eircom Landlines

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    #32
    altor
    Registered Users Posts: 11,640 ✭✭✭✭altor


    Don`t think many would take it up at that price. Maybe a Euro a Month :)

    www.altor.ie



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    #33
    KoolKid
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 24,789 Mod ✭✭✭✭KoolKid


    SpaceTime wrote: »

    The only way I could see them keeping it is if it could be subscribed to?

    Would it be worth say 3.99 a month?

    No charge would be worth it. IP is the future & notifications and access via that path are free.


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    #34
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    IP is definitely the way forward both for alarm monitoring and for the voice network itself too.

    I just think it's a little unreasonable to continue updating a system that's generating almost no revenue.


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    #35
    KoolKid
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 24,789 Mod ✭✭✭✭KoolKid


    I agree entirely.


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    #36
    altor
    Registered Users Posts: 11,640 ✭✭✭✭altor


    SpaceTime wrote: »
    I just think it's a little unreasonable to continue updating a system that's generating almost no revenue.

    Agreed but they will have to give end users plenty of notice before turning off the service.

    www.altor.ie



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    #37
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    altor wrote: »
    Agreed but they will have to give end users plenty of notice before turning off the service.

    Seems to me that's pretty much what they're doing though.

    Fundamentally all telecoms companies are changing at the moment.

    Their entire businesses are being turned upside down and inside out by changing technology.

    If you're a traditional telco like eircom or any of their counterparts in any other country you're moving from a situation where you were a voice telephony provider that provided broadband internet as a supplementary service built on your voice network, to a situation where your voice network's now just an application on your broadband platform.

    Essentially eircom's moving from being a phone company to a pure ISP.

    Same with cable companies like UPC, your TV service is suddenly a supplemental service and the core business is providing broadband.

    Even the mobile industry is going from a situation where it's all about voice and texts, to a situation where voice and texts are just applications sitting on a high speed 3G and 4G data network.

    Effectively the core business of mobile providers is rapidly becoming being a mobile ISP and doing hire purchase agreements on extremely expensive handsets that are basically just portable computers.

    Free IP services like WhatsApp, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts etc are gobbling up SMS traffic. I'd say that technology will probably become obsolete entirely in a very short time or will be adapted into being something else entirely.

    I certainly can't see them charging for SMS messages like they do at the moment. They'll have to be free or almost free.

    So, I can see exactly why eircom are probably going to put the landline SMS servers in a skip at some stage rather than spend money upgrading or replacing them.


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    #38
    deandean
    Registered Users Posts: 2,218 ✭✭✭deandean


    out of interest, how dò phonewatch panels communicate? i always thought they use sms over the land line.


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    #39
    KoolKid
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 24,789 Mod ✭✭✭✭KoolKid


    Its basically information sent over a standard PSTN line.


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    #40
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    They basically dial into the monitoring centre over a PSTN line and send a very short amount of information using a modem.

    Because it's 1 line of data being sent at most, they can use a very simple modem that means you've no need to do all that checking of the line and complicated handshaking that high speed modems used for dial up internet access need to do.

    I'm not sure if the more modern panels use IP over GSM data. They certainly would be capable of doing that.


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    #41
    Seq uence
    Registered Users Posts: 38 ✭Seq uence


    Many of the newer panels would have the ability to be monitored over IP .
    Some monitoring stations are playing catch up when it comes to this.


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    #42
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    There are still a few systems, including alarms and also Sky's set top boxes, that are over reliant on voiceband modems for communication.

    The problem is that there's a huge difference between how a traditional digital PSTN line (i.e. bog standard eircom line) and a VoIP service handle audio. To your ear, the VoIP service may actually sound better, but the compression can be much more dynamic and adaptive than a PSTN line resulting in all sort of chaos for the modem.

    Basically, a PSTN line just samples at 8kHz and with only 8bit resolution using a somewhat non-linear system that's adapted to ensure human voices sound good.
    VoIP and also mobile phone networks can be way more flexible than that but it kills modems that are totally restricted to the PSTN approach to things.

    At this stage, we're at the tipping point where PSTN lines are becoming less common than they once were and IP services are replacing them.

    The alarm companies and Sky would want to seriously catch up! They're lost in the 1990s somewhere.

    PSTN phoniness are rapidly becoming about as relevant as fax machines.


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    #43
    altor
    Registered Users Posts: 11,640 ✭✭✭✭altor


    SpaceTime wrote: »
    The alarm companies and Sky would want to seriously catch up! They're lost in the 1990s somewhere.

    Most systems on the market have other forms of communication so are not reliant on a phone line.
    The relation to this service comes about on older systems reliant on the texting service.
    This thread was set up to make people aware of same.

    www.altor.ie



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    #44
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    Are there any adaptors that might send the SMS traffic through an IP system?

    i.e. some kind of a device that contains a modem and can produce the necessary dial tone and PSTN voice paths to connect to the panel and then transmit the data back to the monitoring centre over IP or that could convert it back to GSM SMS ?


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    #45
    altor
    Registered Users Posts: 11,640 ✭✭✭✭altor


    SpaceTime wrote: »
    Are there any adaptors that might send the SMS traffic through an IP system?

    i.e. some kind of a device that contains a modem and can produce the necessary dial tone and PSTN voice paths to connect to the panel and then transmit the data back to the monitoring centre over IP or that could convert it back to GSM SMS ?

    If you have an older system that relies on the text service then fitting a voice dialer or GSM would be the easier solution. I have not seen any other device that will do what you want.

    www.altor.ie



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    #46
    imitation
    Registered Users Posts: 1,815 ✭✭✭imitation


    Hi Lads, will this affect a HKC GSM - P dialler hooked up to a Securewave 1070 ? Someone was telling me it still use's eircoms system and will be affected.


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    #47
    kub
    Registered Users Posts: 6,528 ✭✭✭kub


    imitation wrote: »
    Hi Lads, will this affect a HKC GSM - P dialler hooked up to a Securewave 1070 ? Someone was telling me it still use's eircoms system and will be affected.

    No it does not,, that unit utilises a mobile phone network so your texts will function regardless


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    #48
    stuartkee
    Registered Users Posts: 297 ✭✭stuartkee


    No as one is a GSM over a mobile network and Eircom is a landline kind of obvious if you think about it


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    #49
    tippgaafan
    Registered Users Posts: 74 ✭✭tippgaafan


    Is the email notification on the Siemens SPC up and running. Will a firmware upgrade be required ?
    fred funk }{ wrote: »
    Yeah, that's the great thing with the DTV having text, voice and CSM.

    Just to put it out there. Siemens from next month will have email notifications via SPC secure.


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    #50
    altor
    Registered Users Posts: 11,640 ✭✭✭✭altor


    imitation wrote: »
    Hi Lads, will this affect a HKC GSM - P dialler hooked up to a Securewave 1070 ? Someone was telling me it still use's eircoms system and will be affected.

    No it will not effect you if using a GSM-P.
    These systems use there own sim card. Nothing to do with Eircoms Phone service.

    www.altor.ie



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    #51
    Darando
    Registered Users Posts: 713 ✭✭✭Darando


    Just came across this thread, never heard about fixed line SMS being phased out as currently don't have Eircom as our service provider on the fixed line so didn't get /probably won't get notice about the seice becoming redundant.

    We sue the fixed line SMS of a SW812 and its very handy feature, so when the service disappears then looks like 2 options really?

    GSM-P unit to exisitng panel

    Replace with a new control panel

    What would the cost for either?


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    #52
    KoolKid
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 24,789 Mod ✭✭✭✭KoolKid


    In the long run upgrading to an IP panel with free apps, free notifications and free remote access would be the cheapest option. As all these services only require an Internet connection you will never be tied to any provider either.
    Just beware of companies trying to sell or over sell you subscription service for these.
    Siemens, Risco and GSD provide all this for free.
    I was pricing a job the other day where the customer was quoted €120 a year just to use an app to connect to the alarm.


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    #53
    gctest50
    Registered Users Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    altor wrote: »
    No it will not effect you if using a GSM-P.
    These systems use there own sim card. Nothing to do with Eircoms Phone service.

    GSM is almost pointless unless it has heartbeat/keepalive

    blocker - 5 dollar :(


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    #54
    KoolKid
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 24,789 Mod ✭✭✭✭KoolKid


    I agree,
    Very frequent polling. Looking into the setting on the new Siemens software you have the ability to set polling as high as you want.


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    #55
    fred funk }{
    Registered Users Posts: 6,827 ✭✭✭fred funk }{


    Darando wrote: »
    Just came across this thread, never heard about fixed line SMS being phased out as currently don't have Eircom as our service provider on the fixed line so didn't get /probably won't get notice about the seice becoming redundant.

    We sue the fixed line SMS of a SW812 and its very handy feature, so when the service disappears then looks like 2 options really?

    GSM-P unit to exisitng panel

    Replace with a new control panel

    What would the cost for either?

    A voice dialler would be your best option.


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    #56
    Zith
    Registered Users Posts: 369 ✭✭Zith


    Spotted this is the Eircom November roadmap document here

    Withdrawal Fixed SMS Service
    eircom are withdrawing the Fixed SMS service as of the 30 June 2015 to all Operators.

    It's on the bottom of page 24 in the November 2014 roadmap doc.


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    #57
    kub
    Registered Users Posts: 6,528 ✭✭✭kub


    Zith wrote: »
    Spotted this is the Eircom November roadmap document here

    Withdrawal Fixed SMS Service
    eircom are withdrawing the Fixed SMS service as of the 30 June 2015 to all Operators.

    It's on the bottom of page 24 in the November 2014 roadmap doc.


    I just received an email from the PSA confirming same.


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    #58
    altor
    Registered Users Posts: 11,640 ✭✭✭✭altor


    gctest50 wrote: »
    GSM is almost pointless unless it has heartbeat/keepalive

    blocker - 5 dollar :(

    Heartbeat/keepalive?
    I take it you are comparing to a polling device?

    www.altor.ie



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    #59
    faolteam
    Registered Users Posts: 1,776 ✭✭✭faolteam


    to people who use this service on there alarm ?


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    #60
    altor
    Registered Users Posts: 11,640 ✭✭✭✭altor


    faolteam wrote: »
    to people who use this service on there alarm ?

    Radio would be the hardest to block.
    Polling devices work by missing so many polls but by the time that happens an intruder may be long gone.

    www.altor.ie



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    #61
    faolteam
    Registered Users Posts: 1,776 ✭✭✭faolteam


    so what would be the best option now


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