Alarm Industry Hopes FCC Will Tell AT&T to Delay Feb. 22 3G Sunset

AICC understands AT&T needs to sunset its 3G network to grow its business, and the alarm industry has tried to meet the deadline, John Brady, consultant and spokesperson for the group, told us. “As the entire world found out, we got a curve ball thrown at us” by the pandemic, he said. “We were all unable to get into the facilities to transition the radios from 3G to 4G,” he said. This year, as work started again, companies had supply difficulties because of the global chip shortage, he said. “We’re not going to make it,” he said of the deadline.

More than 6 million alarms need to be changed and most alarm companies were willing to do so at no cost to consumers, Brady said. Changing personal alarms alone, used by the elderly to call for help if they fall or face a medical emergency, will cost an estimated $50 million, he said.

Verizon delayed its 3G sunset until the end of next year (see 2103300043), Brady noted. “AT&T has stood hard on their decision” to shutter the network in February, he said. “Lives at stake, there are going to be people that will not be able to be protected going forward because we can’t get all the equipment to them,” he said.

“Like others in the industry, we plan to end service on our 3G wireless network next year,” an AT&T spokesperson emailed: “This will help free up spectrum to better accommodate next generation technologies and services. These plans have been in the works for 3 years, during which time we have been working with our customers and business clients during this transition.” The FCC declined comment.

Alarm industry executives said they're hopeful the FCC will act on the petition. “The commissioners themselves are impacted,” Daniel Oppenheim, CEO of Affiliated Monitoring, told us. “Their parents have medical alert systems,” he said: “They go to work in buildings with fire alarms and live in homes with security alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. This is not an esoteric issue. It is easy to understand and the consequences are real.”

Before the pandemic and supply chain challenges, “upgrading or replacing the millions of systems communicating over 3G was a tall order for the security industry,” Oppenheim said. “For most of the COVID pandemic, it has been extremely difficult or even impossible to enter consumers’ homes to replace 3G enabled equipment,” he said: “Then, when the worst of COVID passed, our industry was confronted with immense supply chain difficulties limiting the ability to obtain 4G equipment.”

The issue “for the industry as a whole is the inability to receive emergency signals reliably and quickly at the monitoring stations, who in turn notify fire departments, police departments and other emergency providers,” Ralph Sevinor, president of Wayne Alarm Systems, told us. “With the need for safety and security, this important link failure resulting from a rushed AT&T shutdown would be catastrophic,” he said: “Saving lives is important to us. From a business perspective, it will create erosion of customer relationships built over decades, and we care deeply about these relationships.”

Most customers aren’t aware of the sunset, Sevinor said. He cited the kinds of problems that will occur for a fire detection system in a high-rise building. “Without cell service, the fire alarm signal cannot reliably be delivered to the monitoring center and subsequently to the fire department,” he said: “Delays in the dispatch of emergency responders increases the potential for loss of life or property damage. Delayed responses are going to occur due to a premature carrier shutdown.” He's hopeful the issue will resonate with the FCC because of the risks.

“Unfortunately, it has become clear that the AT&T-imposed deadline cannot be met by the alarm industry due to the time lost during the ongoing COVID pandemic,” the group said in a May petition, posted by the FCC last week. “The alarm industry has had great difficulty … accessing protected premises in order to replace the 3G alarm radios, because most consumers and businesses are fearful of letting strangers into their homes or offices during COVID.”

Other roadblocks include “installer unavailability due to illness with COVID, quarantine after COVID exposure, or the need to take care of loved ones,” staffing difficulties during the pandemic and pandemic travel restrictions, AICC said. “The global microchip shortage and supply chain issues further hinder alarm radio replacement efforts,” the group said.

Initial comments are due at the FCC Aug. 30 in docket 21-304, replies Sept. 14.