Do I Need Dispatch If I Live In An Apartment?

If you want to have emergency help sent out to your home in the event of an alarm, then you need central station monitoring with automatic dispatch. This is true no matter where you live, even for apartments. Some users want this type of monitoring, while others want self-monitoring plans.

When an alarm event occurs, the system is instructed to send out a distress signal. Who this signal is sent to depends on the type of monitoring the user receives. If the user receives central station monitoring, then the signal will be sent to a monitoring station. From there, an operator will attempt to determine if the alarm is false, and if not, they will alert the local authorities. The authorities will then respond to the location. But if the user has a self-monitoring plan, then the alarm signal will be sent to the user's phone and/or email address. From there, it is up to the user to contact the authorities or any emergency personnel.

For users who can reliably and consistently check their phone for any alarm events that may occur, central station monitoring might not be necessary. For those users, they can save money by getting a self-monitored plan instead. But for any user who wants to receive automatic dispatch and not have to worry about regularly checking their phone or email for any alarm events, central station monitoring is ideal.

Remember, to ensure that your system communicates as reliably as possible, we strongly recommend choosing a monitoring plan that includes cellular communication. Cellular communication is readily available virtually anywhere, and cellular signals are almost never down. Additionally, cellular communication is still available during power outages. The same cannot be said for WIFI communication, in that a power outage will usually prevent the alarm system from communicating. Cellular communication is included with any of the Gold or Platinum level alarm monitoring plans from Alarm Grid.