VoIP 911, 1.0

911 Rule Weighed for VOIP Providers | LAT | 4.27.05

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin said Tuesday that he would soon propose requiring Internet-based telephone providers to offer their customers emergency 911 dialing services.

After hearing reports of consumers having trouble getting through to police when dialing from an Internet telephone — which uses a technology known as voice over Internet protocol — Martin said he wanted to address the problem quickly.

Calls to 911 with traditional phones provide emergency service dispatchers with the caller’s number and address. Internet-based phone providers have limited access to the systems connecting those calls to primary emergency lines and location information isn’t always available. …

Very valid concerns, especially when cellular services for many areas are replete with 911 problems. Most cellular systems have not even moved up to enhanced 911. VoIP has magnitudes of more complex issues to resolve.