Once a gate is automated, the next question is how people get through it. Remotes cover the household, but visitors, deliveries and family need another way in, and many owners want to see who is at the gate before opening it. The options range from a simple keypad to a video intercom on your phone and cameras that recognise your number plate. Each suits a different kind of drive.
Wired Video Intercoms
The traditional option is a camera panel at the gate cabled to a screen in the house. It needs no internet or mobile signal, which makes it reliable, and the picture is usually good. The limit is the cable: on a long drive, running a cable from the gate to the house means trenching, which can cost more than the intercom. Wired systems suit homes where the gate is reasonably close to the house and a cable can share the trench with the gate's power supply.
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GSM and 4G Intercoms
A GSM intercom holds a SIM card. When a visitor presses the button, it rings your mobile or landline, and you press a number on your phone to open the gate. Approved numbers can also open the gate just by calling the unit. Because it uses the mobile network, it needs no cable to the house and works even without broadband, which makes it popular on long rural drives.
Any new unit should be 4G. The UK has switched off 3G, and older 3G-only gate units have stopped working. Check the mobile signal at the gate before choosing one, because some valleys and wooded drives have weak coverage.
Wi-Fi and App Intercoms
A Wi-Fi intercom joins your home network, so you can see and speak to visitors through an app and open the gate from anywhere. Many record clips and send alerts. The catch is signal: home Wi-Fi rarely reaches the end of a long drive. Mesh extenders often struggle outdoors, and the usual fix is a point-to-point wireless bridge with a clear line of sight between the house and the gate. Beyond around 100 metres, or with trees and buildings in the way, installers often run a data cable or fibre instead.
Keypads and Fobs
A keypad by the gate is the simplest way to let regular visitors, carers and couriers in without giving out remotes. Codes can be changed, and some keypads allow temporary codes. Proximity fobs are a tidy alternative for regular users. On a shared driveway, a keypad and push-button exit help make sure every household can get through as easily as before.
ANPR Number Plate Cameras
Automatic number plate recognition cameras read the plate of an approaching car and open the gate if it is on your approved list. For households with several cars, or carers and family who visit often, it removes the need for remotes entirely. UK access control maker Nortech puts basic ANPR cameras from around £600, with installed commercial systems from around £7,000. Domestic systems sit between the two.
ANPR needs careful positioning to read plates reliably, including at night, and a camera aimed at your own drive inside the boundary is better from a privacy point of view than one reading plates on the public road. Ask the installer how it handles unknown cars, such as a hire car, and what happens if the camera fails.
Cameras, Privacy and the Law
Any camera at the gate, including the one in a video intercom, can bring data protection rules into play. The Information Commissioner's Office says data protection law applies when home CCTV captures someone else's property, a public area or communal space. If yours does, you need a clear reason, should not capture more than you need, should put up a sign, must deal with requests from people who were recorded, and should delete footage regularly.
The government's own domestic CCTV guidance, updated in 2026, also asks owners to consider whether they need to record audio at all. Courts have taken neighbour complaints seriously: in a 2021 case, a homeowner's doorbell and shed cameras were found to have breached data protection law, partly because they recorded audio far beyond what was needed. The ICO's domestic guidance was under review in 2026 following the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, so check its current advice.
What These Systems Cost
Prices vary widely. Supplier listings put 4G GSM intercom units at roughly £300 to £500 before installation, and video intercom kits range from a few hundred pounds for a basic wired system to well over £1,000 for an IP system with app and cloud recording. ANPR adds more again. Installation, cabling or a wireless bridge, and integration with the gate controller come on top, so ask for these to be itemised in the quote.
Choosing the Right System for Your Drive
If the gate is close to the house, a wired video intercom is reliable and simple. If it is at the end of a long drive, as on many homes around Westerham and the Greensand ridge, a 4G intercom or a Wi-Fi intercom on a wireless bridge avoids trenching. If several cars come and go every day, ANPR is worth considering. For security, a camera that records the entrance adds real value, provided it is set up within the privacy rules. Whatever you choose, ask for it to be integrated with the automated gate system by the installer, so the gate, the safety devices and the access control are commissioned and tested together.
Connecting the Intercom to the Gate
An intercom only opens the gate if it is wired into the gate's control board, so plan both together. The intercom needs power at the gate, a connection to the controller's open input, and, for a wired system, a cable to the house. If the gate is being installed new, the cables can share the same trench as the gate's power supply. If you are adding an intercom to an existing gate, ask the installer to check the controller has a spare input and that adding the intercom does not interfere with the safety devices.
Systems for Older Users and Carers
Simple is often better. For older owners, a handset or screen with large buttons, or a GSM unit that rings an ordinary phone, can be easier than an app. Carers and family can be given their own keypad codes or remotes, which can be withdrawn later. If someone relies on carers or emergency visits, make sure the access arrangement still works in a power cut, through battery backup, a manual release or a key safe by the gate.
Keeping Access Control Up to Date
Access lists need maintenance. Delete fobs and phone numbers when people move out, change codes when tradespeople and former staff no longer need them, and keep app accounts limited to the people who should have them. Ask the installer how updates are made to the intercom's software, and whether the supplier still supports the model. A gate whose codes have been shared widely over the years is far less secure than it looks.
Finally, think about how the system will be used in five years. Phones change, apps stop being supported and networks are switched off, as the 3G shutdown showed. Choosing a well-known brand with a UK supplier, keeping the installer's details, and asking for the system to be documented in the gate's handover pack all make future changes easier and cheaper.