SecurTek - A SaskTel Company is a Canadian company offering you professional and reliable security monitoring solutions for your home, business or cottage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have two state-of-the-art monitoring stations and a network of experienced Authorized Dealers throughout Western Canada, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

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It depends on the complexity of the system, your choice of systems (wired or wireless) and the lay-out of your home or business. Typically basic installations range from two to eight hours.

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Yes, generally the Authorized Dealers are available to do installations on evenings and weekends. A Dealer will contact the home or business owner directly to set up a suitable time for an appointment.

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Make moving easier. By going to the ExpressAddress website (www.expressaddress.com) and filling out your name, address, and billing information you can easily connect, transfer or disconnect residential services for security services, telephone, electricity, natural gas and water. You can also update your address for everything from your driver’s license and health cards to pet licenses. With www.expressaddress.com you can notify multiple organizations about your move, saving time and avoiding duplication.

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The parts of a security system can change, depending on your needs and your premise. Most systems include a control panel, door or window sensors, motion sensors and a keypad. The control panel is the "heart" of your security system. This is where the information from the sensors is analyzed and relayed to the Monitoring Station via the telephone lines or cellular back-up. The keypad provides you with access to your system. Door and window sensors have a magnetic seal that detects the movement of a door or window. Motion sensors use infrared technology to detect body heat or movement. For a more complete description of these products plus additional components, check out our Products and Services page.

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With most standard security systems, alarm signals are transmitted to our Monitoring Station via the telephone line. If your telephone line becomes disconnected your standard security system will be unable to transmit signals to our Monitoring Station.

To provide an additional level of protection and an alternate transmission method in the rare event telephone lines are cut or go down, you can install wireless back-up on most systems. With wireless back-up, a cellular transmission will be made to our Monitoring Station informing an attendant of the emergency situation.

There are also other simple ways to protect your phone lines. You can plant shrubs such as roses or evergreens in front of the telephone box on the outside of your home, thus making your telephone line difficult to access. You can also install covers that go over the phone line from where it comes out of the ground to where it enters the house.

If you have any questions or are interested in wireless back-up, please contact your SecurTek Dealer or our Customer Care Centre toll-free at 1-877-777-7590 or e-mail us at customer.care@securtek.sk.ca

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There are many different types of equipment which can add value to your system. For example, monitored smoke alarms detect smoke and fire and send a signal to the monitoring station, therefore the fire department can be notified even when you're not home. As well, you can get monitored carbon monoxide detectors, heat sensors and freeze sensors, remote control keyfobs and panic buttons. Systems can be customized to suit your needs and budget.

For a more complete description of some of these products, check out our SecurTek Safety Monitoring page.

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Yes, but it's very important to let your dealer know that you have pets because sometimes different types of products have to be used. As well, if you get a pet after your security system has been installed, please notify your Authorized Dealer.

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Yes, but you will have to contact your insurance broker directly to find out what the discount is. If you have one of our monitored security systems, we supply you with an official alarm certificate that you can take to your insurance agent verifying that you have a system.

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A hard wired system uses wire to connect all sensors to the control panel. Therefore, each and every sensor will be connected by a network of low voltage wire placed throughout your premise. In most cases it is not hard to wire a system especially if the installer can easily access your attic or if you have an undeveloped basement or simply a basement ceiling that is not accessible.

A wireless system uses no wires to connect the sensors to the control panel. Signals are transmitted and received by radio. The main benefit to a wireless system is that it is very easy to install and move.

Concerning dependability both systems are considered equals, especially since the major advancements in wireless technology. A SecurTek dealer can work with you to choose a system that best suits your home or business. There are also hybrid systems available through SecurTek that use both wired and wireless technology.

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VoIP is short for Voice-over Internet Protocol.  VoIP technology is used to take the voice signal from your telephone and convert it into a digital signal that can travel over the internet.  This allows users to obtain phone service through the internet while using regular telephone sets.

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There is a growing concern regarding VoIP and its affect on security systems.  Most alarm signals travel through regular phone lines.  When a VoIP phone system is installed it can eliminate the path an alarm signal would typically take to reach the monitoring station.  If VoIP is added as an additional line and is not connected in any way to your existing telephone outlets or wiring, communication from your home or business security system to SecurTek's monitoring station should not be affected.

However, if VoIP is installed as a replacement for your existing phone line, it can disrupt communication between your premises and SecurTek's monitoring station.

If you are thinking of changing your phone system to VoIP you should first ask your VoIP Provider the following quesitons:

     Will 911 service still be available?
     Will 411 (information) service still be available?
     What happens if my internet is down?
     Will my phone service be affected by power outages?
     How will VoIP affect other services that use the phone line, such as my security system?
     Will my home security system still send signals to the monitoring station?

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SecurTek always considers new technology to help keep costs down and to enhance the service offerings to our customers.  We are actively seeking solutions to this problem, and will keep you informed of any developments in this area.  We will continue to evalute all new technologies, including Voice over IP.

If and when SecurTek decides to launch any new service, we will make public announcements to inform all of our customers.  They can then make informed decisions about the benefits there are to having these new services.

It is very important that you inform us if you decide to change your telephone service to VoIP, and we can discuss any options that may be available to you at that time.

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When your SecurTek security system detects an alarm, a signal is transmitted to our Monitoring Station, which is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to dispatch the proper emergency personnel. Our attendants are professionally trained and certified through the Security Industry Association (SIA), an organization that sets standards and develops training programs for the security industry. As well, all our stations are Underwriters' Laboratories of Canada listed, which means they meet or exceed the highest standards. They are located in secure buildings, complete with back-up systems to ensure constant, uninterrupted service.

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SecurTek is committed to providing the highest level of service and security to our customers. We have two monitoring stations, one in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and one in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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When our Monitoring Station receives an alarm signal, a SecurTek attendant will call the premise, confirm the alarm and verify the password. If there is no answer or if the wrong password is provided, the attendant will then notify the police or proper emergency personnel. After that, they will call one of the responsible parties or contacts you provided when you had your system installed.

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Two hundred seconds is the industry standard for us to notify a contact after an alarm signal is received by the Monitoring Station. SecurTek has set our standards at less than 60 seconds and our average is consistently less than that.

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ULC stands for Underwriters Laboratories of Canada. It sets the standards for operation for alarm monitoring stations. The standards provide guidelines for monitoring station operations, which include having uninterrupted power supplies, as well as appropriate staffing levels, response times and security levels.

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When an alarm is triggered, the security system takes over the phone line and will cut you off so it can send a signal to the Monitoring Station.

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Depending on the local bylaws for the area in which your protected premise is located, there may be fines, penalties or suspension of service levied by the police department for a false alarm dispatch. Contact SecurTek toll free at 1-877-777-7590 or customer.care@securtek.sk.ca for more information regarding your specific municipal bylaws.

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False alarms are easily preventable as long as you are responsible in ensuring that all full-time and casual users of your system are fully trained on the alarm system's use and able to properly identify themselves to the monitoring station attendant.

Enhanced Alarm Verification is also available. With Enhanced Alarm Verification, SecurTek will:

• Call the premise once
• If there is no answer or a password cannot be verified, we will call an alternate number to verify if there is an emergency.
• If we cannot reach anyone on an alternate number, we will try the premise one more time and will dispatch.

To set up Enhanced Alarm Verification, just call the SecurTek Monitoring Station at 1-877-777-7591 or 1-877-696-8612 (Manitoba). If you own a business that is monitored by SecurTek, please fax the information to us at 1-877-777-7592.

Help Prevent False Alarms, click on the links below to view the documents:

• Residential False Alarm Prevention
• Commercial False Alarm Prevention
• False Alarms, Pets and Rodents
• What is your password?
• Are you ready for vacation?
• If you give them a key - give them a code

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Many alarm systems can be programmed to send activity reports to the Monitoring Station. This tells us who arms and disarms the system. The reports can be mailed or faxed on a weekly or monthly basis for a small fee. As well, alarm systems can be monitored to ensure that they are armed or disarmed at designated times. If there are different users and they use different codes a report on their activity could be generated if the system is programmed to send these signals. Please note that not all systems can be reprogrammed to send opening and closing reports. Not all systems have panel memories of past events and not all can be remotely accessed from the Monitoring Station to retrieve information.

SecurTek Web Check is also available to SecurTek customers. Web Check allows customers to access, view and print details of your SecurTek account activity on-line, through the SecurTek website, at your convenience. View user reports and history based on date ranges, print out records and more to help you manage your home or business your way.

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No. Your alarm systems send signals to the Monitoring Station using a toll free number.

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You can pay your monitoring fee by pre-authorized payment, cash, cheque, VISA or Mastercard. Payments can be made monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.

In Saskatchewan, the monitoring fees appear on your SaskTel telephone bill.

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