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U.S. Cellular moves into DIY security Continued from page 36 CSG By Amy Canfeld CHICAGO—U.S. Cellular, the newest telecom player to enter the security space, has launched OnLook Digital System, a self- installed security and home auto- mation system. OnLook is now available in U.S. Cellular's retail stores in Iowa and the Tulsa, O k l a . , a re a . Its success in those test mar- kets will deter- m i n e f u t u re rollouts. T h e c o m - pany's move into DIY secu- rity "came out of strategic discus- sions about a year and a half ago," Joe Settimi, U.S. Cellular's VP of marketing, told Security Systems News. "It's really about leveraging our core assets and strengths to move into adjacent spaces," Set- timi said. Its network and cus- tomer service are among those strengths, he said. The test markets were selected for different reasons. "We were looking for a large market area, and Iowa is one of our long-standing customer mar- kets. …They know us," so Iowa ft the bill, Settimi said. In the Tulsa market, AT&T; has already established itself with DIY security and home automation systems, so "there is established [consumer] education on it," he said. U.S. Cellular planned to launch full-force direct marketing efforts in Iowa in February, Settimi said, noting that customer response to merchandising in its retail stores has been positive so far. Additional markets would be added after analyzing the success in the two markets in the coming months, he said. The system, which can be man- aged via a smartphone, tablet or computer, is available starting at $99.99 with a two-year contract. Three package options are available. Standard components include a control panel, two door/window sensors, a motion sensor, key fob and security signs and decals. Several automation accessories and add-on packages allow users to customize their solution. Each package option comes with full-time monitoring from Alarm.com. The professionally monitored central station is included as part of the OnLook Digital System offering. Similar to other professionally monitored solutions, customers will receive a call from the central station should an issue arise, U.S. Cellular said. T h e s y s t e m i s a c c e s s e d through the U.S. Cellular portal or through Alarm.com's smart- phone app. SSN new webcast Sign up today! www.securitysystemsnews.com/webcasts MARCH 10 1 pm ET Brought to you by: Best practices in building and scaling a top-notch security operations center Attend this webcast to see what it takes to scale a security operations center (SOC) for the global enterprise while taking into account tomorrow's technology, integration demands, operational issues, and the emerging role of mobile devices and cloud applications and services. Sponsored by: FREE! Participation is Scaling your SOC for the future Presented by: Guy Morgante, President, Northland Controls Managed Security Services Wayne Homell, Global Operations Manager, Cisco Global Incident Management & Investigations Deon Chatterton, Sr. Manager, Cisco Systems Technology & Services Topics for discussion will include: • Foundation requirements- technology and operations • Challenges facing the Global Security Manager • Real world solution examples • Planning the future- what you should be thinking about today Joe Settimi Still, this gives CSG the opportunity to introduce those traditional, stable customers to its Alert 360 interactive services. "You don't put all of your eggs in one basket," Ginsburg said. CSG's acquisition of Allied was transacted by Barry Epstein of Vertex Capital. In addition to being on t h e l o o k o u t f o r f u t u re acquisitions, CSG has been busy with rebranding and updating its website look, all to focus on next-generation, mobile products and services. It also has relaunched its dealer program. "We understand the dealer pressures and how we can help out with our dealer program. It's our biggest channel. This is a company that has grown through its dealer base," Ginsburg said of CSG. SSN SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS MARCH 2015 www.securitysystemsnews.com Residential systems 37