Spark releases Morepork on to home video monitoring market

SPARK is selling a home security service that sends alerts to customers’ smartphones if alarms are triggered and lets them view live video from their homes.

The service, Morepork, costs $999 plus $29.95 a month, or $49.95 a month if customers take up an option for professional monitoring by Whangarei company Alarm Watch.

Spark spokeswoman Gemma Croombs said Morepork was its first move into the ‘‘smart living’’ market, a category of services that can also include products to remotely control heating, lighting and home appliances.

The company is seeking ways to shore up its revenues, eroded by a plummeting contribution from landline calls and by stronger competition in the broadband and mobile markets.

However, Morepork will only be offered initially to Spark broadband customers.

Specialist security companies such as ADT and Chubb already sell professionally monitored home alarms that can send alerts to smartphones and there are a plethora of products that let people set up cameras to keep an eye on their properties.

But discussing Morepork in June, Insurance Council operations manager Terry Jordan said packaging those services together could be a step forward.

Morepork customers will get a ‘‘starter kit’’ with three door and window sensors, an image sensor designed to detect people in the home, a video camera for remote monitoring and a control panel. All are designed to be installed by the customer and can be taken with them if they move home.

Spokeswoman Lucy Fullarton said smoke alarms, extra sensors and additional indoor video cameras could be added.

Clips from the video cameras could be saved and downloaded, for example if they were required to provide evidence of a break-in.