A quick review how E911 works:
There is no "Secret Number" for the PSAP. The PSAP's are tied to the state E911 system by special PRI or CAMA trunks. Only calls on these trunks are true E911 calls offering ALI lookup of the calling number in the ALI database.
Cellular carriers are connected to this E911 cloud, however, VoIP carriers typically are not. They would have to have physical facilities in each state or E911 geography to do so.
Their only alternative, as is the same for OnStar and the like, is to map to a PSAP's public number. So is 911 really 911? Depends on the who handles your call and their physical connections to the PSTN. The problem is much larger than just VoIP. Im my personal opinion, this lawsuit is over the lack of Vonage fully explaining the E911 cpabilities to the subscriber. They sell the service called E911, but it in fact may not be true E911.
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A quick review how E911 works: There is no "Secret Number" for the PSAP. The PSAP's are tied to the state E911 system by special PRI or CAMA trunks. Only calls on these trunks are true E911 calls offering ALI lookup of the calling number in the ALI database. Cellular carriers are connected to this E911 cloud, however, VoIP carriers typically are not. They would have to have physical facilities in each state or E911 geography to do so. Their only alternative, as is the same for OnStar and the like, is to map to a PSAP's public number. So is 911 really 911? Depends on the who handles your call and their physical connections to the PSTN. The problem is much larger than just VoIP. Im my personal opinion, this lawsuit is over the lack of Vonage fully explaining the E911 cpabilities to the subscriber. They sell the service called E911, but it in fact may not be true E911.