What Is the Difference Between a 2G and 4G Communicator on My Alarm Panel?

The difference between a 2G and 4G communicator on your alarm panel is that a 4G communicator will provide significantly faster speeds. This is helpful for sending fast signals to a monitoring station. It will also allow Z-Wave devices that were activated remotely to respond more quickly.

Many users choose to utilize cellular communication as their primary or secondary communication path for sending outbound signals. Cellular communication is great for security systems due to the fact that it is rarely down and almost always readily available. The same cannot be said for WIFI, which has a higher tendency to go down and is overall not as reliable as cellular communication.

When choosing a cellular communicator, users will be able to select from a wide-variety of different modules that offer varying speeds and service providers. We generally recommend choosing the service provider that works the best in your area, along with the fastest possible connection speed. This will provide you with a reliable and fast cellular connection for sending and receiving signals.

For cellular communication, the most common speeds, from fastest to slowest, are LTE > 4G > 3G > 2G. With that in mind, we strongly recommend choosing a 4G or an LTE communicator to ensure a fast connection. This will allow the central monitoring station to receive a prompt notification from your system in the event of an alarm. The speeds provided by LTE or 4G will also allow the Z-Wave devices in your home or business to respond very quickly whenever they are activated remotely. Additionally, a fast connection will help your system to arm or disarm more rapidly when the panel is accessed using a online platform, such as Total Connect or Alarm.com.

It's also worth mentioning that 2G has been largely phased out, and it will no longer work in most areas. Furthermore, some cellular service providers will begin phasing out 3G connectivity starting in 2020. This is yet another reason to choose a 4G or LTE communicator, as the device will be sure to work for many years to come.