According to Rogers, Smart Home Monitoring lets consumers automate and manage sensors, cameras, thermostats, lights and small appliances from their computer or smartphone.

"Consumers are looking for solutions to enable their connected home seamlessly, reliably and securely," said Ian Pattinson, Vice-President & General Manager, Smart Home Monitoring, Rogers Communications, in a press release. "With Smart Home Monitoring, we have reinvented home security with easy home automation and energy management providing Rogers customers with a truly connected home of the future."

At the heart of the system is a touchpad interface that consumers use to arm/disarm and manage their system. Available in wall-mount or table-top, the touchpad provides access to home security functions, home automation apps for lighting, cameras and thermostats, as well as multimedia apps for photos, traffic, weather and sports. When an alarm occurs, the touchpad connects with the Rogers central monitoring station simultaneously over both Rogers cable and wireless networks. The touchpad constantly communicates with its highly encrypted smart sensors throughout the home, checking their status, signal strength, battery level and even room temperature.

In an interview with SP&T News, Pattinson said the system can be customized easily to suit the needs of each household. Through the Rogers website, the customer sets the rules controlling the system. If you want to know if a child is arriving home safe school during certain hours, or if the temperature at the cottage has fallen below six degrees, or if there’s a power outage in the house, you set up a rule and the system will notify you when the event occurs — by email, text message, video or JPEG.

“It’s graphical and very simple. Now you have a graphical log of everything that’s happening,” he said.

The system also decreases the number of false alarms, Pattinson said. When the alarm goes off, the monitoring station will send a message via multiple devices to the customer, who can see what’s going on and judge whether the alarm is real.

“This really gives the homeowner control over the system,” he said.

Features of the service include:

    * Real-time, 24/7 monitoring at the Rogers Central Monitoring Station provided by certified security experts with over 20 years of experience in security, monitoring and emergency services
    * IP-based dual network connections ensure constant connection of the home to the Rogers Central Monitoring Station
    * Real-time sensor and video alerts sent via text and email
    * Remote access from a computer or smartphone to securely view, control and arm/disarm the home
    * Professional installation by specially trained Rogers cable technicians

Smart Home Monitoring has three rate plans, each including wireless-data backup. The Home Basics plan is available for $39.99 per month (Rogers Cable Hi-Speed Internet required). The Touchpad starter kit is $149 on a three-year term, or $749 with no term, with optional sensors available a-la-carte and in discounted Value Packs. All systems are professionally installed for a one-time fee of $99.