Business and entities which utilize alarm, intrusion, building automation, industrial control, HVAC, coin-operated/vending equipment, equipment status, and other failure/fault notification hardware (including legacy or older systems) which do not have a means to access to Internet - or which require a backup alert channel when their internet connection is down- can now send text, SMS/MMS, voice and other immediate alerts to multiple users/devices using the Interpage Alarm Messaging System (AMS). No new equiptment, software, or programming is required; the Interpage AMS service acts as a processor, scheduler, and gateway to send alarm, alert, status, or any other messages to any number of devices, destinations, and on-call staff/emergency response recipients, without needing to invest in new equipment, systems, or software upgrades, and saves the monthly costs of a dedicated internet connection.
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Alarm & Coin-Op Messaging System Overview
The Interpage Alarm Messaging System (AMS) functions as a conduit for alert, status change, and other notifications for alarm, equipment-monitoring, HVAC, coin-operated, and other automated systems and similar devices and services which lack direct connections to the internet, which require a fail-safe backup in the event on an internet outage or downtime, or where supplying an internet or other more robust connection is cost-prohibitive or for some other reasons unfeasable.
The AMS system integrates with a wide variety of alert and monitoring equipment systems, building automation systems, and industrial control equipment from many vendors, including Johnson Controls/Metasys, Trane Building Controls, York Heating and Air-Conditioning Systems, and many others, to provide a robust and redundant notification regime to alert from one to hundreds of recipients of status changes, alarm conditions, alerts, and other situations requiring monitoring or immediate attention.
The Interpage AMS service will accept alerts via multiple methods: Modem-based alpha and text messages utilizing the TAP/IXO protocol supported by many monitoring equipment providers, Touch-Tone only (DTMF) messages and commands such as Coin-Op devices and car-washes, or via an Interpage-provided dedicated phone number (with opional Caller-ID screening) which requires is triggered when called (with no need to TAP or Touch Tone entry), and send received alerts directly to cellphones/SMS, pagers, E-Mail, fax machines or via text-to-speech voice to any voice telephone worldwide.
The AMS service facilitates the integration of alarm boxes, call-center notification equipment, coin-operated car washes, laundry facilities, automated factory and plant equipment monitoring devices, and any other system or service which sends out alerts via older technologies (such as DTMF/Touch Tone, TAP/IXO, or pre-recorded messages, etc.), with current messaging technologies such as text messaging, SMS/MMS messaging, e-mail, fax and text-to-speech/voice notification. At the same time, older devices, such as numeric-only and alpha pagers are also supported, allowing for a more diverse and redundant alert notification regime without the added expense of new equipment and the maintenance thereof.
For entities which have dedicated internet connectivity to plant and equipment, Interpage's Alarm Messaging Services are of particular use when a given office, site, or building's internet connection is down or otherwise fails, and the AMS allows servers, equipment, and/or alarm systems an alternate path utilizing regular phone lines to send out status messages, emergency alerts, and other messages to first responders, on-call staff, or other personnel immediately, bypassing the internet, to allow for a rapid response. For companies and entities which use a Voice-over-IP phone system, the Self-Dispatch services may be used to notify repair staff via a non-VoIP phone line that an outage has occurred and requires attention to restore telephone service to offices or buildings with VoIP telephone service.
The AMS service also facilitates multiple recipients and the scheduling of recipients based on time, day of the week, and/or the urgency of a given alert, based on the content provided therein.
Interpage's AMS service can be an effective tool to reduce overhead and equipment costs as well as expenditures to continuously update software and equipment by acting as a distpatch hub for alert messaging, capable of connecting to all end devices (cellphones, e-mail, SMS/MMS, POTS lines, fax, text-to-speech/voice, and alpha or numeric-only pagers).
Customers/subscribers of Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile, Rogers/Cantel (Canada) and other carriers which had previously used their respective TAP (modem) access numbers to send alerts, alarms, and status messages to their cellular phones and wireless devices may seamlessly utilize the Messaging System as a gateway for TAP messages, and may benefit from the additional features (below) which the Messaging System offers in terms of scheduling, distribution, and message filtration. Verizon, ATT Wireless, TMobile, Rogers and other customers may simply delete the discontinued TAP and/or Touch-Tone/Pager access numbers in their systems and equipment which their carriers provided, and replace it with an Interpage AMS access number, and start receiving messages right away!
Alarm Messaging System applications include:
- Integration with nearly any communications device which has telephone dialout capabilities, including via TAP, DTMF/Touch Tone, or Voicemail re-broadcast to multiple destinations.
- Dialout Malfunction/Hangup Call Detection provides alerts even when automated equipment can not dial out or connect to transmit a message. The Caller ID and Caller Name (if available) will still be presented and reported in cases where equipment can dial but otherwise fail to complete transmission of an alert or other message.
- Dedicated Access Number with optional Caller ID filtering: AMS customers may configure their notification regimes based on the number dialed and/or the Caller ID of the caller / automated equipment which is calling. This method of notification may also be used to send out alerts based only on calls to the assigned Interpage AMS number which a customer subscribes to, which can be further restricted so that alerts are only generated on valid Caller-ID matches. This method of access is the easiest to implement as it requires only a phone call (and no further communication) from a person or automated alert system(s).
- Enhances or replaces current notification systems which can only notify one device by allowing multiple devices (cellphones, pagers, email, fax, and voice-only) to receive notification when an alert, status change, or alarm condition occurs.
- Burglar, intrusion, fire, zone/perimeter warning, HVAC/temperature control and other alarm/automated systems which are entrusted to notify first-responders and on-call personnel but lack the hardware and/or ability to connect to the Internet or devices other than numeric-only or alpha pagers may connect with Alarm Messaging Service which functions as a gateway to any numbers cellphones (text, SMS and/or MMS), pagers, e-mail, fax, and POTS voice telephone alerts.
- Coin-Operated and Automated devices, such as equipment in self-serve car washes, laundromats, parking/ticketing machines, beverage and ticket vending machines, etc, can use their existing dial-out capabilities and contact Interpage's AMS service for dissemination to multiple mobile, email, fax, voice and other destinations.
- Verizon, ATT Wireless, T-Mobile and Rogers/Cantel customers who need a replacement for the TAP/modem numbers which Verizon Wireless, ATT, TMO, and Rogers/Cantel have discontinued may use the AMS service as a turn-key solution -- simply change the destination number from that of Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Rogers/Cantel to one of Interpage's TAP/IXO access numbers and your messages will be received just as with the cellular carriers including new scheduling, filtering, and group messaging features which the mobile carriers never offered. (Access for TMobile, Sprint, Sprint MVNOs such as Virgin, Boost, and all other US and Canadian carriers is also provided; messaging to mobile subscribers outside of the US/Canada may incur charges specific to the mobile number being notified).
- An online scheduling utility to control and modify at will where and to whom alarm messages and alerts are sent, by time, day of the week, etc.
- A message and alarm filtering interface to ensure that trivial or non-emergency messages are not transmitted in the middle of the night and only true emergency messages/pages get through.
- A single Alarm Gateway to integrate any number of alarm systems, coin-op devices, HVAC, building automation, industrial control, and/or any other automated notification systems with all your destination devices, such as cell phones via text messaging / SMS / MMS, alpha pagers, numeric pagers, landlines and cell phones via voice (text to speech), fax, and e-mail.
- Multiple sites and/or pieces of equipment may use the same account and messages sent will carry a unique identifier for the sending device, even if the given device is not capable of sending out identifying information on its own.
- Optional voicemail integration to alert more than one device/destination when an important voicemail message is left. Customers may connect their current voicemail provider with the Interpage AMS service or utilize an optional voice mailbox provided by Interpage.
- Access numbers in the US, Canada, and over 100 other countries worldwide enable your alarm or emergency notification/monitoring system to place local calls to notify the Interpage AMS system..
- Saves money and monthly recurring internet access costs for remote equipment which does not need continuous access to the Internet and only needs to send out alarms or status messages as circumstances require.
- Fail-safe backup for when Internet access is down or unreliable, which ensures alerts and status messages get to the desired recipinets regardless of the availability of a operational or stable internet connection. Response personnel will know immediately that equipment and/or an internet link is down and requires immediate attention, and, using the OutVoice voice notification and confirmation service, confirmations of receipt of alerts can be sent back to any number of recipients to keep them automatically updated on the status of the on-call responders.
- Saves money and monthly recurring internet access costs for remote equipment which does not need continuous access to the Internet and only needs to send out alarms or status messages as circumstances require.
Interpage Alarm System Messaging Features
The AMS service offers:
*Access via any modem and/or Numeric/DTMF device, or voice telephone from AMS Voice Dispatch (to multiple voice recipients) from up to 5 distinct locations/telephone lines.
* Connect up to 10 pagers, cellphones or SMS mobiles, 10 e-mail addresses, and 10 fax machines or landline telephone (voice) and/or cellphone numbers to be notified when a page or message is received.
* Schedule and prioritize, via Web-based and/or Telnet access, which cellphones, pagers, e-mails, and other devices receive notification when a page or message is received (or have all of them notified simultaneously), based on time, date, and content.
* Works with any cellular/mobile provider, GSM SMS International mobile, alpha or numeric-only pager system, fax or regular/landline or cellular voice telephone.
* Alarms, status notifications, alerts, and other messages can be immediately sent to one or more e-mail addresses and/or destination devices, such as mobile phones, pagers, fax machines, and POTS/landline telephones
* Worldwide access numbers for local connectivity and no message/toll/unit charges.
* Multiple local access numbers may be combined and/or PINs to message/page the same account; thus a given user may have (for example) a US number, a UK number, and one in Japan, all of which will message a given user's single account.
AMS Services and Pricing
AMS/001: $50 per month, with a one-time $50 set-up fee. Alerts may be sent to up to 20 simultaneous destinations, such as an e-mail address, cellphone, pager, fax, or "POTS" telephone via OutVoice at no additional charge. 10,000 received calls are included per month, after which a $.02 per message charge will apply.
AMS/001-L: $70 per month, with a one-time $50 set-up fee; a variant of the AMS/001 plan with a local access number in a US/Canadian calling area local to your dispatch equipment.
AMS Basic International Plan (001-I): $75 per month, with a one-time $50 set-up fee, offers similar functionality to the Basic/001 plan above but offers access to the Interpage AMS system with local access outside of the US/Canada, eliminating any per-alert toll or messaging charges to the US to dispatch to the AMS system.
AMS Additional Destination Blocks: Groups of 20 additional destinations are available for $25 per month for any annual AMS plan, or $50 per month for month-to-month plans.
General:
Notification/voice rebroadcast to cellphones, pagers, voicemail, voice, fax and e-mail anywhere in the 50 US States, DC, or Canadian Provinces is included in the above plans. Additional per-use charges may apply when messaging outside of the US/Canada (except for email notifications, for which there are no additional charges), please contact Interpage for details.
Note: Customers with old voicemail or legacy messaging/fax servers or systems may wish to consider Interpage's Old/Legacy Voicemail System Integration service, which facilitates internet connectivity and messaging capabilities to cell phones, email, pagers, fax and voice, without the need for additional equipment or software licenses.
Contacts
To receive additional information about Interpage's Alarm Messaging System, please contact us via:
Web-based Support/Inquiry Interface
Telephone: +1 (650) 331-3900, Option 1 during Pacific Business Hours
Interpage Contacts Page
We will be happy to answer any questions you may have concerning AMS and our other messaging services. Last modified 02/04/2024
