If things go as planned, the home’s service bundle subscription – which can currently include phone, digital television, Internet, and wireless – may get a little bigger. Home control and home security product manufacturers are in an effort to partner with telecommunication companies and MSOs to include their home automation and remote monitoring products and services into established service providers’ bundles. This so-called “Quintuple Play” will bring easy-to-use home control devices and applications into the home, enabling remote monitoring, simple lighting and HVAC control, and remotely-accessed home security.
The New Kid in the Bundle
The total “smart home” has been somewhat late in arriving. High-end, integrated systems are available to the more affluent among us, but the average homeowner is still reluctant to adopt lighting, HVAC, and security integration solutions into the home, despite the fact that readily available and relatively inexpensive products exist. “When it comes to home control, the consumer needs products that are available, affordable, and easy-to-use,” says Mark Walters, chairperson of the Z-Wave Alliance. The Z-Wave Alliance is a collection of home control, home automation, and home security product manufacturers who have adopted Z-Wave wireless communication technology into their products. Walters insists that the products available through Z-Wave member companies – which include devices for lighting control, HVAC control, security, motorized shades, entertainment, and appliance control, to name a few – meet those three consumer needs. The next step is to “engage the consumer, and communicate the value of these services,” says Walters.
The Z-Wave Alliance is of the belief that the telecommunication companies, utility companies, and multiple service operators (MSOs) are positioned to do just that. These service providers are trusted household names, believes Walters, so the added service of home control, remote monitoring, and even smart energy metering, would be easier to sell to the consumer if done through these providers. Walters also believes that it is in the service providers’ best interests to explore this promising new service. “They are all looking for new applications and ways to increase their revenue per customer, in order to keep their customers,” he says.
So what would those new applications be? This might vary from provider to provider. A utility company, for example, might integrate energy monitoring and smart metering to their services provided to the consumer. When a two-way communication system is established between the utility and the home, the company can remotely monitor and read real-time energy consumption, and it can send messages and alerts to the home (and the homeowner) when energy consumption – and thus cost – on the grid is reaching a peak. That alert can come via email or text message, and the homeowner can take appropriate steps by powering down unnecessary appliances or devices, reducing the home’s consumption, thereby saving on bills and decreasing the load on the grid.
For the service providers whose quadruple plays currently include digital television, internet, phone, and wireless, the fifth service in the Quintuple Play bundle could be home control, remote monitoring, and/or safety and security devices and services (sometimes referred to as SMA, or security, monitoring, and automation). The devices would be available through the service provider in the form of a “starter kit” of some sort, with an up-front cost that may or may not include installation. A monthly fee would cover remote access to the system, and – in the case of the security application – professional monitoring.
The Home Security In-Road to the Digital Home
The most likely fifth service in the Quintuple Play bundle will be home security. uControl, a manufacturer of home security and control devices, is currently working with no less than 10 service providers across North America (including Tier 1 companies) on the trial phase of integrating their home security and monitoring products (see tabletop touchscreen below) into the service providers’ current offerings. “Home security will be the first wave for this new service,” says Jason Domangue, VP of marketing for uControl. “With home security, there is an existing model out there, and one-quarter of American homes already have some sort of home security system,” Domangue adds. In the trial phases underway with uControl-partnered MSOs, subscribing customers have uControl’s “TouchScreen” gateway integrated into their home. The wireless device acts as gateway between the Internet, a professional monitoring station, and the home’s security and control devices; it also serves as a control device, enabling touch screen activation and monitoring of the system.
In addition to the TouchScreen gateway, a Starter Kit would include a few wireless door/window sensors and a motion detector. “Start kit prices would be up to the service provider, but we’ve heard anywhere between $100-200, or even free if the customer signs a service contract,” says Domangue. uControl’s product strength comes in its ability to integrate with a home’s existing home security system, and the expandability to include other products that control lighting and thermostats.
On the monitoring side, Domangue anticipates service that adopts the model used by current security giants like ADT and Brinks. “The self-monitoring system is unproven,” insists Domangue. “People are willing to pay to have someone else monitor their home.” To wit, the monthly fee for a service provider’s Fifth Service might cover access to – and control of – the new control and security products through control panels, internet-enabled computer (web browser), and even mobile phone, but it would also cover professional monitoring of the home’s system. If this were the case, subscribers might expect a monthly access and monitoring fee comparable to those of the incumbents, i.e. in the $30-per-month range.
Homes with existing security systems and monitoring service won’t be left out of the new quintuple play opportunities. According to iControl CEO Paul Dawes, homeowners with existing systems who subscribe for home security services through an iControl-partnered can see integration of the new with the old, thanks to iControl’s own wireless gateway, called the “iHub.” “The iHub plugs into the home’s existing wireless and can talk to GE security systems and sensors, Honeywell systems, and Z-Wave devices like thermostats and lighting control devices,” says Dawes. This next generation of home security, says Dawes, brings greater connectivity, simplicity, and security to the home.
A SureWest Thing
One service provider has already taken the Quintuple Play plunge. According to their website, SureWest Communications, a service provider in Northern California, currently offers a remote monitoring service/product package for its subscribers. For $199.99, customers can purchase the Basic Starter Kit, which includes a gateway device, 1 IP video camera, and 1 window/door sensor. It’s not unlike most starter kits offered by remote monitoring companies. In this case, the devices use powerline carrier (PLC) technology, transmitting data and commands over the home’s existing powerlines. The gateway device connects to the home’s internet connection via cable modem and router, and the system enables monitoring and control of the new security system. Monthly monitoring fees start at $9.99/month (or $105.99/year), and an Enhanced Starter Kit is available for upgrade for $375.99, which includes the gateway controller, 1 IP video camera, 1 window/door sensor, 1 motion sensor, and 2 Homeplug PLCs modules, into which lighting fixtures can be connected and controlled.
SureWest’s home monitoring system is expandable. The list of accessories includes wireless thermostats, sirens, and lamp dimmers, which range in cost from about $50 – 100. Higher-end indoor and outdoor cameras are also available to bolster the security of the home. (Disclaimer – Although the SureWest website indicates that service and starter kits are available now, their representative were not willing to discuss neither the service nor the products, which makes one wonder if the company perhaps jumped in too soon.)
Some subscribers may already have access to the Quintuple Play, bundling home security and monitoring or home automation into their internet, phone, television, and wireless services. Others may have to wait until mid-late 2009, when the MSOs and telcos currently partnered with the likes of iControl, uControl, and others make the transition from trial phase to roll-out. We’ll be watching for it with much anticipation.
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