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FCC: VoIP Providers Must Provide 911 Services
acadiel writes "The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the FCC will require VoIP providers to provide 911 location services. This will mean extra $$$ that the VoIP providers will have to put out, which ultimately means extra $$$ that the consumer will have to put out. This is the first step in regulating an industry that should have been left alone..." I hope network end-points and physical location aren't going to be too tightly linked; one of the appeals of VoIP is using it from anywhere that has an adequate Internet connection.
Isn't this going to just push VoIP companies overseas where there won't be as tight regulation? It doesn't matter to the end user in the long run where the physical servers are located afterall.
So, since servers can be anywhere in the world for VoIP, it's going to be like calling 911 from your cell phone-- no address unless you give them one, no identity data until you give them some. Great.
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i'm not a big fan of regulation, but requiring access to emergency services seems like a pretty reasonable request. the tone of this story seems to indicate that the government mandating that people are able to call for emergency service is somehow a bad thing. it's in the "your rights online" section, but i don't see where my rights are being trampled.
Perhaps, those who want 911 locating service should actually subscribe to it rather than the government mandating it.
M
I have a serious question though: has anything ever NOT been ruined by standardization/regulation?
"Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"?
What?
I take offense at this article that things are being regulated that are "better off being left alone". I'm sorry, but requiring 911 features is not an excessive regulation. So users of the VoIP services are going to have to pay more - big deal. Having 911 access is very important and often means the difference between life and death, or extinguished fire versus hundreds of thousands of dollars lost. Since the VoIP services aren't capable of being altruistic and offering a very much needed service, the government needs to step in and enforce these regulations. This is what the government is supposed to do, and is certainly not "government overstepping its bounds"!
Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
" Leave it to big business government corporate interests"
I'm not sure what this means? I assume from the rest of the post you want govt to leave the business alone. Standarization is usually good for competition, as long as the govt. isn't the one doing the standardizing, but instead representatives of companies that are actually competent in their field.
As much as I believe that most politicians are horse thieves and some things should be less regulated (radio frequencies for public use, for example), I think I'd be pissed if I got VoIP home phone service and wasn't able to call 911 in an emergency.
C
Despite everyone here seeming to think that VoIP should be totally unregulated, 911 support is IMHO a very Good Thing.
People expect - and reasonably so - that they can pick up any phone in the country, dial 911, and get an emergency operator.
And how long is it going to be before people start installing VoIP payphones, if they haven't already? What about pre-wired apartment complexes offering cheap phone service?
Use of VoIP isn't limited to geeks with a dedicated and separate VoIP setup anymore.
Um...this is 911 we're talking about here. I pay 25 cents on my phone bill for 911 service. God forbid, I ever have to use 911 - but I'm thankful it is there. Good for the FCC.
So the guy who wrote this article seems to think that regulating VoIP is a bad thing. I would agree with him to a degree, but having an emergency number is critical if you ever expect VoIP to replace normal land line phones. Personally, I would not want to rely completely on VoIP if it didn't have 911. What if a family member had a heart attack or something, should people die because they don't want the FCC regulating their phone systems? I think not.
You're not thinking. Voice over IP is the future. In a couple of years your cell phone might be just a node on wireless internet rather than on a cell-tower based system. Wouldn't it be nice to call around the world, effectively for free, from your VOIP gadget? Now, wouldn't you want to call 911 when you're in trouble? Any cell phone sold today must connect to 911, regardless of whether it's currently subscribed. This needs to happen to any new communications systems, for all our safety. They're our airwaves, and our taxpayer dollars, and they're putting them to good use.
Think less like "headphones and microphone at a pc" and more like "normal-looking phone on a desk".
If and when these become commonplace in the home, you're going to expect it to work in a similar fashion to how your current phone works. Particularly, when you dial 911, you'd like the call routed to a local, nearby 911 service dispatcher, so they can get help to you quickly.
Most customers will prefer providers that actually offer 911 features in the first place. It's a value proposition and people usually take their family's security pretty seriously.
I think it should be left alone, people can make their own decisions. If they choose a VoIP provider without 911 then it's their problem (or perhaps they use it as a second line and have 911 on their POTS).
You can't tell the difference between a VOIP phone and a non-VOIP phone. What if there's an emergency at someone's house and they use a VOIP that didn't have a 911 number? The person in the emergency situation may not know this and try dialing 911. They end up getting who-knows-what when they are expecting help.
The stressful nature of emergencies makes it hard to think and people have it drilled into them to dial 911 in an emergency. If 911 doesn't work, the situation could get much worse.
Just imagine dialing 911 because someone's bleeding out on the floor and getting an advertisement asking you if you'd like to buy this number.
Outdoor digital photography, mostly in New Engl
If a VoIP provider doesn't have to offer 911 and it doesn't offer it then I hope it is immune from lawsuits regarding 911. People will also hopefully keep some other means of calling 911 then. However, if a VoIP provider offers 911 people might use that as their only means of calling for help in an emergency and if it doesn't work someone may die, there may be huge lawsuits, etc. I'm sure this will happen soon enough.
Many people don't think about them, or think about needing them, until an actual emergency strikes. Then it's too late. It's not a matter of if it is important to consumers, but rather if it is important to society. If we left all safety related decisions up to "the consumers" we'd be in a world of trouble. The majority isn't always right, and our system was built to acknowledge that.
A true majority-rule democracy would do just that. Everyone would have a direct vote on anything important and whatever the public said, would go. That's not how it works. We are a federal republic that is very democratic. People have a strong say in the government, and direct vote on many things, but their word is not final and they don't get to control everything directly.
Another poster alluded to this, but do you also think individuals should be able to subscribe for police and fire protection? If you are being held hostage, the police look up your details in their database, see that you aren't a subscriber, and refuse to help out? Your house is burning down and you and your family are trapped inside, but the fire department drives past your house because you didn't sign up for service?
I'm all for less government control and red tape, but emergency services is one of those areas which I don't mind having it mandated.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
It's not like 911 is the only way to get in touch with the police.
You have 15 seconds. Tell me the non-911 way to report an emergency to the fire department where you are presently located.
See, the point of 911 is to have a dedicated emergency number that connects you to a trained dispatcher with the power to dispatch police, fire, and emergency medical services that is the same from coast to coast. As a result, most police and fire departments have ended their efforts to promote their local-access numbers because schoolchildren just need to learn what 911 is. The emergency numbers are no longer on a sticker on your phone, no longer on a magnet on your fridge, and no longer on the inside cover of your phone book. The inside cover now just tells you to call 911.
If consumers want it, they can pay for it- if not, they shouldn't have to.
Sorry, that's not how we do emergency services in this country. You don't get to opt out of emergency services to save a few pennies because you never know when you or somebody around you will need it. Any phone that's connected to the network, even one that has no paid-for service, has the ability to reach 911 at all times.
there were those little modem viruses that would continually dial 911?
How long till we see a worm that floods 911 using VoIP from all infected hosts?
Well, when you move your phone from one location to another, your IP Address may change. If your IP Address changes, and you want to use your phone, it should be programmed that when you pick up your receiver, it will AUTOMATICALLY call the Voice Mail box to allow you to update the 911 Location information. This can be done via a Voice Mail Update or Web Page.
Now here is the simple thing. When 911 call is detected, it will call 911 via the Voice Mail interface, put the caller on hold while the Voice Mail will reply to the 911 Operator with the address information OR if it the information is available via web page, the Operator's Caller ID interface would interlink with the LDAP server where the client updated the information and would query this data.
Once the operator is satisfied with address location, operator presses 1 to talk to caller and poof most info is already there.
Nothing too hard to do... Just a little upgrade for the operators to get down with the info.
The key is that if the IP Address changes again, the client must reprogram the 911 Caller info before making any calls.
*Headline News* censorship shuts down the Internet! More at 6PM!
Only a masochistic, suicidal psychopath
who is bent on self-destruction would cut their telephone land-line and
rely on VoIP without locator service.
I can hear it now.
Help Needed:My house is on fire and I'm caught under a burning bookcase!!!
911 Operator:Please stay calm and tell me your location.
Help Needed:The ceiling's collapsing! Aaaaagggghhhhh!!!!
Yah... but he saved a buck or two per month!
This post encoded with ROT26. If you can read it, you've violated the DMCA. Handcuffs please, sergeant.
Hello, 911. What is the nature of your emergency?
A fire, I see. What are you willing to pay us to respond? <pause > I see. I'm sorry, that's not enough. We have another situation with richer folks that you and they pay us FAR more than that. I'm sorry. Perhaps you can use a bucket.
Because government should be run like business - Profitably and only for those willing to pay.
eat the poor.
Yes. And even if you were willing to accept the risk, there are other people in your house at times--workers, or babysitters, the PG&E guy, that may, in an emergency, need to use your phone to dial 911.
demi
One reason people may be opposed to it is that I would guess few people at this point use VOIP as their only phone service. For example, I currently have a packet8 account that I use for long distance calls, but I also have a cell. If I'm already paying for GPS on my cell so people can reach me, why should I pay twice so I can call from my VOIP phone? At this stage people who sign up for VOIP are mostly early adopter techies who are aware of the 911 issue.
The other thing that makes it more difficult is that VOIP numbers, unlike POTS numbers, can use any area code/exchange. My VOIP exchange is for a town half an hour away from me, and if I wanted I could have an area code on the other side of the country. This means that getting 911 to work will be a significant expense for VOIP companies.
The fact that people have signed up for VOIP without it suggests that at least some people don't see a need for it and thus don't want to pay - either they have other phones or they can put a little note next to their VOIP with the fire department's number on it.
I have blog like everyone else
So when you're convulsing on the floor, and you just so happened to forget to recharge your cell-phone battery, and your grandmother from out of state walks in to discover your face turning blue, I'm sure she won't be the least upset by the fact that you were to damn cheap to pay for 911 service on your state-of-the-art VoIP phone.
Indeed.
And in more, shall we say, "entrepeneurial" towns, the unsubscribed would receive occasional visits by firefighters who would wander around the outside of the residence saying things like "Beautiful home...but a fire trap. One little spark and the whole thing would go up. It would be a real shame if this house burned down. Would everyone be able to get out if the house caught fire?"
More costs due to Geroge Bush's big "terrorism" propaganda ploy.
As a European its funny to see how American's totally believe the rubbish that they are all in imminent danger of a terrorist attack after having one incident almost 3 years ago.
The amount of deaths due to this incident were totally insignificant compared to say American gun-deaths that have occured since, yet while gun laws remain unchanged, every area of American has undergone change to take into account a threat which has so far actually affected 0.000018% of Americans.