Cellular Monitoring Provides a Cheaper, More Reliable Alternative
COMPANY
Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School
OVERVIEW
To increase reliability and reduce cost of fire alarm and security monitoring
SOLUTION
Upgrading the school’s monitoring from Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) lines to cellular
OVERVIEW:
Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School is an independent Catholic school located in Frontenac, Missouri. Villa Duchesne’s fire alarm and security systems previously communicated with the Central Monitoring Station via Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) lines. This required several dedicated phone lines, connected to the systems via the school’s junction box. The wiring in the junction box was damaged by a combination of rodents and routine wear, which caused frequent malfunctions. Service interruptions routinely disrupted the schedule of the school’s maintenance staff both during and outside of regular work hours.
In addition, the grant which previously covered the cost of their landlines lapsed, increasing their costs considerably. After evaluating the cost of both repairing the connection and continuing to utilize terrestrial phone lines, the school turned to Tech Electronics for a solution.
SOLUTION:
By migrating from POTS lines to a subscription-based cellular monitoring option, Tech Electronics stopped the malfunctions completely. The school was able to cancel a total of eight phone lines, leading to substantial cost savings.
“After I visited the site, we discussed whether purchasing or leasing equipment made sense, and determined that the subscription model was perfect for them” said Lauren Behle, Managed Systems Contract Sales for Tech Electronics. “The cost of future equipment replacements or upgrades is covered by their monthly fee, so they won’t ever have to worry about an issue like this again. All in all, their cost savings ended up being around $1,800 per month.”
In addition to eliminating phone lines, the cellular solution also communicates more frequently with the central monitoring station, increasing reliability. Villa Duchesne’s castle-like architecture posed potential signal strength issues, but Tech Electronics furnished additional antennae to ensure quality of service.
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK:
“Tech Electronics is an absolute pleasure to work with. They brought a level of professionalism to every interaction that made us feel comfortable and reassured. They found an answer that made sense for us, and delivered what they promised. -Alice Tuhro, Financial Services Coordinator
“Tech made the entire process simple and straightforward. The install was painless, and everything works exactly like it should. Most importantly, our maintenance guys aren’t being woken up in the middle of the night anymore, so everyone is happy.” -Aaron Kaiser, Technology Supervisor
