Elevator emergency communication is more than simply having a telephone inside the cab. A properly functioning elevator communication system gives a passenger a reliable way to request assistance and communicate with trained personnel when an elevator stops unexpectedly, a passenger becomes trapped, or another emergency occurs.
For building owners and property managers, maintaining dependable two-way elevator communication is an important part of passenger safety and elevator code compliance. LiftCom Services helps make that responsibility easier with professional installation, service, testing, and LiftCom Connect, our cellular communication solution designed to replace aging traditional telephone lines.
What Is Two-Way Communication for Elevators?
Two-way elevator communication allows a passenger inside an elevator to establish communication with someone outside the elevator during an emergency.
In a typical system, a passenger presses the emergency call button inside the elevator. The elevator communication equipment initiates a call through the building’s communication service to a designated monitoring center or other authorized answering point. Once connected, the passenger and responding personnel can communicate so the situation can be assessed and the appropriate response initiated.
The important distinction is the word two-way. An alarm that simply makes a sound or sends a notification is not the same as a communication system that allows information to travel in both directions.
A passenger needs a dependable method of requesting assistance, while the person receiving the call needs a way to determine where the call originated, understand the situation, and coordinate an appropriate response.
Why Is Two-Way Elevator Communication Important?
An elevator can stop for many reasons, including equipment problems, power interruptions, building emergencies, or safety systems operating as designed. Whatever the cause, a passenger inside the elevator may have no practical way to leave the cab without assistance.
That makes communication especially important.
A working elevator emergency communication system provides a connection between the passenger and the people responsible for helping them. It can reassure passengers that assistance is on the way while giving monitoring personnel the information needed to respond appropriately.
This becomes even more important in buildings serving senior residents, medical facilities, hotels, apartment and condominium communities, parking structures, and other properties where elevators are used by a large and diverse population.
Is Two-Way Communication Required in Elevators?
Elevator emergency communication is addressed by applicable elevator safety and accessibility requirements, including provisions associated with ASME elevator safety standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The specific requirements that apply to an individual elevator can depend on factors such as the equipment, installation date, jurisdiction, building configuration, and applicable code edition.
Modern requirements have also evolved beyond the idea of simply placing a conventional telephone handset inside an elevator. Accessibility is an important consideration because an emergency communication system must account for passengers who may have hearing or speech disabilities.
For property owners and managers, the practical takeaway is straightforward: the elevator’s emergency communication equipment needs to work when someone actually needs it.
Having equipment installed is not enough if the underlying telephone line is dead, unreliable, disconnected, or incompatible with the elevator equipment.
The Communication Line Is a Critical Part of the System
The emergency phone inside an elevator is only one component of the communication path.
When the emergency button is activated, that call must travel from the elevator equipment through a communication service and ultimately reach the monitoring center or designated answering point. A failure anywhere along that path can prevent a successful emergency call.
For decades, many elevators relied on traditional copper POTS telephone lines. Those lines were once an easy and dependable way to provide dial tone to elevator equipment.
Today, maintaining those legacy lines can be considerably more difficult and expensive. Telecommunications providers have continued transitioning away from aging copper infrastructure, while property owners can face increasing costs for telephone service that may rarely be used.
Simply switching an elevator to ordinary VoIP service is not always the best answer either. Elevator emergency communication has requirements that are very different from an office desk phone. This is where LiftCom Connect provides another option.
LiftCom Connect: Cellular Service for Elevator Communication
LiftCom Connect provides the communication connection needed by compatible elevator emergency phone equipment without requiring a traditional copper telephone line.
The system uses cellular connectivity while providing the interface necessary for existing equipment to place its emergency calls. In many installations, this allows a property to modernize the communication service without replacing otherwise functional elevator phone equipment simply because the old telephone infrastructure is disappearing.
The result is a practical bridge between existing elevator equipment and today’s cellular networks.
For property owners, this can also eliminate the expense and frustration associated with maintaining a dedicated legacy telephone line solely for an elevator.
Professional Installation from LiftCom Services
Replacing an elevator communication line is not something we believe should end with shipping a cellular device to a property and expecting the building staff to figure out the rest.
LiftCom Services provides professional installation and service to help ensure LiftCom Connect is properly integrated with the property’s elevator communication equipment.
Our technicians can evaluate the existing setup, install the necessary LiftCom Connect equipment, establish the cellular connection, and verify operation of the communication path. We focus on providing an organized installation and a smooth handoff so property managers know what was installed and how their elevator communication service is being supported.
That approach is particularly valuable for property management companies responsible for multiple buildings. Instead of managing a mixture of aging telephone accounts, copper lines, carriers, and elevator phone configurations, LiftCom can provide a more consistent communication solution across a portfolio of properties.
Two-Way Communication Without the Old Copper Phone Line
Moving away from traditional telephone infrastructure does not mean abandoning existing elevator emergency communication equipment.
In many cases, it means modernizing the connection behind it.
LiftCom Connect allows compatible elevator communication equipment to use cellular service while continuing to provide the telephone-style connection the equipment expects. The passenger still uses the elevator’s emergency communication system normally; the major change occurs behind the scenes in how that call reaches its destination.
This makes LiftCom Connect an attractive option for properties dealing with expensive POTS lines, discontinued copper service, unreliable legacy telephone connections, or an upcoming elevator communication inspection.
Serving Property Managers and Building Owners
LiftCom Services works with apartment and condominium communities, commercial properties, hotels and motels, senior living and managed care facilities, hospitals, parking structures, and other buildings that depend on reliable elevator emergency communication.
We understand that building owners and property managers generally are not looking to become telecommunications experts. They need the system to work, the installation to be handled professionally, and their emergency communication service to remain dependable.
That is exactly what LiftCom Services and LiftCom Connect are designed to provide.
Upgrade Your Elevator’s Two-Way Communication
If your elevator still relies on an aging copper telephone line, your phone bill continues to increase, or you are concerned about the reliability of your existing emergency communication service, LiftCom Services can evaluate your current setup and recommend an appropriate path forward.
With LiftCom Connect, we can help replace outdated telephone infrastructure with dependable cellular connectivity while providing the professional installation and service needed to make the transition straightforward.
Using the form below, Contact LiftCom Services today to schedule an evaluation of your elevator two-way communication system and learn whether LiftCom Connect is right for your property.
