Providing fire, burglar and video surveillance systems worldwide, ADT is one of the industry leaders in security and alarm services. As of 2008, the company has branches in more than 50 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. ADT: History In the year 1874, 57 US district telegraph companies joined hands to form American District Telegraph (ADT). After several years of telegraph services, the company launched its signaling business in the latter part of the 19th century. ADT merged with AT&T in 1909 and entered into the new territory of fire and burglar alarms. In 1960, ADT became a public company. With aggressive business policies, including price cuts to overcome competition, ADT became the industry leader with more than 80% of the market share in the US. With a change in the top management of the company, ADT became a leading security service provider by the 1980s. The company expanded its operations across North America and some countries in Europe. It had more than one million customers worldwide in 1990s. In 1997, Tyco Fire & Security Services took over ADT. ADT Security Systems Installing and monitoring alarm systems is the premier service from ADT. Tyco manufactures alarm system products for ADT customers. However, the company also acquires products from GE, Bosch and Honeywell International. The ADT network of security services includes well located customer monitoring centers. These centers receive information when an alarm is triggered. On receiving the information, company executives investigate the authenticity of the alarm. Depending on the degree of emergency, the monitoring executive will either contact the location or inform the respective state authorities to take control of the situation. The ADT network includes the local police, fire services and hospitals for immediate action....