Summary
They key drawback for VoIP services that provide free local and overseas calls, have difficulty connecting to 911 emergency service lines. In fact, VoIP users who do not specifically subscribe to emergency service access are not able to call for 911 services. VoIP service providers point out that many emergency lines service providers do not open up their lines for link up with VoIP infrastructure.
Original source:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/tech/news/3054952
Details
· Internet protocol: Most VoIP service providers do not automatically connect with local 911 networks.
· Capitol idea: Local 911 network officials hope to work with area congressmen to ensure that customers are routed directly to 911 dispatchers.
John and his wife, Sosamma, were attacked by two men at their southwest Houston home earlier this month.
The attackers fled, leaving a shaken John wondering whether to reconsider his money-saving phone plan.
Officials at the Greater Harris County 9-1-1 Emergency Network, which oversees 911 service in Harris and Fort Bend counties, agree.
"The key drawback for us is that most of the IP service providers don't interconnect with the 911 network," Executive Director John Melcher said.
IP stands for Internet Protocol, short for Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, a broadband technology that routes telephone calls over the Internet rather than phone lines.
The attraction for a growing number of consumers and businesses across the country is cheaper phone service.
For about $32 a month, the John family can make an unlimited number of local and long-distance calls under the plan provided by Vonage.
But unless they sign up for service that routes calls to emergency dispatchers, the family cannot contact the local 911 network.
The Federal Communications Commission is expected to consider rules governing Internet phone companies in April or May, agency spokesman Mark Wigfield said.
Internet telephone providers usually route 911 calls to
emergency call centers on nonemergency lines, said Sonya Lopez Clauson, spokeswoman for the Greater Harris County 9-1-1 Emergency Network.
Unlike calls from traditional telephones, a caller's location and phone number do not appear on dispatchers' screens.
In Rhode Island, the New Jersey-based Vonage provides customers with direct and enhanced 911 access over a call routing system controlled by the state, company spokesman Jamie Serino said.
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Monday, March 07, 2005
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