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VoIP 911 Emergency Service: Problems and Fixes

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the phones-came-before-emergency-call-systems dept.

13.7BillionYears writes "Slate explores the technical hurdles VoIP faces in providing 911 emergency services and points to some technical, legislative and commercial workarounds that just might work. Some are the author's own ideas, some are already in the works. Until this little doozie gets solved, VoIP will have to suffer plenty of FUD of the credible variety and may never spark a real revolution. Of course you can always keep analog POTS (plain old telephone service) around like floppies--just for emergencies--but it'll cost you and tie you down in a number of ways."

4 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. I disagree... by IronMagnus · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Of course you can always keep analog POTS (plain old telephone service) around like floppies--just for emergencies--but it'll cost you and tie you down in a number of ways." ..I'm not 100% sure if landlines work this way, I would assume so, but I know for cell phones, even a non-activated cell phone can still dial 911. So go ahead and switch to VOIP, even if you don't have a cell phone, keep an old one charged up.. if theres an emergency, you can call 911 on it.

  2. Mine has it by querencia · · Score: 5, Informative
    Time Warner Cable in Austin has VOIP with enhanced 911 service.

    http://www.twcdigitalphone.com/austin/faq_specialf eatures.htm#Can%20I%20call%20911

    Q: Can I call 911?
    A: Yes, absolutely. Safety is important, and enhanced 911 service is provided. Note that Digital Phone does not include back-up power and in the event of a power outage, the ability to call 911 will not be available until the power is restored.
  3. 911 is free... by theknife · · Score: 3, Informative

    when i jumped to Vonage and cancelled my POTS service, Bellsouth left my line with a dial tone and a message that said the line could only be used for 911. problem solved at zero cost:-)

  4. Packet8 has E911 today by hedley · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you pay the E911 $3/mon fee. It will send
    your address to the operator. On broadbandreports people have tried it and indicte it works properly. pay, play.

    Hedley