AddSecure: Extreme Weather Forecasts Highlight Need for Robust Alarm Signalling
AddSecure warns that the predicted El Niño event, likely to cause a stormier UK autumn, increases the risk of single-path alarm signalling failures. Dual-path systems combining IP and 4G are recommended for resilience.
AddSecure is advising alarm installers and Alarm Receiving Centres (ARCs) to review signalling resilience in light of forecasts predicting a significantly stormy and wet autumn in the UK, driven by an El Niño weather event. The Met Office has indicated that the developing El Niño could be the strongest in living memory.
The primary concern is the increased probability of severe weather, which can disrupt power supplies and communications infrastructure. AddSecure highlights that systems relying on a single communication path, such as solely broadband IP or cellular, are vulnerable to failure during such conditions.
"Disruption to a single communication path, whether it's intermittent broadband or a mobile network outage, can prevent an alarm from reaching its ARC," stated AddSecure. The company advocates for dual-path signalling, which utilises both IP and 4G cellular networks, to ensure continuous alarm monitoring.
The ongoing switch-off of traditional PSTN and ISDN lines presents a concurrent reason for installers to update their systems. AddSecure suggests that these necessary upgrades offer an opportune moment to implement redundant signalling paths, enhancing overall system reliability against potential weather-related disruptions.