Is there a good point of contact (preferably in the Washington., D.C. area) that I could refer this question to? Related technology: I understand that there is an engineering group working on the remote sensing of events and reporting across the Web that would include home security services. Issue: I currently have home security service from ADT that uses dial-up and would probably change to such a data service if offered. I was recently notified that Fairfax County, VA passed an ordinance requiring anyone with such a service to register with the police (The fee is a minimal $10). Their problem is they often get false alarm calls to non 911 police services. My problem is that they say they will refuse to respond to such calls unless I am registered. Furthermore, the fines for "false alarms" escalate to $500 for any calls beyond 2 per year, with fines for non-registered user being substantially higher. Just as bad, they seem to be establishing two classes of police service, with slower response times for people using alarm systems. (The police told me that a neighbor calling that results in police not finding any break-in is not considered a false alarm.) Given that I pay as much or more to county property taxes, this doesn't seem right and possibly unconstitutional. It may also, were I to do this over the Internet, set precedent to regulate other Internet services. I am considering just cancelling the service to avoid the possible fines. Am I over-reacting here? Mike