Verizon Home Monitoring and Control Starts at $9.99/month

Verizon demonstrated a home automation and security solution at CES 2011, but the telco hasn’t said much since January.

Now it appears we have a price for Verizon Home Monitoring and Control, which is powered by Motorola 4Home: $9.99 per month for basic service.

The Tampa Tribune reports that Verizon will offer three levels of service, with the basic package enabling remote monitoring and control of cameras and Z-Wave devices (lighting, motorized door locks, appliances).

A second option includes “energy-monitoring gadgets like automatic thermostats, special Wi-Fi adapters that control appliances and lights, plus a sensor placed on the circuit box to measure whole-house energy use,” according to the article.

A third option gets you both packages, although the Tribune does not report pricing on these other tiers. Verizon has not responded to CE Pro’s inquiries about the service.

Verizon expects the products to be installed by consumers themselves – a tactic we questioned back in January (“Can Verizon Sell Home Control?").

According to the Tribune, “For the most part, customers would install gear themselves, or Verizon will suggest contractors for items like electric circuit panel sensors."

Verizon is the first major win for 4Home, developer of home automation engines for service providers. The company was acquired by Motorola last year.

4Home (and Verizon) face competition from other SaaS (software as a service) providers in the home monitoring and control space, including:

• iControl (powers ADT Pulse, Xfinity/Comcast Home Security, and DSC Connect24)
• Alarm.com (employed by GE Security/Interlogix, 2Gig Technologies)
• Honeywell Total Connect (also collaborating with Motorola 4Home)
• Xanboo (if AT&T ever does anything with it)
• Google Android@Home?
• Control4 (that’s the plan)

At $9.99, the Verizon service appears to be the least expensive offering among the major players, but the price does not include energy management and professional security monitoring, which alone tends to cost $25 to $30 per month.

ADT Pulse, for example, starts at $47.99 for a basic security and remote monitoring package (see ADT Pulse prices).

The Comcast/Xfinity Home Security package, utilizing technology from uControl, which was purchased by iControl last year, starts at $40 per month (see Xfinity prices).

Vivint, a large security/home automation dealer, charges $56.98 per month for a security and automation system with remote management capabilities (see Vivint prices).

Note: Pricing does not include hardware and installation.