by Jessica Barnes | Feb 8, 2023 | WHIRC News
2022: THE END OF ANOTHER SUNSET!
With the end of 2022 we also welcomed the end of the 3G technology sunset and with that, additional opportunities for the industry. Despite ongoing procurement challenges, 2022 brought with it new markets and monitoring services, some traditional and some innovative. In 2022, WHIRC launched video health monitoring with OpenEye, expanded our video verification offerings, and completed automation enhancements. WHIRC has made many improvements throughout our system including adding an additional ISP connection for signal traffic, increased our already robust cyber security, and increased receiver capabilities to anticipate the changes in new product offerings. WHIRC is committed to helping you maintain and grow your business with excellent products, service, and monitoring support.
2023: EXPANDING THE POSSIBILITIES!
In 2023, we will offer even more communication methods for you and your customers such as two way texting, and automated notifications. In addition, we will expand our video monitoring capabilities to offer health monitoring through Digital Watchdog and various video platforms. These capabilities provide additional monitoring opportunities for you to grow your recurring revenue. We are also committed to providing you additional resources and training opportunities as a valued partner of WHIRC. Our focus is and will continue to be reliability, customer service, and expanding technology.
We are grateful to have you as a partner. We look forward to 2023 and our continued service to you!
by Jessica Barnes | Jul 6, 2022 | WHIRC News
WHIRC is partnering with Advocates for Health to bring Outdoor Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Smart Monitored Cabinets to central Minnesota. Advocates for Health was co-founded by Joel Vogel and Rich Feneis in 2018. The idea came from Joel’s personal experience with a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and Rich’s desire to have AED’s accessible to his friends and neighbors. Rich began to research emergency medical services response times in his area and realized that if he did not have a readily available AED, the chance for survival from a SCA would be close to none. If an AED is used within one minute, the person has a 90% chance of survival.
Each AED cabinet is manufactured to withstand Minnesota’s extreme weather. Some features include:
- Steel housing treated to withstand heat, cold, moisture, and saline.
- Hardwired
- Rechargeable backup battery
- Americans with Disabilities Act compliant
- LED illuminated
- Camera for photo bursts
- Call button that is connected to the WHIRC monitoring center
The sensors monitored by WHIRC monitor:
- Cellular connection
- Power
- Temperature
- Door opening/closing
- If the AED is removed from cabinet
Once we receive a signal the AED was removed, we call 911 dispatch. We also send automated text to nearby residents or business owners who are on the “neighborhood watch team” to provide help while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
As of December 2021, Advocates for Help have installed over 100 AED Smart Monitored Cabinets. Visit their website to donate towards the installation of Outdoor AED Smart Cabinets and to inform communities on the importance of AED and CPR. To learn more about WHIRC’s monitoring service, visit our monitoring page or call (800) 858-7811.
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by Jessica | May 2, 2022 | WHIRC News
The security industry is the middle of it third technology sunset in the last 10 years. This means another piece of technology needs to be deployed to your current customers. The replacement units are dual path, so even if there is another cellular sunset in the future, these devices have Internet Protocol (IP) backup. With hopefully 10 years before the next sunset, these dual path products have the capability to stay connected even if the cellular technology changes.
WHIRC is well prepared to monitor this technology. We have assigned specific IP addresses to increase our redundancy for signaling and upgraded our receivers, adding additional capacity for future growth.
ResearchandMarkets predicts significant growth in the number of cellular connections for home and small business security systems, with year-over-year growth forecast through 2025. What is WHIRC doing to support that? We stay relevant in the industry, are proactive and supportive by identifying any outdated equipment and help in getting the end user updated.
WHIRC is committed to staying ahead of manufacturers and products by ensuring our technology is the most current. The WHIRC sales team attends training sessions to stay current with what is coming in the industry. This allows us to reliably support your monitoring needs 24/7/365.
In addition to supporting the phase out of legacy equipment, WHIRC can help you to gain other efficiencies from your business. We offer after hours answering support services to assist your customers when you are away. For example, if there is a beeping that will not stop, we’ll get a technician on the phone to help them take care of the issue until you can roll a truck to conduct repairs. We also offer custom reports, including signal reports showing communication failures. These trouble reports can let you know which accounts are in failure so you can make them a high service priority.
As always, WHIRC is here to monitor your systems, but we are also here to support your business by offering collaborative solutions and reliable support you can count on!
Message from Business Manager Ashley Raisanen
by Jessica | Mar 15, 2022 | WHIRC News
Rockford, Minn. (March 15, 2022) — WH International Response Center (WHIRC) recently received its Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) listing as a Central Monitoring Station for the 29th straight year, dating back to 1994. This means WHIRC has met or exceeded quality, safety and training standards set by UL. WHIRC is committed to exceeding UL’s standards to ensure continuity of quality service to its customers.
“At WHIRC, we’re more than alarm monitoring,” said WHIRC Business Manager Ashley Raisanen. “We provide collaborative solutions and reliable support for 24/7 monitoring.”
To learn more, visit WHIRC’s website at whirc.com or call (800) 858-7811.
WHIRC is a leading national central station monitoring partner for residential and commercial security, alarm, video and personal emergency response system dealers. WHIRC’s headquarters are located in Rockford, Minn.
by Jessica | Feb 28, 2022 | WHIRC News
Wow, 2022 is off to a busy start, not only here at WHIRC, but for your businesses as well. We are working on many new things already this year including integration of new services and technologies.
Your time is valuable and in short supply, so we implemented a software designed to help you gain additional efficiency. WHIRC has integrated with WorkHorse Service Company Solutions, a software completely designed for the security industry. This software allows you to manage your entire business from one software platform. All you need to do is enter information in one software platform and WorkHorse will share it across additional integrated platforms. Please schedule a demo with me today!
WHIRC is also in the final phase of the Bold and Alarm.com integration. This integration will allow you to enter the zone information in Alarm.com and automatically push it into BoldNet ensuring it matches in both systems.
We are also working directly with you to ensure you are on track to have customers 3G systems upgraded prior to communications shutdowns impact them. AT&T’s sunset began February 22; however, many devices will continue to communicate until AT&T completes the conversions. Verizon’s sunset is set for December 31, 2022. WHIRC can support the new communications platforms and is continuing to implement the newest receiver technology.
WHIRC is committed to being a custom solution provider for you and your customers.
Message from Business Manager Ashley Raisanen
by Jessica | Feb 11, 2022 | Uncategorized, WHIRC News
Paying your WHIRC bill just got easier with EZ Pay. Choose how you pay and when you pay with automatic drafts though your business checking account or with your debit/credit card. We accept Visa, Mastercard or Discover.
You’ll have your choice of a range of payment due dates that work with your budget, making paying your bill easy every month.
You can sign up for EZ Pay with WHIRC in one of two ways
- ONLINE: Visit https://billing.whe.org to register or log into your account. Go to Draft Payment Options, click on Setup New Draft and fill in the information.
- PHONE: Call our office at (800) 858-7811.
If you are already enrolled in EZ Pay and wish to update your payment information, call us or log in to your WHIRC account.
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