In early 2024 BT Redcare announced they were to stop selling new alarm signalling products from the end of February 2024, and all their existing product services will end on 1st August 2025 or earlier where contractual services are due to expire before then.
There has been a subsequent announcement from Redcare that agreement has been reached with AddSecure, a Dutch firm, to manage customer relationships for Redcare’s Next Generation portfolio of alarm transmission systems (those that will work on a digital fibre network such as ‘Advanced’, ‘Advanced Extra’ and ‘Ultimate’), enabling existing Redcare customers with these products to transfer to AddSecure, maintaining existing services.
AddSecure can also support Redcare customers using legacy signalling products to migrate to digital alternatives that will operate on the digital fibre network currently being rolled out by OpenReach.
Consequently, anyone with monitored electronic systems, such as automatic fire and security systems that use a BT Redcare signalling product will need to replace this by 1 August 2025.
BT Redcare has provided an extensive range of alarm signalling products over the past 30 years, including Redcare Classic, Classic Fire, GSM, Secure range (IP, Fire, Solo, Secure 2, Secure 3), Essential, Essential IP, Essential Extra, Advanced, Advanced Extra, and Ultimate.
It’s estimated there are approximately 120,000 live systems using a BT Redcare product at this moment in time that will now need changing. Almost 75% of these are thought to be older legacy systems using analogue technology that is being replaced by the new digital fibre network. These older ‘legacy’ systems won’t work on the new fibre network and need replacing by the end of January 2027 in any event. Your alarm maintenance company may already have been in contact with you to discuss replacing your existing products with something that will work on the fibre network.
The technical performance of BT Redcare products varies and will be dependent on what alarm installers and possibly insurers considered appropriate for your property when designing and installing alarm systems.
If you are affected by the BT Redcare announcement you should approach your alarm maintenance company at the earliest opportunity to discuss options available for switching to alternative alarm signalling products or transitioning to AddSecure.
You should have a specification for your alarm system that details the type of alarm signalling being used but your alarm company will be able to advise you.
You should also consult with your insurer if the provision of monitored alarm protection is a condition of your insurance cover. Your insurance broker can advise further.
Insurers may have minimum performance requirements for alarm signalling products that you will need to meet when considering alternative signalling products. For example, insurers may require dual path signalling for a monitored intruder alarm system that will report a loss of either signalling path to an alarm receiving centre within 3 minutes*.
The performance of your existing Redcare alarm signalling produce will be detailed in the ‘As Fitted’ specification for the system which your alarm maintenance company will be able to provide and advise on. Replacement alarm signalling products should match or exceed the performance level of your existing signalling.
Where intruder alarm remote signalling is an insurance requirement, Baptist Insurance will typically accept a dual path alarm transmission system certified to meet the requirements of BS EN 50136, performing at ‘DP3’.
If you have been using a legacy single path signalling product as part of an intruder alarm system a suitable dual path product may now be needed by insurers to provide the required level of resilience and security. This should deliver the same or better fault report times than the existing single path product. The use of a dual path signalling product may also be a requirement for automatic police response to an intruder alarm system activation. Your alarm maintenance company and insurers will be able to provide further guidance.
Whilst 1st August 2025 feels a long way off, we encourage you to act now. Don’t delay and risk losing your monitored alarm systems, leaving your property exposed.
*This is a requirement of a category DP3 signalling product under PD6669 and BS EN 50136 for new installations since June 2019.
