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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Sound the alarm bells: 10-digit dialing snag
Companies may not receive some signals
Homeowners with automatic alarm systems might be in for a rude wake-up call Sunday when 10-digit dialing arrives in Manitoba, telecom and alarm companies warned Friday.
The phone company's recorded message about the new 10-digit dialing system could trip up automatic calls for alarms and fires.
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"The risk is clearly that we may not receive a signal at our monitoring stations and we may not be able to respond to any event that happens," AAA Alarms vice-president and general manager Randy Williams said.
"That could be a break-in, a fire alarm or carbon monoxide," Williams said.
However, the risk of a lost alarm call is a threat for less than 100 Triple A customers, he said.
"We've been trying to reach all our customers and I'd say 99.9 per cent are (upgraded)," Williams said in a conference call with an MTS spokeswoman Friday.
As of Sunday, callers are still able to dial a seven-digit phone number and have the call completed.
But they will hear an automated message explaining the change and instructions on how to successfully complete a 10-digit dial.
That message may trip up automatic calls to alarm companies that still use seven-digit calls. The risk is the recorded prompt may interrupt transmission of the vital calls to alarm monitoring stations.
The change is being implemented as part of a permissive dialing period until Oct. 20, when the 10-digit system takes over in Manitoba for good.
Triple A works closely with MTS Allstream, which identified the risk of dropped alarm calls two years ago as a priority.
Triple A and MTS started in 2010 to send letters and make calls to more than 25,000 customers, warning them to book a service call to upgrade their fire and alarm systems.
Other alarm companies gave much the same story Friday but they didn't have spokespeople available for comment.
In some cases, customers already have systems that dial into a 1-800 number, which is 10 digits long. They're already covered for the change.
Some companies, including ProTelec Alarms, offer customers phone instructions to update their systems without the need for a service appointment.
Some customers inevitably will get caught by the change, one technician warned.
"There's going to be a lot of people, mostly lower-priority residential customers, who are going to be at risk. Hopefully those people will know who they are, when their keypads start beeping," the technician said.
Now that the deadline is a day away, people are scurrying to upgrade their alarms, he said.
"I've been scrambling like you won't believe, going all over the city today," the technician said.
Alarm glitches were a problem in Vancouver, when British Columbia went to a 10-digit dialing code in 2001.
So this time, the Canadian Numbering Administration notified alarm companies early.
The administration represents cellphone carriers to ensure the smooth transition of 10-digit numbers.
"Alarms were an issue in 2001 when we did the 604 in Vancouver," said Glenn Pilley, the Ottawa spokesman for the numbering administration. "We make sure the alarm companies are notified... They've known right from the beginning."
If your keypad starts beeping, the best thing to do is call your alarm company. Ask them to waive service-call charges if you need a technician to make the changes in person.
"We try to get the message out as much as possible so there are no big surprises," Pilley said.
alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 28, 2012 A13
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