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.

Comments

Cell phone

[Luigi30]

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.

Vonage has 911 service already

[xkenny13]

I'm using Vonage for VoIP phone service, and they already allow Dialing 911.

Are there other VoIP service providers that don't?

Re:Vonage has 911 service already

[phoneboy]

Many providers do 911 a bit like speed dial -- the provider looks up your address, assigns "911" to your local Public Safety Access Point. However:

1. Not all providers do this.
2. The providers that do it often get it wrong.
3. You often don't know they got it wrong until you need it because there's no way for you to "verify" that it works.
4. Not all PSAPs are created equal -- in some areas, you get to a 911 call center, in others it gets you somewhere else that isn't exactly a 911 call center.

Personally, I think it should be up to the provider if they want to provide 911 or not. They shouldn't be allowed to say they provide 911 service unless it is done right .

-- PhoneBoy

Re:Vonage has 911 service already

[LostCluster]

Vonage has a poor fill-in for 911 service already, the ability to map "911" to the local police department.

Sorry. That's not 911, and it's far away from e911. Phone companies is required to provide the true e911. That means when you hit 911, you get connected immediately to the right call center servicing your area that has the capability to dispatch police, fire, and medical resources and your location data is automatically sent to that center as well.

911 call centers cannot be reached by mapping to any 10-digit number. There is no 10-digit number for them, they are simply known as 911 on the network within the region they serve. Vonage's immitation 911 depends on mapping 911 to a 10-digit number, so it can't find the call center and has to hope the police can help them. If you call a police department to report a fire, you will lose when-seconds-count time being bounced around while things burn.

If Vonage wants to compete with the phone companies, they have to have the same regulatory burdens that the FCC slaps on phone companies. It's only fair. If it means Vonage has to limit portability and/or raise prices to

Re:Vonage has 911 service already

[MrChuck]

I'm a capitalist, and as such my instictive reaction is that the market should dictate whether or not providers support 911.

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.

All phone services should have 911 access!

[sahonen]

I don't see what the problem is... Would you rather sign up for your new VoIP provider, then find out when you're being robbed or whatever that the police can't find where you are, or worse, not be able to reach them through 911?

Re:All phone services should have 911 access!

[LostCluster]

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.

not a big fan of regulation

[aderusha]

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.

This article is just wrong

[Ignorant Aardvark]

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"!

Re:This article is just wrong

[beakerMeep]

I absolutely agree. The article submiter showed true stupidity by making a comment like that. There have ALREADY been cases where people died because cell phones did not have 911 location services.

911 is kinda important

[Clyde]

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

Re:How truly screwed up is this ?

[PhuCknuT]

Are YOU that out of touch that you think you need to get on your PC to make a VOIP call? VOIP phones that work just like normal phones (from the enduser view) have been in use for several years now.

Go for it

[sangreal66]

I'm all for this. Sure, it'll cost more and that sucks. On the other hand, however, I feel that this was one of the larger hurdles stopping the wider adoption of VoIP. By forcing compliance through regulation you ensure that those providers who do provide the (rather important) 911 support will be able to compete price wise with those who would otherwise choose not to.

Whatever...

[big_groo]

This is the first step in regulating an industry that should have been left alone..."

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.

it's 911 for thor's sake

[catphile]

You people are bitching about 911 service?! Do you complain when that *big government* fire department shows up with their *oppressive* hoses to save your shit when it's on fire?

Just go move to your shack in Montana and let the rest of us have a functioning community. :muttering under breath:

Re:Where does it end...

[PacoTaco]

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

Re:Overseas?

[Qzukk]

Why forcefully regluate things like this when a free market would naturally provide each consumer with what _they_ want?

We were looking just last week at evaluating VoIP solutions for some of our clients. It never even crossed my mind to ask if you could or couldn't make a 911 call from them.

So what happens when joe slightlybetterthanaverage hears about these voip phones that are all the rage and that means he can replace his phone line completely and just go with the cablemodem? He can call his neighbor, he can call his mom, he can call in sick to work, but if his daugher falls down the stairs, he can't call 911? I bet he'd want 911 service, but given that he can call anyone else, why would he even think to ask?

It seems to me that if you can dial the number "911" on the device (ie, something somewhere connects you to the POTS), it should connect you to some number that can appropriately handle an emergency, since this is a major expectation that most Americans will have from their phone.

Re:Overseas?

[Cbs228]

Vonage 911 dialing is supposed to-- the keyword here is supposed to-- connect you to the same PSAP (Public Safety Answer Point) that you would be connected to if you dialed 911 from a landline.

In a normal 911 call from a landline, the call goes from the telco switch to the PSAP via a dedicated trunk that carries only 911 traffic. A data channel (ISDN) is provided that sends ANI/ALI information from the phone company, which uses various databases provided by Intrado and others to match up your phone number with your current address.

Dialing 911 from a Vonage connection, however, is equivalent to dialing the PSAP's 10-digit number. The call does not go through the 911 trunk, and no location information is sent other than standard Caller ID information. Depending on configuration of the PSAP, this line may also take non-emergency calls and your call may be answered with less priority than a normal 911 call. This 10-digit number is also the number used by alarm companies to report alarms to the police.

In the past, serious problems have been reported with the Vonage 911 service. One man tried to call "911" and got an insurance company instead. I highly recommend that you test Vonage's emergency dialing feature. Do not simply test it out, however. You will want to notify your local police department that you want to do this.

In case you didn't know, DSLReports.com maintains an active forum on VoIP providers. Official reps from Vonage frequent the site.

Re:No ten-digit number??

[DissidentHere]

Actually, there are ten digit numbers for PSAP dispatch centers. Having worked for a national electronic security company for 6 years, I have many of them memorized. There are databases of 10 digit PASP numbers, but they easily get out of date, and they tend not to be free.

A Google like database of PSAP numbers that is kept up to date might be a government database project that we could support. Such a database would be useful for citizens and corporations. Even without GIS information, you could at least get close enough based on city/county information to get an emergency response.

Re:Overseas?

[Mr. Slippery]

As long as VoIP doesn't have easy access into the telco networks it will remain a novelty.

If you want to be a telephone system, you have to meet telephone system standards.

If all you want to do is stream audio between your PC and your girlfriends' over your broadband connections, I don't think even the FCC is dumb enough to try to stop you.