Protection One Inc., a Lawrence-based provider of monitored-security services, announced Thursday that it was rebranding its operations in the southeastern United States by dropping its partner, BellSouth Telecommunications.

The decision means that branding with BellSouth – a company acquired a year ago by AT&T – will end on or before June 30, Protection One said.

The alliance had been formed in 2001 to market security services in the nine-state region served by BellSouth, under the brand of BellSouth Security Systems from Protection One.

Protection One operates under the Protection One brand name in the rest of the United States.

Protection One said that given its own significant investment in infrastructure and talent during the past six years, the company stands prepared to replace the marketing alliance with its own sales and marketing operations.

“The company believes value creation is best accomplished under the Protection One brand,” the company said.

For more information, visit www.protectionone.com.