What is a Honeywell Home LTE-21A?

The Honeywell Home LTE-21A is an LTE communicator that is designed exclusively for use with the Honeywell Home VISTA 21iPLTE System. It consists of a plug-in module that connects directly with the VISTA 21iPLTE board. The module provides service across the AT&T LTE Cellular Network.

Any Honeywell System requires an AlarmNet Communicator to connect with AlarmNet and maintain communication with Total Connect 2.0. What's unique about the VISTA 21iPLTE is that the system already has an integrated IP communicator for this function. But relying on IP connectivity alone isn't recommended. This is because an internet outage would take the panel offline and leave the user unmonitored. But luckily, you can use cellular communication as a reliable backup. If the internet ever goes down, the system will instead send out signal across its cellular communication path. This will help ensure that the system maintains connectivity with the AlarmNet Servers at all times.

The Honeywell Home LTE-21A is an example of a cellular communicator that provides a backup communication path for when the internet is out. A great aspect of the LTE-21A is that it does not require you to disable the built-in IP communicator for the VISTA 21iPLTE System. You can keep the IP communicator functioning as the primary path, while the LTE-21A provides the cellular backup. This is commonly referred to as dual-path communication. Most security experts will agree that dual-path connectivity provides the ultimate setup in terms of speed and reliability. Please note that you do technically have the option of disabling the IP communication path and going cellular only. However, most VISTA 21iPLTE System users will keep the IP path enabled because of its slightly faster speeds.

If you decide to use a Honeywell Home LTE-21A with your VISTA 21iPLTE System, then you will need a monitoring plan that includes cellular service. Cellular monitoring plans typically cost more than IP-only plans due to the fees that the monitoring company must pay the cellular service provider. For Alarm Grid customers, any Gold or Platinum Plan will include both IP and cellular (dual-path) communication. This includes any Full Plan or any Self Plan. Remember, a Full Plan will include service from a central monitoring station, while a Self Plan will not.

Note: At the time of this writing in late September 2012, the Honeywell Home LTE-21A has not yet been released. Only the Honeywell Home LTE-21V with service from the Verizon LTE Network is currently available. If you have adequate coverage from the Verizon LTE Network, then the Honeywell Home LTE-21V should work just fine for you. If you absolutely need service from AT&T, then you will need to wait for the LTE-21A to be released. We are hopeful that the LTE-21A will be released sometime in the near future.