Housing
Home Alarm Service
Who may benefit?
Anyone, of any age, can benefit from having a home alarm installed. Whether you live alone, with family or with a partner, an alarm call can provide peace of mind, security, reassurance and independence.
How does it work?
In order to have a home alarm installed you should have a working telephone socket with an electrical outlet close by. The alarm consists of a small piece of equipment that attaches to your telephone line and electrical socket and a portable radio trigger. The trigger can be worn as a pendant on a neck cord, or on a wrist strap, according to preference.
People with severe physical disabilities are not excluded from having the home alarm service. A special adaptation to the trigger that needs only the lightest touch to activate it can be fitted. It is possible to connect the home alarm directly to an environmental control system for people whose movement is exceedingly limited.
If the caller is within hearing distance of the alarm she or he will be able to talk to the operator and explain what is required. However, even if the caller is not able to hear or speak to the operator, action will still be taken to ensure that the caller is safe and well. The action taken under these circumstances will be agreed with each customer at the time the alarm is installed.
How do I apply?
If you are interested in having a home alarm installed the housing support advisor can provide you with a free demonstration without any obligation. Please contact the Home Alarm Service to arrange a convenient time, request a Home alarm demonstration or download the Home Alarms Leaflet. The appointment usually lasts for an hour.
Is there a charge?
Charges are from 2 June 2022.
The Home Alarm Service costs £57.00 per quarter (plus VAT if applicable).
There is a one-off installation charge of £42.00 (plus VAT if applicable).
For further information on the Home Alarm Service, please contact us.
Analogue to digital switchover
Analogue to digital switchover
If you are currently a home alarm service user where you can get help from Rushcliffe Borough Council by pressing your pendant (help button), there will soon be some changes to the technology we use. This will not affect how you access the 24hr emergency help from the Rushcliffe Borough Council’s monitoring provider Tunstall, but it will change some of the equipment you have.
Why is the home alarm service changing?
By 2025 telephone companies in the UK are switching off analogue telephone services and replacing it with digital internet protocol (IP) technology. Around for decades, analogue lines are now harder to maintain making them less reliable. Currently, your home alarm device is connected to your analogue telephone line which is used to send the emergency calls to Tunstall.
What are we doing to prepare for the switch over?
We will shortly be undergoing a 3-year replacement programme to safely transition our service users over to digital technology. The transition will involve upgrading the current analogue equipment to a new digital alarm called Seven. The new digital alarm will not be connected to your analogue phone line. Instead, it will send emergency calls to Tunstall using a SIM card. We aim to fully complete the migration by 2025.
To ensure your home alarm device continues to operate reliably using a digital telephone line, we will replace your current device, with the new digital hub called Seven.
Do I need to do anything?
If you already have a digital phone line, please let Rushcliffe Borough Council know, you can do this by telephoning on 0115 981 9911 (local call rate charge).
If you do not have a digital phone line yet, you do not need to do anything, we will contact you to replace your home alarm device. If you are unsure whether you have a digital phone line, or whether you are being moved to one, you should ask your telephone provider.
How will existing service users be affected?
All telephone providers in the UK are moving to digital telephone lines, they will have completed this work by 2025. To ensure you continue to receive a reliable service when you move to a digital phone line, we will change your analogue home alarm device to the new digital hub. The digital hub will connect to Tunstall using a SIM card instead of your analogue phone.
When will this happen?
We will contact you and arrange a time to visit and replace your current home alarm device with the new digital hub. Our aim is to have all analogue home alarm devices changed to digital hubs by 2025.
The way you call for help in an emergency and how the operator responds will not change.
If you need to telephone Rushcliffe Borough Council to talk about your home alarm you can do so on 0115 9819911.
What if I am new home alarm customer?
Once we start to move customers onto the new digital hub, all new service users going forward will automatically receive the new digitally ready Seven digital hub.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the analogue to digital home alarm transition?
Rushcliffe Borough Council are introducing new digital home alarms. The new home alarms will work in a different way, sending alerts using the inbuilt SIM card instead of using your analogue telephone line. When you press your pendant or any of your sensors activate, your new digital hub will connect to Tunstall allowing you to speak to the operator as you do now, the only difference is, the digital hub will connect using a SIM card instead of your analogue phone line.
How will the new digital hub work?
When you press your pendant, or any of your sensors activate, your new digital hub will connect to Tunstall allowing you to speak to the operator as you do now, the only difference is, the digital hub will connect using a SIM card instead of your analogue phone line.
I don't have internet, can I still receive the service?
Yes, your digital hub will operate using the SIM card.
Digital hub uses a SIM card, what happens if I get a poor mobile phone signal?
The digital hub contains a dual multi network SIM card and will continually search all mobile networks and connect using the one with the strongest signal when an alarm call is generated. The SIM card is not fixed to any one network to ensure a reliable service.
What are the benefits of digital home alarms?
The transition to digital technology is an exciting opportunity and brings many benefits including:
- Faster connection to Tunstall, the Council’s home alarm monitoring provider
- Better audio quality
- Safer - digital alarms are more reliable and can tell us if there is an issue such as loss of power
Will I get a new digital alarm?
Yes. We will contact every Rushcliffe Borough Council service user and arrange to change your existing home alarm to the new digital hub, we aim to complete this transition by 2025.
Will I have to pay for the new digital hub?
Yes, the new digital hub will be an upgrade on the existing analogue equipment which uses more advanced technology. The weekly charge you currently pay will be increased once you have had a digital hub installed to reflect the additional cost of purchasing the digital equipment.
Prices up to March 2024 for the digital hub:
- Installation £40 (plus VAT, if applicable)
- Digital hub, inclusive of airtime (SIM) £5.92 per week (plus VAT, if applicable)
- GO GPS (mobile pendant) £6.49 per week (plus VAT, if applicable)
How do I know if I already have a digital telephone line?
Digital telephone lines have already started to be installed in some homes, so you may already have one, or your telephone company may offer you one soon.
Telephone services are often sold as part of a package combined with internet access and potentially digital television.
This means that you may be upgraded to a digital telephone line if you swap or upgrade your internet or TV package. If you have had to connect your telephone handset to a different socket, potentially on your internet router, Wi-Fi hub, or TV box, then you have probably been moved to a digital phone line
Still have questions about switching to a digital home alarm?
If you would like to discuss the analogue to digital transition, please contact Rushcliffe Borough Council by calling on 0115 981 9911. Alternatively, you can send an email to homealarms@rushcliffe.gov.uk