What’s happening? As you may know, the technology that underpins the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) must change, which means the way we deliver our landline service must change too.
The copper-based equipment used today is becoming outdated and is not fit for prolonged future use. Telecoms operators have to take action to upgrade the phone network in order to keep offering landline service. To this end, Virgin Media is changing the way the landline services work; instead of running over the copper technology, it will run over the broadband network.
For the majority of customers, the migration over to “Digital Voice” (sometimes referred to as “IP Voice” or “Fibre Voice”) will have limited impact. However, we are aware some customers will need extra support, particularly those who use telecare devices. We also know that Local Authorities are often involved in the provision of telecare devices.
Virgin Media’s Migration Virgin Media has programme in place to decommission the old Telephone Switches (sometimes referred to as Telephone Exchanges) in our network and migrate the customers whose landlines are connected to those switches. This work is happening now and will be ongoing until the end of 2025. We work on multiple Telephone Switches at once and we have dates by which they need to have all the customers migrated away from them. In order to meet those dates, we migrate customers in batches to gradually reduce the number of landlines connected to a switch.
We have attached a list of switches and the target final migration date for residential customers for 2023 and 2024. It is important to note that migrations will be happening before the dates shown on the lists. Get in touch with us to receive a searchable spreadsheet where you can see the postcodes belonging to each switch. Please respond to this email and copy in [email protected].
These dates may change, and we will endeavour to give you information on this as soon as we are able to do so.
Telecare The very last batch of customers migrated away from a switch is a dedicated telecare batch. This means at any point whilst we’re carrying out migrations on this switch, if we identify a telecare user, we can move them into a dedicated customer group and give them the last possible migration date for that switch.
The advice we give to telecare users is:
Connected devices and equipment operating over their landline – such as telehealth alarms – may not be compatible with the new telephone services. Customers are advised to contact their alarm provider to check that their equipment is compatible ‘Digital Voice’ products.
As the telephone is being delivered over broadband technology instead of copper, it will no longer be independently powered. Therefore, in the event of a power cut or broadband network disruption the landline cannot be used to make or receive calls, and any device or equipment use the phone line to make calls or send signals will not work without its own back-up. Virgin Media providers customers with an Emergency Backup Line that ensure voice calls to emergency services can continue. However, this does not support third-party devices and customers are advised to speak to their device provider to about obtaining a device that a separate, dedicated back-up (such as its own battery and a SIM card).
Our standard migration timeline for customers is three months, but we give customers we know to be telecare users up to six months.
How we identify telecare users Virgin Media O2 has been working with the telecare industry and Local Authorities to identify telecare users so that we can offer them extra support and longer migration journey. In order to do this, we use Alarm Receiving Centre telephone numbers to which telecare devices make outbound calls. We use this information to identify which customers may have devices in their homes that operate over the phone line. Organisations can share their ARC numbers with us by emailing by responding to [email protected] and copying in [email protected].
We have also developed a data-sharing agreement that can be used between Virgin Media and Local Authority (or other telecare organisation). This will allow us to understand which of your clients are telecare device users, and for your organisation to understand which of your clients are Virgin Media customers and when they may be impacted by our migrations. If you would like a copy of the agreement, please respond to [email protected] and copy in [email protected].
More information If you have any queries, we would be happy to discuss them with you. Please email [email protected].
With a vision to serve our customers with the most reliable and efficient access control systems, NCS is here with NCS Door Phone Access control systems. These are one of the best access control systems available with easy usage points and seamless operation. Before going forward in the device’s complete detail, let’s understand the access control systems.
Access Control Systems
Access control systems are specialized systems installed at door or entry points of facilities to let you control the entry points. It can give you complete control over who will enter your residence and when. Further, these can also be operated from distance with centrally connected door phones, alarm bell systems etc.
These are required to establish optimum security and safety at facilities. NCS’s access control systems are designed by expert engineers with years and years of research and innovation. By implementing the most robust and advanced principles of technology, Access control systems by NCS are imbibed with unique and simple operationality with almost no limitations. These are built with stability and advanced functionality.
NCS Door Phone Access Control Systems
NCS door phone access control systems can be installed at the entry point and elevated security and safety at your residence can be ensured. With easy functionality and usage points, it can be opened by RFID or digital card or with the help of pre-set passcode.
If you have children or old age people at home, having Access control Systems can establish a secure environment leaving no doubts about safety.
● The system can be controlled/operated from our NCS Door Phone where you can see the guest first before opening your entrance. This ensures complete security and a fearless stay at home. For instance, Suppose Mr A comes to visit your house and You are in the middle of something and are physically not available near the door to open it. In such cases, in the place of an alarm bell, there will be a Door Panel. When Mr A presses on that, it will generate a call to your Door phone. While receiving a call, you can see who is outside and decide whether to give access or not.
● It can be freely and optimally connected with various sensors such as fall sensors, water detectors, fire sensors etc. when connected, these control systems establish a high-security residence. The NCS door access control system will send a notification after detecting any anomalous activity on these sensors.
For instance, if a fire detector detects a fire in a home, a notification will be sent from the IoT Server to alert you so that you can take preventive measures.
● The device is installed with CCTV cameras to make sure you get to know who’s on your door before opening access to them. This mitigates any chances of invaders.
● To leave no room for any danger or mishap, this device can be pre-set to some speed dial numbers such as Warden, Alarm Center, emergency numbers etc. this ensures you never panic during chaotic situations and save yourself beforehand.
Get NCS Door Phone installed now!
For a completely safe and secure environment, consider getting this NCS Door Phone access control System at your facility. With experience of over 30 years, we provide the best product with installation to maintenance support. Contact us now!
The world is in the process of healing. Ever since COVID has trembled lives to varying extents, countries went on lockdown, mortals struggled for their breaths, and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle along with sufficient medical care has been elevated. The medical facilities seem to be crippled, and people failed to find health checkups at the right moment.
Pandemics like these are uncertain, but prevention is always better than cure. Maintaining a proper cycle of health checkups, monitoring the body’s vitals and physician visits often hold the situation in the right place. But during times like COVID, when everyone got locked down at varying distances, the availability of health services to the doorstep or in-person physician visits seemed imaginary.
What are telehealth products?
Telehealth products are products that can efficiently monitor and measure critical body vitals such as body temperature, blood pressure levels, spO2, and not! These assist in maintaining health checkups remotely with the aid of devices, online tools, and telecommunication channels.
These overcome the need for recurrent physical visits and thereby make sure patients get the best medical attention whenever they are in need. These can monitor the vitals of the body for any emergency alarming situation and can also aid in maintaining health conditions beforehand.
Telehealth products: Life saviours
When people were struck with nationwide lockdowns, the health checkups and scheduled physician visits got disturbed. In such a scenario, maintaining and keeping an eye on the body’s vital parameters was proposed to be paramount. The old-age people who need extra medical attention failed to schedule their checkups and additionally were at a higher risk of diseases. But, these telehealth devices made it possible to monitor their condition at home with minimal effort.
Can measure vitals like heart rate etc.
Can detect any changes in spO2 beforehand
Can measure and monitor body temperatures
Monitoring all the essential parameters of health provides an upper hand with health conditions as any alarming level can be consulted with a doctor, and chronic conditions can be saved.
Elevates the safety during emergency conditions
Emergency health conditions don’t knock before. In COVID times, when slight difficulty in health was not a good sign, immediate health checkups and professional opinions were paramount. But, as going out to physical clinics was no less than an extreme risk, getting medical help through devices saved lives.
Telehealth products equipped with an ability to monitor critical body vitals can save patients from any last-moment emergency and can also make sure no one experiences chaos in pandemic-like situations when getting regular health checkups seems daunting.
Telehealth products: A future for the maintenanceof superiormedical health
What else did COVID teach us rather than giving your health a priority? Times are uncertain and so are the health conditions. Prioritize the well-being and health of your near ones along with yourself. Observe your body’s health with optimum accuracy.
Thanks to technology, Telehealth products can do it all. These can mitigate the need for regular physician visits as these can monitor and keep a regular check on health parameters like respiration rates, heart rate, blood pressure, and whatnot!
These can save lives in an emergency because patients fail to reach the hospital at the right time. These can also bring medical expert opinions home in chronic illness cases. Telehealth products can indeed revolutionize the way health checkups and health monitoring have been done for years.
Network Communication systems have been serving in the field of telecare devices, Door Entry Systems, Warden Call Systems, and other communication devices for 28 years and have adapted the most updated technology. We have delivered unique and premium products and have never compromised with consumer satisfaction.
With the UK as a Major focus for years, Network Communication Systems aspire to serve more customers with a feast of superior products. To achieve our growing dream, NCS has decided to rebrand itself completely. The motive of this rebranding is to deliver superior services to our customers with complete customer satisfaction. We will now develop and Deliver products with cloud, IoT, Door Entry Systems, Warden Call Systems, Access Control Systems, and many more across the globe. Our products are unique in the market and have established a reputation for years.
We have onboarded teams of engineers with years and years of real-world practice to design and deploy our products with ease and updated technology. We have evolved our methodology and have adapted to new advancements in technology. Our products have now been Embedded with recent Advancements and up-to-date automation management.
To turn stones into jewels, Network Communication Systems has revamped the operational structure to bring excellence to elevated standards. Our exceptionally unique and new-to-world products never fail to imbibe with our customers and always deliver what they promise.
NCS promises to serve the people with great integrity, onus, and admiration. Our vision is to deliver satisfaction in whatever we serve and to provide our customers with top-notch services, products, and management.
As the world is finding a secure place in digitalization, the UK transits towards the same through communication digitalization. The digital switch-over audit in the UK aspires to take analogue television services all digital.
The vision is to accomplish and transit analogue services digital by 2023 by adapting an environment-friendly solution by eliminating sim cards and any other chip-related devices and adapting server-provided numbers and identities. This would save customers’ records on digital servers for better safety.
But as easy as it sounds, the transition requires specific types of gadgets with optimum installation and providence. Worry no more, NCS or network communication systems are here to provide all and everything for UK customers in possibly the best hassle-free manner.
WHY NCS?
NCS or network communication systems have been working for years in the UK to deliver sustainable and reliable communication services. NCS has always embraced innovation with vision and has always made things easier for its customers.
With years of practice and understanding of switchover systems, the NCS has now decided to facilitate the digital switchover audit in the UK by providing customers with seamless transit to digital phone lines. The planning of the framework for achieving this with minimal hassle has been NCS’s priority now. Our system can communicate with ARC in 99% of cases. NCS will single-handedly source the devices and will install the same with complete assistance.
Advantages of Getting it done with NCS
We work in a customer-centric way and deliver satisfaction with the assistance and rapid enquire handling.
Experienced staff and installers. Promising years of experience in handling various types of manufacturers’ equipment.
The whole digital audit is fact-based and never extrapolates or assumes. To keep things actual and beneficial, the whole data is verified and recorded with accuracy.
Guaranteed 12 months warranty. No hidden policies.
No hidden costs or no hidden payment. Just the one quotation for the digital switchover audit in the UK that you receive a valid and verified quotation for.
How do we do it?
We collect facts
NCS will work around facts with complete authenticity over data. The site’s list and customer requirements are collected at this level and NCS processes it with expert assistance.
Detailed surveys
Detailed surveys with pre-decided templates are carried out to navigate and reach sources and to maintain the integrity of the process. Coherently, the quotation of upgraded requirements is listed.
Time tables and programs
After fact-checks and surveys, the project plan is produced. Virtually presentation of the proposal happens an order is placed for upgrades with detailed information for the customer’s initials and associated details.
Network providence
The main line of the network for digital transit is then provided with a 12-month warranty. The network is provided with installation support and with post-installation enquire sessions to facilitate the process. You are one step ahead of a digital switchover audit in the UK.
Taking it to the finish line
We then issue a final commissioning certificate to the customer with the final invoice. This would register customers as the users of digital services of telephone lines without the issuance of sim cards thereby eliminating chi[p based devices.
Along with this, NCS collects customer reviews to gather information, facts, and feedback.
Conclusion
Intending to achieve a complete digital switchover audit from analogue communication, NCS provides customers with complete assistance along with servers and equipment. The process is an easy 5-step approach to bother customers less and to provide superior service for digital transit.
The years of experience and validated practice in the UK makes NCS a promising and reliable provider for digital switchover audit in the UK.
Establishing a safe and secure territory for work, residence and living are vital. Construction systems in the UK are stringently built with a design to elevate safety and security. As such, Fire safety is a paramount factor in any setting and should be a major concern. For officials, setting up a building with complete and functional fire safety equipment should be a top priority to provide a safe, secure and reliable environment.
To establish fire safety, setting up rigid, strict, and carefully measured fire alarm systems and fire detection systems are important.
In Barnsley and Sheffield and soon in the whole UK, Network Communication System; NCS is delivering fire alarm system installation service with complete optimization of checkpoints and associated liabilities.
The apparatus and fire safety equipment can be installed in domestic and non-domestic premises of the UK and wherever one wishes to upgrade the fire safety levels in the UK. According to the amendments in fire safety, BS 5839:1- 2017 laws with revised terms and instructions have been proposed to further strengthen the fire safety apparatus and mitigate fire accidents and false calls.
Why do fire safety laws need revision?
In the UK, fire safety was always a concern hence there was the proposition of strict laws for premises to ensure fire safety. The laws included the establishment of a network of associated communication channels along with fire detection and alarm systems. Till now, the fire alarm was of manual call point type with inbuilt communication numbers.
In case of fire or detection of fire-like accidents, an automated call is used to get generated to ambulances, police stations, and fire brigade stations to start the rescue. But often items there was a false call of fire alarm observed. The reason observed is temperature or humidity change.
In such a scenario, the associated helping authorities tend to block the number from that area resulting in compromise of the fire situation handling for future times.
To combat these false negations, BS 5839: 1- 2017 has been proposed to keep a check on manual call points and to eliminate or mitigate the false fire call alarms.
Fire alarm systems: a salient requirement for commercial premises
Generally, fire safety alarms and equipment are installed at the time of construction. The installed alarms and systems should be in working condition and should be equipped with efficient sensors to detect fire at an early stage to curb and hold.
The installed systems are expected to provide fire safety to building inhabitants. The system should be easy to handle for seamless application with less havoc in the condition of fire.
Traditionally, there are two types of fire alarm systems-
Conventional fire alarm system
These consist of zones. The whole setup of the fire alarm system is connected to the main wire system. The initiating, as well as the notification devices, connect to the main control panel. The control panel is triggered by the fire conditions and sends an activation to the whole system.
The exact location of the fire can be hardly identified as the whole system is connected and sends a centralized alarm.
Addressable fire alarm system
In these systems, each device of fire safety is addressed and identified and all are marked up with their exact position. The system is interconnected with all the devices. The exact location of the device where the fire is detected can be identified and generally, the whole evacuation is not required and the identified zone can be independently rescued.
These types are more preferred in large buildings where evacuation of complete premises could be cumbersome and disturbed.
How are the fire alarm systems designed?
While designing a particular fire alarm system, the building type, capacity, electrical earthing facility, and other vital factors are carefully considered and comprehended. In addition, the system types, and system components all play an important role in fire safety alarm designing.
However, the alarm systems shall be designed in such a way as to reduce the limitations of the usage and to mitigate the faults in and of the work systems of the installation. In NCS, the fire alarm systems are well checked and evaluated before the final installation.
A well-versed fire alarm system should have the following touchpoints-
Detection zones
The building has to be divided into classified detection zones equipped with manual call points or detectors. This division has to be done on small as well as on massive multi-story buildings. This helps in detecting the origin of the fire and further steps taken towards the fire curb.
Alarm zones
In case of fire, an immediate evacuation is recommended. In such a case, an active alarm system is required to alert everyone or to inform every individual present on the premises about the fire situation. This can be done either by one alarm throughout the premises or by different zonal alarms in the case of massive structures.
Communication with concerned helping authorities
To confirm the seamless functioning of fire alarm systems. It is vital to connect them with communication systems so that the concerned authorities for help can be timely informed and rescue can be started. According to the type of system installed, the communication authorities have to be established.
Some fire alarm systems need human involvement and therefore are connected with the calling system while some are connected by automated approaches which send centralized alerts to nearby fire stations. But the system has to be checked thoroughly for timely channelization and operation
Manual call points
These points should be properly placed on the premises making sure no point is far away from each other. In addition, the system has to be well coherent with the alarm system and should not lag much from the alarm system. The response should be rapid as well as dynamic enough to inform all present at the premises.
Fire detection systems
Fire detectors are designed to detect any type of smoke, combustion gases, excess heat, and some specific radiations to successfully detect any fire possibility or fire situation. The fire detection systems can be characterized based on the following factors-
Time of response
Cost and maintenance
To establish an exquisite fire detection system, the following checkpoints are recommended-
Multi-sensor fire detectors should no longer be deemed to variation in category L3 or L4 systems and escape routes for category L1 fire systems.
A separate sub-clause should be addressed for video fire detectors.
The maximum ceiling heights should be used as guidance for the vertical structures only such as lift shafts and stairwells.
NCS: an ultimate solution for fire safety apparatus installation in the UK
Network Communication systems have carefully comprehended the UK’s architecture to imbibe the ideal methods. We have been assaying fire safety apparatus for years now and have an expert team on board to help from installation to the management and servicing of fire alarm systems and fire detection systems.
An improved approach
According to the BS5839-1:2017 updates, in 20.2 b, to reduce the chance of either accidental or malicious fire alarm activation, manual call points are advised to be fitted with a fire alarm call point protective cover able to move to get access to the frangible elements. Additionally, all the manual call points present in the vulnerable areas are said to be prone to false activation and should now be protected, without the need to consult specific fire safety officers.
The protective care fire alarm systems reduce the false alarm and elevate the real situation profiling. The protective cover over the alarm system and manual call points makes sure the system doesn’t catch an increase in temperature and humidity as the activation signals and only the real situations get reported and rescued.
The NCS has carefully adapted the updates required and is now installing the fire alarm systems with protective care in the UK.
Fire detection system Installation
To install the fire detection systems ideally, experienced professionals should do the job by keeping in record the premise’s details, locations, and extrapolation of some vital facts. The installation should be done at the time of construction with proper planning and compatible devices.
Network communication system; NCS with years of expert experience is now providing efficient fire system installation and up-gradation services in Barnsley and Sheffield. We adopt the latest fire industry thinking and the availability of new technologies including added guidance on the use of video surveillance fire detection and multi-sensor fire and smoke detectors to reduce the occurrence of false alarm activations and to optimize the fire alarm and fire detection systems.
Conclusion
Fire situations need rapid and efficient response time. To ignore any glitch in the protection, specific types of fire security apparatus should be installed. These can be addressed according to the building’s location, nearest fire control units, area, and other important factors.
The fire alarm systems have to be installed keeping in mind the specific guidelines and properties. The same has been revised in BS 5839:1-2017 updates. The manual call points and other installation methods have been revised with modifications in design, placement, and applications and it has been intensively advised to design manual call points with protective covers.
A variation to the recommended Code of Practice must be considered within the installation of fire safety apparatus. NCS has absorbed a thorough understanding of fire safety apparatus and is now providing an efficient and rapid service of fire system installation. The whole management and up-gradation are also provided in a completely hassle-free manner keeping in mind the UK’s guidelines and legal requirements.
Do you have any
questions?
Contact us at the NCS WP office nearest to you or submit a business inquiry online
