ADT goes live with ASAP

BOCA RATON, Fla.—ADT has joined the ASAP to PSAP program, which will cause a positive chain reaction for the program, increasing its prevalence nationwide, according to Jay Hauhn, CSAA executive director.

“We cannot get PSAPs to get excited until we have more centrals online, and we have trouble getting central stations online until the PSAPs are online,” Hauhn told Security Systems News. “There will be a natural domino effect by ADT coming online.”

More PSAPs will come online due to ADT's national presence, opening the door for smaller monitoring centers who use those PSAPs to join the program as well.

Other nationals could start looking at the program, he said. “We expect Stanley and Tyco Integrated Security are on the cusp of starting testing [with ASAP] soon also.”

“It's incredibly encouraging for us to have ADT connect. They have been a huge supporter since the beginning of the program,” Hauhn said. The ASAP to PSAP program first started five years ago.

Hauhn said that ADT has always been interested in connecting, despite expected delays. “When ADT split away from Tyco, there was a rather extensive list of IT projects that had to be performed to facilitate the split, and ADT could not start the ASAP program until that split was done.”

Verifying addresses for ASAP can be an extensive process, he said, and that was a factor with ADT's large customer base.

ADT is currently live in Richmond, Va., with ASAP, but that will spread to other cities, Hauhn said.

ASAP, the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol, is designed to make communications between monitoring centers and PSAPs faster and more accurate. Alarm information such as name, address and type of alarm�is digitally compiled and sent electronically to dispatch centers.