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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.
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
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.
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).
"My house has never caught fire. Why should I help pay for the fire department?"
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.
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?
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
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.