Security Sales & Integration October 2021 - 31

There's more guidance ahead as Sheffey is
joined by five other experts. They are Alula Senior
Vice President of Product and Marketing
Dave Mayne; DMP Vice President of Marketing
Mark Hillenburg; Johnson Controls Global
Director of Marketing Jeremy McLerran;
Resideo Sales Director, Security Mike Maher;
and Telguard President George Brody.
What is your sense of where most alarm
dealers and the industry at large sit
today regarding the 3G sunset?
Dave Sheffey: We are still finding dealers that
have not begun to replace radios. In the past,
AT&T started shutting down towers well in
advance of the sunset date and continued to do
so well past the end date. Many dealers believe
they have more time than may truly be available,
as AT&T is claiming a hard date on the
end of 3G. If that were to actually happen, I
believe there would be a lot of accounts that
would no longer have a communication path.
Keep in mind there are a lot more 3G radios
installed now than there were 2G radios.
George Brody: It is really a mixed bag. Some
dealers started early in upgrading customers to
LTE technology and are ahead in the game, but
others are lagging to meet the February 2022
date. Certainly, COVID-19 has been a big part
of delays in upgrades since it was very difficult
to get into homes and businesses for a good part
of 2020. And currently, chip shortages affecting
just about every industry is compounding the
issue of getting all the security and life-safety
systems changed out of 3G.
There is a tremendous amount at stake for the
security and life-safety industry and their customers
that may be extremely harmful and even
deadly. Unless equipment is upgraded on time,
the 3G sunset will have an impact on tens of
millions of people in millions of homes, businesses
and government installations due to a
loss of central station alarm protection service.
Mike Maher: Based on what we're hearing from
our security dealers, many have fallen behind, in
large part due to the pandemic, which kept dealers
from getting access to their customers' homes.
Based on the past radio sunsets, many expected
to be behind at this point - but they are just
much farther behind. In addition, dealers are focused
on new account growth and new business,
which can take the attention off other areas, such
securitysales.com
OCTOBER 2021 Security Sales & Integration
31
as radio swaps. For some dealers, radio swaps are
performed at a financial loss and bring no additional
recurring revenue, which can further push
this project down the list of importance.
What is at stake here is critically important,
first and foremost: these are life-safety systems,
and there is the possibility of bad outcomes if
they stop operating. Secondly, our industry's
lifeblood is the revenue generated for delivering
monitoring services that could be disrupted
as the 3G technology sunsets. Dealers will see
higher attrition levels over the next two years,
during the AT&T and Verizon sunsets, if they
don't have a plan.
In what specific ways has the pandemic
impacted progress, and what are other
top dealer impediments?
Mark Hillenburg: The pandemic seems to have
slowed some dealers down, with less access to
customers' premises. Yet others have used the
time to make great gains toward the project. It's
hard to say what has caused this other than just
the local situation or the attitude of the dealer
themselves. Other factors that have come into
play include the availability of labor and components,
the effectiveness of the marketing upgrade
message, and the automation or software
the dealer has applied to the project. Are they
dedicating people? Are they opening a ticket
for every site that needs it, and replacing radios
when trucks are nearby?
Dave Mayne: One thing the past 18 months
has taught us, specifically about business opWhat
is at
stake here is
critically
important, first
and foremost:
these are lifesafety
systems,
and there is the
possibility of bad
outcomes if they
stop operating.
- Mike Maher, Resideo
Napco's StarLink Communicators
are designed to be easy
and quick to install in minutes.
They are low current draw, so
they eliminate the need for
extra power supplies. StarLink
Fire Communicators additionally
eliminate using extra
conduit for installation.
COURTESY OF NAPCO
http://www.securitysales.com
Security Sales & Integration October 2021

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