atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information VOIP & Alarm system

I moved all of the POTS lines to VOIP a few years ago and really found the benefit of such a move. Out of six lines, two go directly in to the security system(Fire & Alarm) and then back out to the phone system. This has worked fine except for the occasional internet outage which is when the wireless makes sure we are still on the grid. Out of the blue a few months ago the alarm company was reporting trouble on line 1 which meant the auto dialer did not connect for the 2:00am test dial. Line two worked fine. I've had the alarm company here which puts the blame on the internet provider saying the line quality/route was not the same and some packet loss may be occuring. I contacted the internet provider and they assured me that the lines are set up identically. I had the alarm company back and he switched line one and two to see if the trouble would followed. It did. He's now telling me to contact the internet provider and ask about the LATA? I'm in upstate NY and deal with T*** W***** Cable. The trouble is getting through to someone who can actually help. Can someone explain to me what the LATA means/does so I can understand what may be happening? Google provides little more than Local Access Transport Area. Is this a hardware or software issue? What exactly deos the LATA do? The fact that this has worked for so long and that the trouble followed when the lines were switched leads me to believe it is indeed some kind of a configuration problem. Thanks for any insight!

https://www.latamaps.com/Telecom_Maps/Regional_LATA_maps/Mid-Atlantic_LATA_Map_-_Maponics.pdf

Generally, a LATA represents an area within which a divested Regional Bell operating company (RBOC) is permitted to offer exchange telecommunications and exchange access services. Under the terms of the MFJ, the RBOCs are generally prohibited from providing services that originate in one LATA and terminate in another.

LATA boundaries tend to be drawn around markets, and not necessarily along existing state, province, or even area code borders. Some LATAs cross over state boundaries, such as those for the New York metropolitan area and Greenwich, Connecticut; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; and areas between Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Area codes and LATAs do not necessarily share boundaries; many LATAs exist in multiple area codes, and many area codes exist in multiple LATAs.

There's your insight---that will not really help you, however, in finding someone who gives a hoot or knows a hoot. It may or may not have anything to do with the LATA. It may just be as simple as a "1" is not correctly inserted in the number string---or some other number is not quite right. It might take some detective work on your part and a lot of patience.

The good news is that it's not VoIP, just digital voice service from the cable company. Calls are carried via their outside plant back to the their headend switch where it connects with regular TELCO facilities. It's just a big PBX.

As to your problem, your alarm company doesn't know what they are talking about with the LATA nonsense.

I contacted the internet provider and they assured me that the lines are set up identically.

Well, they shouldn't be. You need to check to see that the lines in question (those for the alarms)are configured for digital devices NOT voice. You should have access to your service online via a control panel or dashboard where you can turn on or off features like voice mail in addition to configurations and hunting. Here with Cablevision you are given the choice of provisioning each line for either voice or fax. Choose fax.

Alternately call your cable company customer service and have them do it for you.

If that does not work either it's the cable company or the alarm company changed settings on their dialers.

-Hal

Thank you both for the replies and the "insight" ;-) I will check to see if I have an access to a control panel to see what options are available. Thanks again!

I worked for an ISP that offered VoIP/SIP lines to residential and commercial customers. Depending on the type of alarm panel, we'd have to change how the device is configured by having it pass DTMF Inband instead of Out of Band -- this fixed most alarm communication issues for us, anyways.

This isn't VoIP or SIP. The cable company installs an EMTA ("cable modem") which provides POTS lines for voice and an ethernet port for the internet. The voice and internet have nothing to do with each other unlike VoIP and SIP.

-Hal

I am still of the the mindset that its cable company voice...I know it worked at one time, but you may have a hard time getting this resolved by their "voice" technicians....if they are saying everything is fine on their end.

I agree.

-Hal

Did it only miss one check in?

See NFPA 72.

Any telephone connection to a commercial alarm system must be via a "conventional" (my term) copper POTS connection.

That means, no VoIP, no cable modem, and no GSM.

One approved line must be dedicated, and the second can be shared.

Most AHJ's in my county will not accept an alarm system connected via anything other than two ILEC POTS lines.