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Technology Overview
Phone Communications
UCC utilizes 100% fiber optic phone lines for all incoming/outgoing local calls and outgoing long distance. UCC has fiber routes coming into two points in the building. These fiber optic routes are simultaneously connected to a self-healing Fiber Sonet ring to the Time Warner Central office for phone service. If UCC’s fiber to the “hot” phone company central office were cut, all calls would instantaneously be re-routed through the redundant routing to the central office through the redundant back up fiber connection.
For UCC’s incoming long distance services, two dedicate T-1 circuits to accept all incoming 800 traffic. The Primary and Secondary T-1 circuits are setup in a hunt group for over-flow backup to each other. In all, UCC utilizes a combination of five PRI’s and two T-1’s for phone service. UCC has point-to-point PRI’s direct to Houston, Austin, and Dallas / Fort Worth allowing for local calling in these major metropolitan areas. There are no associated long distance charges for telecommunications to those cities. The company has been very careful to procure the most reliable communications network possible.
UCC utilizes an Inter-Tel Axxess phone switch and Atlas 500 Adtran units for incoming voice and receiver call distribution as well as all outbound voice and data traffic. This is a very robust phone switch. The switch utilizes NT technology for redundancy and automatic fail over to the back up server processor in the event of a primary failure. This fail over takes approximately 30 seconds to take place. In addition, UCC installed a Voice Print digital phone recorder, which integrates directly with the phone switch. This device digitally records all the phone lines in the central station and customer service departments. All conversations are saved to DVD disk for archiving, and recorded conversations can be emailed to our dealers.
Receiver Technology
UCC utilizes the state of the art receiver technology with the Surgard System III Virtual Receiver. With virtual receiver technology, the need for the old individual hunt group scenarios which limited the number of calls to be processed by the receiver is eliminated. The big benefit of virtual receiver technology is that it dramatically increases bandwidth efficiency to receive and process alarm transmitter messages through it’s smart memory capabilities. The virtual receiver remembers the last handshake protocol used to communicate with each alarm panel based on DNIS and/or ANI/Caller-ID. The receiver will then presents this handshake protocol first the next time the alarm transmission from that specific panel is received, thus reducing the time it takes to process the alarm transmission and allowing many more signals to be processed. The virtual receiver provides for up to twenty-four lines per receiver unit.
The increased bandwidth ensures that alarm communicators will get through to the receiver. As its account base grows, UCC will continue to add more paths for answering. There is ample room to grow into the available bandwidth.
Another big advantage of UCC’s virtual monitoring is the ability to recognize multiple alarm formats on one phone line. The Surgard System III can receive almost every format in the industry on just one phone line.
In addition, the Caller I.D. received from an alarm transmission is delivered through to automation and logged to the history of the account. In this manner, our dealers can see the Caller I.D. of an alarm transmission when they view the account over the Internet.
UCC can also monitor over the Internet using TCPIP protocols. UCC has Internet monitoring available utilizing the following TCPIP protocols over the Internet. DSC / Surgard TLink TL-250/350, the DMP TCP/IP receiver, the GE OH2000 TCP/IP receiver line card and the Ademco Alarmnet 7810 IR receiver that communicates with special Ademco control equipment.
Automation
UCC currently utilizes DICE automation. DICE is widely recognized in the alarm industry as the leader in central station automation technology. UCC’s DICE system provides alarm dealers, and potentially their customers, with DICE Aegis Internet access. The DICE Aegis program is extremely fast and allows dealers access to their account bases to review history, print reports, to add new accounts, and to make changes to existing accounts. In addition, dealers can view live traffic screens for their accounts. Through DICE, UCC can provide dealers with remote technician access via the DICE voice response terminal (VRT). Through the VRT, dealers can place accounts on test and retrieve history with no operator intervention. Dealers can also utilize WAP enabled cell phones to place accounts in test and instantaneously view test signals over a live traffic screen.
In March of 2006, UCC moved to its new state-of-the-art 14,000 square foot central station facility . The company continues to rent approximately 1700 square feet at its old location and this space is designated as the company’s backup central station. The back-up central station is located across town (approximately eight miles) from the company’s new facility. The back-up central station is equipped to allow operators to remotely receive and process alarm signals should the need arise.
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