AT&T says it's solved a problem that has dogged Internet-based phone service: how to provide emergency 911 to people who use VoIP --- short for Voice over Internet Protocol --- on the road.
The problem: VoIP users who call 911 from hotels and other remote sites sometimes can't be found by 911 operators.
That's because the correct locations of these "nomadic" users don't show up on operators' screens.
The Federal Communications Commission has given Internet phone carriers until Nov. 28 to make their VoIP services 911-capable.
AT&T, which invented the USA's 911 service in 1968, estimates that about 5% of its 53,000 VoIP customers use the service on the road.
There are about 2 million VoIP users nationwide.
"That is the bane of everybody's existence," says Robert Quinn, an AT&T vice president.
AT&T's nomadic solution, called Heartbeat, uses its Internet network to track the location of users.
AT&T's VoIP units --- sold under the CallVantage name --- are programmed to contact the carrier's global network once every 24 hours.
If a customer fails to verify he's moved to a remote location, AT&T has no way to check, Quinn says.
CallVantage now connects to about 50% of the "public safety administration points" that administer the 911 program.
Still, he says, AT&T is hopeful it will help educate the public about VoIP, particularly the 911 limitations.
AT&T, which has been sold to SBC --- the deal could close as early as next month --- is open to licensing its Heartbeat solution to other carriers, Quinn says.
The letter outlining the Heartbeat plan was sent to the FCC on Friday.
Quinn says AT&T developed the plan after talking with FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.