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need home security system advice

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hulkster:
k so ive currently got an alarm system in my house that's pretty cheap, monitored by a local company and it works fine.  its a hard wired alarm system that connects to the phone line to dial the company in case of a break in or problem. 

i recently had the backup battery in the alarm system start beeping at me prompting me to call my alarm company and ask some questions.  i asked them what phone number they had on file to contact me and they gave me my hard wired home phone number.  problem is....i got rid of AT&T phone service a long time ago and went strictly to cell phones for my wife and myself.  soo....that means even if there is a break in, that no one would be called.  they said they could put in a cell phone receiver thingy for $395 and then it would be an extra $12 a month for that service.  crap!

so im faced with a decision. 

1.  should i call up AT&T and get a phone line just for my alarm system? 
2.  should i get comcast to give me phone service and go that way since i already have the internet through them? 
3.  should i just quit paying for the alarm monitoring service since i live in a low crime area anyway?  i'll still have the alarm for noise and stuff....
4.  is it a good time to look at another alarm company thats widely known? (brinks, adt, etc)
5.  or is there another option im not thinking of?

help!

HaRuMaN:
5a) big dog
5b) shotgun

 ;D

Samstag:
If you're going to pay someone to monitor the alarm, you need to change to another provider.  If your alarm stopped reporting in "a long time ago" and they didn't contact you about it, they're not worth keeping.

I use ADT but never used anyone else so I can't make comparisons.   When the alarm goes off they're very quick to contact us by home phone, then by cell phone.  If we don't respond to either of those the police are at the door pretty quickly to check things out.  So I'm getting what I pay for.

You didn't mention whether you get an insurance discount for the alarm.  You'll want to factor that into the cost before deciding on whether to hook up phone service.  As for which phone service, I'd go with the cheapest option.

hulkster:
if you dont mind me asking....how much do you pay for your ADT service?  my current alarm service is dirt cheap at $120 a year.  but if i factor in the phone line, ehh...i guess phone service is like $20 a month? 

Samstag:
I think ADT is somewhere around $32 per month.   It's on the wife's credit card so I haven't seen a bill in a while.

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