Canada’s largest alarm monitoring wholesaler sees SpaceX’s Starlink as future of the internet
Canada’s largest alarm monitoring wholesaler has branched out into the sale of components to alarm service providers, while also advocating for what the company believes is the wave of the future – wireless satellite internet.
Lanvac Surveillance was among the nearly 70 security services companies from across eastern Canada that took part on April 20 in the Security Canada East trade show at the Laval Sheraton.
Back after Covid
This was the first Security Canada show to be held live and in-person since the onset of the Covid pandemic more than two years ago.
With Security Canada conventions also taking place in western and central Canada, the time was ripe to focus on building and renewing relationships with thousands of professionals deeply involved in Canada’s security services sector.
Canada-wide monitoring
Although providing infrastructure for Canada’s fire and intrusion alarm industries is Lanvac’s main interest, other forms of surveillance are growing. Still, Lanvac’s main business remains the wholesaling of alarm monitoring, and it provides service to more than 2,500 alarm companies across Canada.
“We don’t necessarily install the alarm system, we simply monitor it across Canada,” said Stephanos Georgoudes, Lanvac Surveillance’s communications and technology manager. He is one of several members of the Georgoudes family who are involved with Lanvac.
New NBG Telecom spin-off
He noted that the company has multiple central stations across Canada, and increasingly in remote locations internationally, providing services in this country’s two official languages.
As part of a diversification effort launched more than two years ago, Lanvac spun off a new commercial entity, NBG Telecom, which sells alarm equipment to consumer alarm services companies who are Lanvac customers.
“If you are a Lanvac dealer, you get the opportunity to have discounts and the equipment is sold by NBG Telecom,” said Georgoudes, noting that Lanvac is able to offer better deals by using Lanvac’s client base as leverage to get equipment manufacturer discounts.
Now connected to ‘Starlink’
In addition to its new division, Lanvac recently received authorization from global business magnate Elon Musk’s SpaceX aerospace to activate all Lanvac central monitoring stations with wireless satellite internet, for the eventuality that conventional fiber optic internet networks should fail.
“Let’s say Bell goes down, Videotron goes down, if for whatever the reason the internet providers locally crash, you can be sure that Lanvac’s central stations will still have internet because of SpaceX’s Starlink dish,” said Georgoudes.
He said SpaceX Starlink technology has managed to overcome a long-time drawback of satellite service – transmission latency, also known as “lag” – after placing thousands of satellites into low earth orbit to ensure continuous coverage.
‘SpaceX’ the disrupter
Calling SpaceX Starlink the wave of the future for business- or home-based internet, Georgoudes said, “This disconnects your dependence on local internet providers.” He speculated that the looming mass-market arrival of Starlink will probably force hardwired fiber-optic services like Bell and Videotron to drop their prices.
Raised in Montreal’s Park Extension district – which was at one time home for most of the city’s Greeks – brothers John and Bill Georgoudes, turned a small burglar alarm company they founded around 35 years ago into Lanvac.
A family business
Lanvac’s first monitoring station was in Montreal’s Park Extension neighbourhood, in the basement of a building at the corner of Durocher and Jean Talon. Bill got his elementary education at Barclay School on Wiseman Ave., while John attended Strathcona Academy in Outremont.
Bill received his secondary education at the former William Hingston High School, which has since become the area’s most important community centre. John attended another legendary secondary school, Baron Byng High, which was made famous by novelist Mordecai Richler.
