Internet Calling’s Downside: Failing to Link Callers to 911 | WSJ | 5.12.05
Low-Cost Services Gain Popularity, But Regulators Have Concerns; Routed to Recorded Message
When Cheryl Waller’s seemingly healthy 3½-month-old daughter, Julia, suddenly stopped breathing in March, she immediately grabbed the phone and dialed 911. She repeatedly got a recording that began by saying, “If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 911.”
In a panic, Ms. Waller raced to a neighbor who called 911. But Julia was dead by the time help arrived.
Ms. Waller, who lives in Deltona, Fla., with her husband and four other children, didn’t get through to 911 because she was receiving her phone service from Vonage Holdings Corp., an Internet-based phone company that doesn’t connect to 911 the way that most people have come to expect. “I think we lost our daughter because of this,” says Ms. Waller, who says doctors attributed her daughter’s death to sudden infant death syndrome. …
Long a security blanket for callers, connecting with 911 service has become an issue with the advent of new technologies. Emergency operators, for example, don’t always automatically know where a person is calling from when he or she dials 911 on a cellphone. But the 911 problem is particularly acute with some Internet-based phone service. …
Vonage and other Internet-based carriers say they are working on solutions that give customers full emergency service. AT&T says it plans to have full 911 service for about 70% of its Internet calling customers by the end of the year.
911 HITCHES
Problems that can occur with some Internet-calling services:
- Customers forget to register their addresses — or don’t update them when they move
- Customers call 911 but get routed to numbers that may not be answered by live operators, particularly after hours.
Type Description Comment Traditional Phone Phone line is linked to a fixed location and call is connected directly to live emergency operators who automatically see the caller ’s location on a computer screen. Extremely reliable Cell Phone Calls to 911 are traced by satellites or other technology. Problems can arise from dropped calls, imprecise location information and antiquated 911 answering centers. Internet Calling From Cable Companies Generally works the same way as traditional service because the number is linked to a fixed address and agreements are in place for connecting directly to the 911 system. Extremely reliable Calling From Internet-based Carriers Caller registers an address (usually their home address), and a database routes the call to the emergency center nearest the address. Even some callers who register their addresses can have calls sent to non-emergency numbers at 911
CRTC Decision on 9-1-1 Emergency Services for
VoIP Service Providers | 4.5.05
OTTAWA-GATINEAU — The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced a decision that addresses the requirements for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service providers to offer emergency 9-1-1 service.
In this decision, the Commission requires VoIP service providers who provide fixed VoIP service to provide the same level of 9-1-1 emergency service that is provided by the incumbent telephone companies to their existing customers (either Enhanced 9-1-1 or Basic 9-1-1 service), within 90 days from the date of this decision.
The Commission requires VoIP service providers providing either nomadic VoIP service or foreign exchange VoIP service to implement, within 90 days of the date of this decision, an interim solution which provides a level of service comparable to Basic 9-1-1 service. …
Types of VoIP Services
There are currently three different types of VoIP service offered to customers: fixed, nomadic and foreign exchange. Users of fixed VoIP service can only place a telephone call from the location where their service is is being provided. Users of nomadic VoIP service can make calls from any location where users can get access to Internet service. Foreign exchange VoIP service allows users in one exchange to receive telephone calls dialled as local calls in another exchange that they have selected (e.g. a customer located in Ottawa with a Halifax local telephone number).
Existing Enhanced and Basic 9-1-1 Services
The existing local telephone network currently provides for two types of 9-1-1 service: Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) service and Basic 9-1-1 service. Enhanced 9-1-1 service automatically sends customer location information to an emergency centre where an operator dispatches a response service. Basic 9-1-1 service connects the caller to a central call centre which then connects the call to the correct emergency response centre, at which point the caller must identify his or her location in order for an emergency response service to be dispatched.
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Vonage Digital Newsletter | Issue 2 | 2005
Activate Your 911 Service!
If you haven’t activated 911 Dialing, please do it now by clicking here. If you have more than one Vonage line, you’ll need to activate it for each line. Because you can move your device and use it anywhere, 911 Dialing isn’t set up for you automatically. All you have to do is follow the simple steps below to activate it.
You can get to the 911 dialing activation page by logging into your web account and clicking on the “Features” tab.
See VoIP and NENA. Also see 1.0 and 1.1. If 911 is an essential service, should there ever be an opt-in for it? And, should the information regarding the necessity for opting-in ever be optional?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree that it should be an opt-out, not an opt-in.
I agree that it should be an opt-out, not an opt-in.