TYSONS, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 17, 2025--
The Electronic Security Association announced today the winners of the 2025 Electronic Security Expo (ESX) Innovation Awards. Alarm.com (Nasdaq: ALRM) for Business’s Cell Connector for Video won in the Video Surveillance – Hosted and Managed Video Systems category this year, recognizing Alarm.com’s strategic approach to expanding video surveillance in more locations.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250617724077/en/
The Cell Connector for Video expands video surveillance by enabling dependable connectivity in locations where traditional network access is unavailable, limited, or cost prohibitive. Currently only available in the U.S., the Cell Connector streamlines deployment by eliminating the need for separate third-party cellular service plans and routers. Designed for easy, plug-and-play installation, it seamlessly integrates with the Alarm.com platform to deliver reliable connectivity. This solution allows Alarm.com service providers to extend their service reach, increase recurring monthly revenue, and provide reliable security coverage in even the most challenging settings.
“The ESX Innovation Award is a testament to the transformative potential of the Alarm.com Cell Connector for Video,” said Brian Lohse, General Manager of Alarm.com for Business. “This solution is designed to overcome network limitations while simplifying installation and delivering reliable connectivity anywhere. We’re honored to be recognized for our commitment to innovation and look forward to making this product accessible to our service providers and customers later this year.”
Examples of the Cell Connector for Video in action include:
Alarm.com-powered systems are professionally installed and monitored across the US and Canada as well as select international markets. For more information on the Cell Connector for Video and the broader Alarm.com ecosystem of products and services, visit https://alarm.com.
About Alarm.com
Alarm.com is the leading platform for the intelligently connected property. Millions of consumers and businesses depend on Alarm.com's technology to manage and control their property from anywhere. Our platform integrates with a growing variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices through our apps and interfaces. Our security, video, access control, intelligent automation, energy management, and wellness solutions are available through our network of thousands of professional service providers in North America and around the globe. Alarm.com's common stock is traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ALRM. For more information, please visit Alarm.com.
Alarm.com's Cell Connector for Video wins a 2025 ESX Innovation Award
The Kremlin on Thursday said it was in contact with the French authorities over the fate of a French political scholar serving a three-year sentence in Russia and reportedly facing new charges of espionage.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia has made “an offer to the French” regarding Laurent Vinatier, arrested in Moscow last year and convicted of collecting military information, and that “the ball is now in France's court.” He refused to provide details, citing the sensitivity of the matter.
French President Emmanuel Macron is following Vinatier's situation closely, his office said in a statement. French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said Thursday that all government services are fully mobilized to pay provide consular support to Vinatier and push for his liberation as soon as possible.
Peskov's remarks come after journalist Jérôme Garro of the French TF1 TV channel asked President Vladimir Putin during his annual news conference on Dec. 19 whether Vinatier's family could hope for a presidential pardon or his release in a prisoner exchange. Putin said he knew “nothing” about the case, but promised to look into it.
Vinatier was arrested in Moscow in June 2024. Russian authorities accused him of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities” that could be used to the detriment of national security. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The arrest came as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine.
Vinatier's lawyers asked the court to sentence him to a fine, but the judge in October 2024 handed him a three-year prison term — a sentence described as “extremely severe” by France's Foreign Ministry, which called for the scholar's immediate release.
Detentions on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia and its heavily politicized legal system since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
In addition to criticizing his sentence, the French Foreign Ministry urged the abolition of Russia’s laws on foreign agents, which subject those carrying the label to additional government scrutiny and numerous restrictions. Violations can result in criminal prosecution. The ministry said the legislation “contributes to a systematic violation of fundamental freedoms in Russia, like the freedom of association, the freedom of opinion and the freedom of expression.”
Vinatier is an adviser for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Switzerland-based nongovernmental organization, which said in June 2024 that it was doing “everything possible to assist” him.
While asking the judge for clemency ahead of the verdict, Vinatier pointed to his two children and his elderly parents he has to take care of.
The charges against Vinatier relate to a law that requires anyone collecting information on military issues to register with authorities as a foreign agent.
Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recent legislation as part of a Kremlin crackdown on independent media and political activists intended to stifle criticism of the war in Ukraine.
In August 2025, Russian state news agency Tass reported that Vinatier was also charged with espionage, citing court records but giving no details. Those convicted of espionage in Russia face between 10 and 20 years in prison.
Russia in recent years has arrested a number of foreigners — mainly U.S. citizens — on various criminal charges and then released them in prisoner swaps with the United States and other Western nations. The largest exchange since the Cold War took place in August 2024, when Moscow freed journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, fellow American Paul Whelan, and Russian dissidents in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free.
FILE - French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, File)
