Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

FCC to Push VoIP 911 Requirements

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the this-can-only-work-badly dept.

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."

8 of 297 comments (clear)

  1. Follow the ping packets! by physicsphairy · · Score: 5, Funny
    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.

    Traceroute? :p

    --
    When things get complex, multiply by the complex conjugate.
    1. Re:Follow the ping packets! by Nos. · · Score: 5, Informative

      The CRTC in Canada made 911 mandatory just recently. I wrote about this earlier. They basically say that for a roaming type service (I don't know of any VoIP that isn't), the provider does not have to connect you to the correct call center automatically. Instead, the caller should be able to identify his/her location and then the call can be transfered to the correct center. Not idea, but there is not a reliable way to no location based on IP, or even something like GPS. The other big thing that the CRTC said was that the service provider had to inform the customer clearly of these limits to 911 before the customer signed up. The CRTC news release is here

  2. No location requirment by plilja · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If they follow the original proposal, there will not be a location requirement for 911, just a requirement for 911 connectivity. That is, if you dial 911 on a VoIP phone you will get a 911 operator...but you will still need to tell that operator your location. Some VoIP vendors may impliment a primary residence that gets displayed to 911 operators, but this would be optional. Currently if you dial 911 on a VoIP phone, you will only get a 911 operator if your VoIP vendor has implimented the feature voluntarily.

  3. VoIP e911 works for me by chrispix · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have Verizon Fios internet service, along with Sunrocket VoIP service. I was quite interested in finding out if 911 even connected me to the right place, as several people said it did not work w/ VoIP providers. So I called the non-emergency number in Rowlett, Tx. They answered my call, and I let them know I was going to test my 911 service as I had a new phone provider. I hung up, dialed 911. It took maybe 3-4 seconds to get a ring tone, and the emergency operator in Rowlett, picked up the phone, and asked what my emergency was. I told her that I just called the non-emergency number, and was testing 911. She then informed me my name, and my address came thru with the call. So looks like I don't have anything to worry about. :) Also make sure if you are testing your 911, you call the non-emergency number first, although you never know where you might wind up.

    1. Re:VoIP e911 works for me by adolf · · Score: 5, Informative

      I've spent the past few days working in the dispatch center of an small county sheriff's office, installing some new gear.

      Today, someone brought in chili, which was excellent. Someone else ordered a sack of hamburgers from the joint down the road (which were delivered, and were extraordinarily tasty). People were generally enjoying their servitude in that small, locked-down room.

      On top of the dispatch console was some eccentric 911 industry trade rag. The cover story was about VOIP, and how it currently relates to 911 service as we know it.

      Therefore, they're aware of it, and the possible problems it might have.

      The 911 phone nearly never rings. And, at least today, it only rang once for an emergency. The rest of the calls (a half dozen, or so) were all from MCI, who were running tests on a new-ish overlay area code.

      Every now and then, the radio would make some noise that the dispatcher would respond to.

      The dispatchers spent the rest of their day waiting for the phone to ring and shooting the shit with eachother.

      So, just to reassure anyone who's wary:

      Go ahead and test your 911 service. Just make sure that you've informed them beforehand, and don't waste their time with superflous verbiage.

      And if, for some reason, it doesn't work: Call them back, and explain that the test failed. If you think you can fix the problem, tell them that you might like to attempt another test later. Thank them, and hang up.

      Believe me: Those are real people on the other end of the line. They're happy to invest a few minutes of their time, if that means a slim possibly saving someone's life.

      They want this stuff to work correctly at least as much as you do.

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
  4. Re:Ask... by Fish+Heads · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They can't always speak, or don't always know where they are. When I was in EMT training we got to hear quite a few 911 calls and go through the case. More than once the person started to call for help (generally due to herat attack or the like) and couldn't get as far as their name before they collapsed with the phone off the hook. Fortunately, 911 had the guys address right on the screen and had already rolled service and advised they may have to use forced entry. And if a little kid calls they may not know or be able to relay their current physical location. Or they may know but due to the trauma of mommy laying on the floor unconscious not be able to relay that info to the nice dispatcher on the other side.

    --
    Time is the quality of nature that keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn't seem to be working. -Anon
  5. Re:GPS by drmerope · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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?

  6. Re:GPS by westlake · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Why do we have 911? People were observed to be stupid.

    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.