AT&T to launch home monitoring service in March

By Sinead Carew LAS VEGAS, Jan 7 (Reuters) - AT&T Inc plans to kickoff its Digital Life home monitoring service in eight U.S.markets in March, part of its efforts to expand wirelessservices beyond phones. The No. 2 U.S. mobile service provider will offersubscriptions with protection from everything from burglars towater leaks and services including remote energy conservationfor what it hopes will become a $1 billion business. Since most people already pay for smartphone data services,operators including AT&T and its rivals Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are seeking new ways to makemoney from wireless connections. AT&T, which first demonstrated the service in May,, said on Monday that users would be able tomanage it from a Cisco Systems control panel at home orremotely from a smartphone or computer. It announced its launch plan at its developer conference daybefore the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and said itaims to expand beyond the initial markets to an additional 50markets by the end of 2013. Options will include a video package, which includes theability to view live video of the outside or inside of thesubscribers home, and an energy package, which allows remotecontrol of appliances like lights, heating and air conditioning. Another package will allow the subscriber to remotely opentheir door for a pet-sitter or repairman or to check from afarif the doors are opened or closed. Its water package could detect a water leak and shut of thesupply before any flooding occurs. It did not disclose prices. The security service requires AT&T to build monitoringcenters, which will be staffed around the clock so it canrespond to emergencies and notify the subscriber as well aspolice or firefighters. The service will work on smartphones from rival services aswell as devices connected to the AT&T network.