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VoIP Providers Given 120 Days to Provide 911 Service

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the in-the-event-of-an-emergency dept.

linuxwrangler writes "According to this SFGate article, federal regulators have given VoIP providers 120 days to provide 911 service to their customers. The vote came after testimony from people including a Florida woman who had her infant die after being unable to call 911 from her internet phone. VoIP providers are also required to notify their customers of the deadline and of the limitations of VoIP 911 service."

28 of 626 comments (clear)

  1. 120 days.... by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 4, Funny


    Wow...I'd hate to be head of that project...

    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:120 days.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's four times as much time as you'd get for an EA project!

    2. Re:120 days.... by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Funny
      > Wow...I'd hate to be head of that project...

      You're telling me. I googled for 120 days and my ass is still sore.

      Out of top 10, 9 links point to DeSade's "120 Days of Sodom" (and Pasolini's movie depiction thereof in "Salo"), and as if it weren't enough trouble retrieving my bitten-off nipples back from the goddamn pigeons, the remaining link link points to something called "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition trial software", which I don't even wanna think about! Squick!

    3. Re:120 days.... by hoggoth · · Score: 5, Insightful

      > proof that the feds don't understand the internet

      No, it's proof that the feds don't CARE what the technical limitations are. If you want to offer dialtone, you have to support 911 emergency calls. If a given technology can't support 911 calls then they don't want it being used for telephone service.

      People have died because of this. They don't really care why it's difficult to fix.

      Somehow I think the technical difficulties will be solved. Even if it means a database of IP address to geographic location mappings.

      --
      - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
    4. Re:120 days.... by Valdrax · · Score: 4, Informative

      Currently, with many VoIP providers, you can log in to their website and explicitly tell them where your phone is. If you move, you update this info. The order currently only mandates that user-supplied info be used but strongly suggests that they expect automatic configuration in the future.

      As for the traceroute question, the answer is, "Yes." However, I expect to see some resistance on this from the other telecom providers since it means that there will have to be an automated mechanism for finding out what physical line an IP address is connected to that is queriable by third parties. I can imagine all sorts of abuse for this sort of thing, but it seems to be a necessity to ensure emergency services.

      --
      If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
    5. Re:120 days.... by bfields · · Score: 4, Informative
      Since I can plug a VoIP phone in anywhere, how is the dispatch going to know where you are like they would with a POTS line? Run a traceroute??
      From the article:
      Under the order, VoIP carriers must provide a way for customers to update their location and callback numbers when they travel. Failure to update that information would cause an emergency operator to assume the call was coming from the last registered location.

      The order also requires VoIP carriers to explain to their customers the capabilities and limitations of the emergency response service they are getting with their Internet phones. Connection to a 911 operator, for example, would not be possible for a VOIP customer if there is a power failure or loss of Internet connection.

      So I get the impression the relatively straightforward cases, like VOIP on a home DSL line, are expected to be handled automatically, but the more complicated cases--tunneling your connection back through your home network or whatever--fall under some sort of "well, we warned you, and gave you a way to tell us where you were, it's not our fault if you didn't bother" defense.

      --Bruce Fields

    6. Re:120 days.... by jfengel · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The point is that if there's an emergency, you need to get help FAST, without thinking about it. There's only one thing you need to know: 911. From there they can just ask you where you are. But if you have to look up the number for fire, or police, or the hospital, you could be dead before you find a phone book.

      It's only recently that E911 gave the emergency responders the ability to determine your address automatically. Asking people to know their present location isn't much. Asking them to memorize emergency numbers that they don't use often is.

    7. Re:120 days.... by brogdon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Hate to break it to you but people have not died *because* of this. They died because of a lack of understanding on *their* part.

      Yes, I'm sure Vonage (and others) could have put a "hair dryer" style sticker on the top of the ATA that read something like "Warning -- Do not use for 911 calls if you are in danger", but the information (last I looked, anyway) was available as to what happens when you dial 911."

      A reasonable point, though it merits mention that Vonage is currently being sued by the state of Texas for intentionally misleading their customers about their 911 coverage.

      Personally, I don't see what the problem is with giving them four months to handle the technical aspects of this. They've got everyone's zip code and (I would assume) a directory of each zip code's appropriate 911 response center. How hard is it to make these ends meet? I would think the chick that worked the switchboard at the Mayberry RFD phone company could handle this.

      --


      This tagline is umop apisdn.
    8. Re:120 days.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You don't know what on EARTH you are talking about. If you had read anything about the Florida woman, Cheryl Waller, such as the May 12 WSJ article, you would know she did everything she was supposed to do, but Vonage forwaded her 911 calls to a non-working, non-emergency number.

      From the WSJ article: "To get 911 service from some Internet-calling services, customers have to register their address, on top of the normal signup process. But even some customers who take that extra step -- as Ms. Waller did -- are surprised to find that their emergency calls are relegated to second-class status."

      You are such a jerk for blaming the victims. What are they supposed to do, test the system as we are repeatedly admonished not to do? Get some understanding *yourself*.

    9. Re:120 days.... by TopSpin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hate to break it to you but people have not died *because* of this. They died because of a lack of understanding on *their* part.

      Today we find VOIP phones that are indistinguishable from traditional POTS devices. They are intentionally designed to emulate traditional POTS phones. Yet, somehow, your expectation is that the caller is supposed to somehow "know" whether it's POTS or not. This is unreasonable. Many times 9-1-1 callers are using whatever phone they happen upon under stressful conditions.

      The 9-1-1 emergency number has been nearly universal throughout North America for about 37 years. The idea is simple; 9-1-1 works for things with dial tones.

      I knew this was going to happen. Over two years ago I posted my thoughts and got modded as a troll. Anything that might impede sticking it to Ma Bell must be dismissed and derided. If you're going to compete with POTS, you're going to be expected to provide parity. That's means 9-1-1 service, no ifs ands or buts.

      The solution is simple and obvious; VOIP customers will need to disclose the location of their devices so the phone company can route the 9-1-1 calls.

      --
      Lurking at the bottom of the gravity well, getting old
    10. Re:120 days.... by Shishak · · Score: 5, Informative

      Wrong,

      The PSAP information (911 Tandem switch) is all located in the Local Exchange Routing Guide (LERG). All the VoIP providers need to do is buy a subscription to the LERG from Telcordia and they will have all the information they need. The problem is, that in order to connect to the PSAP you need to be a CLEC with an interconnect Agreement with the RBOC (Verizon, SBC) for the LATA. You also need to build dedicated, diverse trunks into the PSAP switch. Since most VoIP providers are virtual phone companies, they don't have facilities in the LATA where their customers are and therefore they can't build trunks into the PSAP.

      Connecting to the PSAP is the easy part, finding out the address of one of my DSL customers that I give a dynamic IP address to is the hard part. I predict a lot of police/fire showing up at my NOC because that is the address on record for the IP.

      --
      Now I hope and pray that I will But today I am still, just a bill
  2. the real number by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    is 912.

  3. Now the question is... by jmcmunn · · Score: 4, Interesting


    My cell phone works with 911 even if you cancel all other service to the phone. Does that mean broadband and Voip companies will have to do the same?

    I always wondered why it was that my cell phone always has to have 911 access, yet Ma Bell can cut my service and I get no dial tone if I don't pay my bills.

    1. Re:Now the question is... by BenFranske · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Usually even if your local phone service has been disconnected you can call 911.

    2. Re:Now the question is... by KD7JZ · · Score: 4, Informative

      Sorry. Incorrect. The reason this works is the system will allow a handset to register on the switch serving the nearest tower, but will block call completion unless the call goes to 911 or in many cases you can charge a call to a credit card, although the rates are quite high.

  4. I have vonage... by infinite9 · · Score: 4, Informative

    They're already in compliance. You should read the disclaimers though. Every other paragraph goes out of its way to say that this isn't really 911 service. I guess the problem is that it's tied to your voip box. I could pack it in my suitcase and take it to florida on vacation. if I plug it into my mother's cable modem line, my phone number will ring there. Unfortunately, if I dial 911, I get the 911 dispatch center near my home in the chicago area. You can't really fault them for doing it. Maybe they could do some sort of ip address geographic lookup. But I doubt it would be reliable.

    --
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    1. Re:I have vonage... by SoCalChris · · Score: 4, Informative

      I am also a Vonage customer, and don't get the problem either. I've had to call 911 twice in the two years I've had Vonage (Once for a fire next door, once for a crazy man screaming at and beating his child in the street). Both times, my call was answered by the police dispatcher, and the police and fire were there within minutes. The main difference was that I had to tell them the address I was at.

      Vonage makes it very clear about how their 911 service works. If their service isn't good enough for what you need, just get a regular phone, and plug it into the POTS jack. You will have regular 911 service from there, and you don't need POTS service to be able to call 911.

  5. Re:Libertarians? by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 5, Funny
    Yet it is hard to argue with (cue violins) dead babies.

    Yeah, but they is good eatin'

  6. Re:Why is this being regulated? by xyzzy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They already DO that. When you sign up you have to check a zkillion boxes saying that you acknowledge that you don't have real 911 service.

    Of course, then a few people died, lawsuits ensued, and we wound up where we are now.

    Why would you expect it to be any different?

    In this case, however, I think it's a good thing. VZ and the other encumbents were playing the "oh, it's HAAAARDDD to open our 911 systems", which has to be a load of horse shit.

  7. There was a day by eclectro · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Before 911 that you posted a telephone number for each of the emergency services next to your phone. Phone books would have the numbers inside the front cover.

    I'm sorry to hear about the infant dying. But shouldn't VOIP users if they are technically savvy to use VOIP also be responsible and be sure that they can dial (ie have phone number handy) an emergency service?

    As another idea, why not have an old cell phone around that is plugged in. You do not need to have a cell plan to dial 911.

    --
    Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
  8. Re:Stupid by cyngus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The idea that VoIP providers must provide emergency services is bogus. If you want something for emergencies, then get a land line. The internet is not reliable enough to depend on for emergency communications like this.

    You are missing the point. The government wants technology to advance and the old phone system to be replaced. If this is going to happen, new technologies have to offer the same emergency features. "Get a land line" will eventually not be an option, when it is no longer cost-effective for the telcos to provide them. The internet is not reliable? The Internet was designed to be reliable in the face of node failure, it was one of the primary design goals of the original Arpanet. The military wanted a system that could get messages from A to C even if B failed, by finding an alternate B. Your DSL service may not be reliable, but this is not the Internet. There is a difference, and it is an important one.

  9. Re:Most already have it... by KD7JZ · · Score: 4, Informative

    The biggest technical problem is that most e-911 calls go on a dedicated trunk to the 911 call center. There is no 'phone number' associated with that line. So what vonage was doing was just getting a listed directory number for the police in a given jurisdiction and forwarding calls to that number. (often not answered at night etc). This order will require the VOIP provider to coordinate with local telephone companies to have the VOIP 911 calls get delivered over those dedicated trunks.

  10. I can see one major disadvantage already by GMFTatsujin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let's not forget, VoIP *is* going over the Internet...

    (Caller dials 911)

    Caller: Help! Emergency! My baby's not breathing!
    Operator: OMG!
    Caller: Send help right away!
    Operator: A/S/L?

  11. Registering address by SeaFox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What if the customer had to register the MAC Address of their VOIP adapter (or router) with their provider and gave the address 911 should respond to. Lots of people use VoIP as a substitute for their regular phone line so their location does not change realative to this. When they make a 911 call, the VOIP provider would send this address to the dispatch center as the location of the caller.

    This address would be changable either by calling the VoIP provider or can be changed online. The customer would be responsible for keeping the address up to date if their location changes.

    If they make a 911 call and the router isn't at the location they have listed and they don't tell the operator their real location otherwise, they would have no one to blame but themselves. Their VoIP provider isn't psycic as to where they are.

  12. Re:Most already have it... by pavera · · Score: 5, Informative

    Technically there are "phone numbers" associated with those lines, they are just heavily guarded secrets of the ILECs, the only people who know them. 911 call centers have regular numbers associated with them (the association is held in the PSAP database), and when you dial 911, the ILECs switch does a lookup in the PSAP database, finds which call center is responsible for your call, and routes it there. Then when the call hits the call center, their system dips the MSAG database with your phone number and pulls up your street info...

    That is the problem with this ruling. It mandates that the VoIP providers provide full 911 service, but doesn't require any cooperation from their main competitors the ILECs. So, if the ILECs choose not to give out the dedicated 911 numbers so that VoIP providers can route directly to them, or if they decide to charge exhorbitant fees (more likely), the FCC has given them a free get out of jail card here. The ILECs by simply not doing anything can put all the VoIP providers out of business now.

  13. Re:Most already have it... by KD7JZ · · Score: 4, Informative

    Your description may be accurate for many (most) PSAPs served by RBOCs (the baby bells). However, there are 1500 other local telephone companies that serve many rural areas. (I happen to work for one.) I know that not all the PSAPs in our areas have directory numbers associated with them.

  14. those days are gone by kebes · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When I switched to VoIP I thought the same thing: "even if 911 doesn't work, I'll just dial the number for the police station or fire station or whatever." So I contacted the local police station and asked what the # was for calling in an emergency. They said: "911" ... no matter how many agencies I asked about calling the emergency center or police station directly, they all said: "no, direct calling has been phased out... you have to call 911." Calling a police station directly means you are calling about something non-critical and will be put on hold or get a machine.

    I don't know how widespread this problem is, but the "direct calling" idea is no longer an option in some locations. Sad, really.

  15. Re:Vonage Terms of Service and 911 by The+Cisco+Kid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes, this is becuase the incumbent telco's have been refusing to provide access to the actual emergency trunks leading into the PSAP's. If you'll RTFA, you'll note Vonage talking about agreements with varioues telco's, and that theyve been trying for a very long time. The FCC order, thankfully, also *requires* the telcos to allow access to them.

    All in all, a good thing, however I *hope* that the order allows a customer to consciously make the choice to *not* have 911 service, if they know they will aboslutely not need it for some reason (either if they have a standard landline as well, or if they are shipping the VOIP box to a foreign country for a relative to use to call them free, etc)

    The bit about requiring the VOIP companies to make sure their customers know the limitations of 911 - I'm honestly not sure how much clearer Vonage could be. (I have another Voip provider myself, that does not currently support 911 service, and I was fully aware of that and the consequences of it, before I ordered service from them)

    That said, if lack of 911 is in any way hoding back adoption of Voip, then I applaud this, as it forces the telco's to allow the Voip's to connect to 911 properly, and will allow them to offer it, which could very well be the hinge point that allows a lot more people to dump their expen$ive pots lines and go with Voip. Maybe this will be the competition that finally drives the ilecs to lower the prices.