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FCC to Push VoIP 911 Requirements
maotx writes "Originaly declared a regulation free area, VoIP is going under a new look. With complaints against it, the FCC has decided to move forward with its original plan to require VoIP providers to provide 911 support. This brings up interesting questions on how they're going to know where in the world your VoIP enabled laptop is when you call 911."
Now I have to wonder, where in the world are the 911 prank callers? Since we have a 911-enabled VOIP network with no trace feature, how are we to stop all the pranksters who like to call 911 with fake calls? AND, lets not forget the legitimate calls being ignored or suffering from the DDoS they're encountering. Are the people who are really being raped, murdered or worse, going to get through to the 911 ops?
-- Game Developers: Stop porting badly-textured games from crappy console systems!
Example:
"To enable 911 service, click YES.
Please enter your location below"
Just don't make the default "Off."
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
Ask and your request will be answered. People who call 911, usually can speak and usually can tell where they are. That should take care of 99.9% of the problem.
Oh well, what the hell...
And there we have it, VoIP vaporizes with a small puff of white smoke. The fact of the matter is that it is not possible to provide a reliable 911 service with the present VoIP implementations.
Wire line services can provide 911 location service because the phones are physically wired to a specific location. A number cannot move without the phone company knowing exactly where it has moved to. This is not possible with the present incarnation of VoIP. In fact, the only way that reliable 911 location service will ever be possible is if every VoIP device has a GPS receiver in it and transmits the location information when the VoIP terminal registers with the PBX. Any other way WILL fail.
This will require an all new VoIP implementation/protocol, as well as new VoIP equipment to make it work. Now, I just have to figure out how to make an ATA with GPS receiver embedded in it receive the GPS signal while under a desk indoors.
If VoIP is regulated, the baby Bells will won it. Do you feel pown3d?
Yes, and if the govt. et al require 911 service of VOIP providers, then get ready for static IP's and IP V6 requirements, and all sorts of nonsensical BS about the Internet and regulations.
Trust me, once they get even one regulation passed regarding the use or configuration of the Internet, it WILL snowball...
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
There are a few ways to do this;
1) Use the callerid # to lookup the address in a database which is *required* to be accurate. By law. This would be a step big companies take care of for you, transparently, while the smaller of us who buy our numbers from places like voicepulse would fill out a form when we purchase a number
2) e911. Make it universal.
I like option 1 myself, but I could see logistical problems, not to mention abuse problems, were it not handled correctly.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
As I see it, one of the problems with this is simply determining where "phone" services begin and end. For example, while Vonage or Lingo may be a real 'phone replacement' and for 99.9% of users should be able to do 911 service, how about Skype? If you only use Skypeout and you only use it via a headset on a laptop, is that VoIP? It certainly *is* "Voice over IP", but does that make it a phone service that should need 911 service?
If they start classifying things like Skype as a voice telecommunications service and requiring 911 calls to function, then what's next? 911 requirements for Teamspeak?
Maybe a VoIP "phone" is one which can place a call which eventually gets circuit switched on one end, even if 99% of the transit is packet switched.
It seems to me that what really needs to happen is a revamping of the 911 system to deal with the portability of numbers. You want 911? Fine, go somewhere and configure your address any time you move the phone around. When you dial 911, it transmits your entered address. Possibly the hardware/software acting as your phone also monitors the MAC address of its default gateway after you change the address associated; if the MAC address changes but the address has not, a warning goes out to emergency services that notes that there is reason to believe the address may not be completely reliable (and thus, hopefully an emergency operator can confirm it with you when you call).
Lots of little things rely on the phone network. My house alarm, for example, will freak out completely if I cut my phone service entirely, because it uses the phone line to keep in touch with the alarm monitoring service.
If the FCC requires them to do something, then they'll have to either conform or fight the FCC.
If major cell phone manufacturers are doing this already, it doesn't seem like much of an obstacle in the long term for commercial VoIP vendors to issue one with their service, especially if it helps them avoid being sued by its users or penalized by the FCC.
Then your still most likely reaching the correct local emergency servies since the business isn't terribly far.
One way this could be done is if all of the 911 services also have a full (area)-xxx-xxxx phone number. You would then alias that to "911" in your VOIP hardware.
So what exactly are you proposing? That the FCC require VoIP providers support transmission of location information? That the FCC require VoIP providers to properly route you to the local 911 center? That the FCC require the VoIP providers mandate that all VoIP services be location enabled?
What about people who don't want to stick a GPS dongle into their computer? What about people who *forget* to stick in the dongle when they rush to call 911? What about the people who claim to have done those things but haven't actually, and then turn around and sue?
Here's the trouble: It isn't that 911 operator needs to know where you are; you can give that information just fine. The trouble is that your call has to go to a local 911 dispatch center, not a dispatch center 3000 miles away.
If you've ever dealt with 911, then you know that they could never handle rerouting calls. Often it seems that they are barely able to properly dispatch local officers and emergency medical services.
Why do we have 911? People were observed to be stupid. The local police used to just have an emergency number. Doh, people can't remember the number. what to do, what to do... make one number for everyone, everywhere. make a big marketing campaign. yeah.
This whole problem would go away if you just had to give at least an area code as a prefix to dialing 911. Then the call could be routed to a local-state dispatcher. *Now that sounds feasible*.
As for your being beaten to death and you just barely manage to dial 911 and the police only hear the crime and trace the call... well that's sort of a fringe benefit of getting a land-land. Perhaps you should consider that before opting for other solutions.
Do we really all need to be burdened? Can some people just be free to offer bare-bones service?
Do you really want GPS tracking of your location--mandated by the government?
What do we do when some evil bastard writes a worm that makes VOIP software on XP boxes all over the world call numbers like 911 or 999,112(in europe)?
(Don't know how to start a new thread as coward)
When you call 911 the "regular way", you don't get your local coffee shop's 911 service
You are pedantically correct but completely wrong within the framework of this discussion.
When you call 911 from the local coffee shop, the 911 operator knows you are at the local coffee shop. She may even know where in the building the extension you're on is located. The point is not what 911 call center answers your phone; the point is that the operator sees on screen the exact location of the phone you're calling from. That simply isn't possible for a mobile user of VOIP.
If the ambulance goes to the wrong address, you're still dead. If you're passed out on the floor in the building next to where the paramedics are knocking down the door, you're going to die. If you aren't where they expect you, they aren't going door-to-door to find you, let alone street-to-street. They want to know EXACTLY where you are.
That cannot be guaranteed with VOIP.
They can just include a little card for subscribers to carry around in their wallet that says, "In case of emergency, shout 'Someone call 911' until help arrives".
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
I don't agree with this at all.
Often times, people buy VOIP becuase they get cheap rates for long distance. Local service is just an added perk.
For example - if you have a cable modem, the requirements that regulate the service level/quality of phone lines do not apply to cable. Your cable modem could be out when your have a heart attack or when a burglar enters your house. Same pretty much applies to your DSLAM - the equipment at the end of the DSLAM can be taken down as much as the telco wants.
If you want a quality level of service, buy it! I wouldn't trade my landline for a VOIP line for this reason. The telco is required to maintain a certian quality of service. If copper gets cut to your neighborhood, your telco WILL be out all hours of the night fixing it. If your CATV system breaks, you'll just have to wait 5 days until the next technician comes out!
Here is another question - should services like 'Free World Dialup' or Skype have to provide emergency 911? After all, you can easily use either of these services for as a crude replacement for a phone line.
Do you simply have no idea what VoIP is and how it works?
VoIP has two benefits or advantages. One advantage is taht it offers dirt cheap longdistance phone service by carrying the calls over the internet.
The other major advantage is that VoIP is completely portable. It is not tied to any specific location. If you can get internet access, you can use VoIP.
So, if you are driving down the highway, passing a truckstop with a wi-fi hotspot, and you decide to use your laptop or palm top computer to place a VoIP call, you can do just that. But, how can anyone, let alone your VoIP longdistance provider, know that you 100 feet east of the truck stop on highway 99 in Hicksville Arkansas and connect you to the local 911 service. How can they know that you are not in fact sipping a mai tai on an Indonesian beach? They can't! And that is why 911 location service cannot work reliably with any present day VoIP implementation.
It can be very hard when you are disoriented, in pain, cannot speak, cannot breathe, or when there is smoke and fire and your kids are trapped, and the simplest of tasks becomes damn near impossible.
911 works because it is simple and pervasive, a four year old can understand 911, guide dogs and other service animals have been trained to use 911 call buttons.
You fail to realize that they're talking about laptops here. Also, how exactly does one connect a standard (or even VoIP) WIRED phone to a cellular tower?
BTW, 'broadcast'.
is the FCC a government body
I think the most important part of the question is missing: American
As in United States.
So, you simply won't be able to get VOIP from a US based company... use a foreign one instead.
"Problem" solved.
--Phillip
Can you say BIRTH TAX
Not stupid, just desperately sick and afraid. There is no way to understand the experience until you have been through it yourself, or with your parents, or with your kids.
If you make it look the same then how will they know the difference? If a neighbour picks up the phone to dial how will they know?
People using technology should not have to be burdened with how it works, and most people don't know how their stuff works (do you know how lag and advance work in your car's ignition?). Most people see their PC + Google + internet + the rest of the web as "the computer" and don't know what lives where. That's why you get calls like: "If I sell my monitor will people be able to read my email?"
Same goes for a phone. If it looks like a phone, and for 99% of use behaves like a phone, then in an emergency (== time when people are not thinking), it should also act like a phone.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
The only thing that's going to be required is that VOIP services offer real, direct 911 access. And that's just cool.
While I agree that there is a lot of merit to the idea that every type of phone should have 911 service, last I checked the taxes and mandated fees that pay for 911 services are still left only to more traditional telco services. There is some justice in getting what you pay for.
Let's not get all crazy and impractical with GPS locators etc, trying to cover every wierd case. I'm willing to bet the portability feature of VOIP isn't used very often. In truly mobile settings I think most people use mobile phones.
.. so when you dial 911, your device can relay its position (whether that be from a GPS, manually entered as a home address, or just "mobile" or "not available") across the media path and have it end up at the 911 call center. Of course, the PSTN certainly isn't ready for this. On analog lines, it won't work at all. On digital (ISDN PRI/BRI) lines, there may be the possibility to send this, and I don't know a lot about that stuff, but I'd imagine there's no provisions for extra data like that, and it would require every access switch to get upgraded.
Exactly. It just REALLY complicates things. Cell phones still don't all have GPS locators, and I'd say cell phones are far more common than VoIP users.
It also pushes the issue of how far can you really take this? We use a VoIP-based PBX in the office, and I can access it from home (or anywhere else with an internet connection). If I were to call 911, the call would go out over our analog lines that are physically connected at the office (there's a rule that prevents them from being placed on outbound VoIP trunks), even though I'm at home, relaying the wrong 911 location.
A service I'd love to see, and I'm sure someone will come out with eventually, is the ability to connect a cellphone directly to VoIP. So for example, our cells would basically become office extensions (except using the cell phone coverage area), and when someone dials a number it would be the same as someone called from a phone in the office -- this would also relay the wrong 911 info.
What's the solution to this? Maybe add a header/field into the VoIP protocols (SIP, H.323, IAX2) that can relay location information from the endpoint
Speak before you think
Yeah, or maybe they'll do what they did in the old days (which wasn't that long ago) -- you had to tell them where you were.
Granted, calling 911 and having your location show up on a map for the dispatcher is nice, but it isn't necessary.
We already have a great protocol for sending all kinds of information over VoIP lines, including the identity and location of the caller and what their problem is. It's called English.
The enemies of Democracy are
For VOIP to provide any 911 service, there has to be recognition that there are two principle forms of VOIP. While there is no meaningful technology distinction between the two, there are substantial implementation distinctions for 911 purposes.
The easy category which should be the target of FCC and other requirements is the traditional fixed-location telephone replacement. This service is a device (hardware or software) which is not generally mobile, and, which operates from a fixed location like a traditional land-line phone. Registration of the location and appropriate 911 connectivity for these devices should be a simple matter and isn't an unreasonable requirement for VOIP service providers.
The other category is location-independent VOIP. This could be an 802.11 based SIP cordless handset, a laptop running a soft phone, or any number of other such VOIP devices which can and often do change location on a regular device. These devices present multiple nearly insurmountable challenges for providing 911 service over VOIP, and, should not be required to do so until a practical alternative to them can be determined.
It should be up to the consumer to determine which category their particular VOIP account will fall under, but, providers should be required to make full disclosure of the tradeoffs prior to the consumer making such a decision.
To highlight the challenges presented, consider the following:
- Without any location data, it is virtually impossible to correctly route the call to an appropriate 911 provider. Afterall, my billing address may be in San Jose, my VOIP service may be based in Virginia, with a Virginia telephone number, and, I could be placing calls from that service while sitting at a Cafe in South Africa. What good is the dispatch center in San Jose or Virginia going to do me? Instead, the VOIP provider should route me to a recording that informs me I need to obtain local assistance and reminding me that 911 isn't available from this phone.
- It is hard (so far, impossible) to reliably obtain location data from such devices.
- There is no provision in the VOIP protocol for a standard way in which to provide location data even if it were available.
- GPS does not work indoors.
- Not all countries actually have 911 service. What does a VOIP provider based in Virginia do when they know their customer is trying to call 911 from South Africa?
- Any method of reliably generating location data has much worse privacy implications
I am curious as to how the Canadian requirements address these issues. If anyone knows, an email to owen at delong dot com would be appreciated.