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Are the VOIP people getting a bad rap?

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is proposing legislation to get Internet-based phone providers to give customers the same kind of access to 911 operators as those who use regular telephone lines. […]

In the back of everyoneâ€™s mind is the incident this past February 3 rd in Houston, where 17-year-old Joyce John called 911 using Internet phone provider Vonage to report that her parents had been shot by home intruders. She got a recording telling her that access to 911 service was unavailable. Help took more than 10 minutes to arrive. Both parents survived.

It was later established that the Johns had multiple opportunities and reminders from Vonage to activate Vonageâ€™s 9-1-1 service but had not done so. In a blatantly emotional vote-troll, the Texas attorney general sued Vonage after the incident, probably since you donâ€™t win many votes suing registered voters who havenâ€™t followed Vonageâ€™s directions on how to activate their 9-1-1.

The FCC warns on its Web site that it “may be difficult” for Internet phone customers to “seamlessly connect” with 911 dispatch centers. According to Blagojevich’s office, that’s because traditional phone companies have not given Internet phone providers access to more than 3,200 emergency call centers nationwide.

Blagojevich spokesman Gerardo Cardenas said the governor said the companies need to figure out how to solve that problem. “We’re not getting into that debate,” he said. “What matters here is when you need police or an ambulance, it has to get there immediately.”

CNetâ€™s report says in a sign that regulators take the problem seriously, the Federal Communications Commission has quietly met with the Bell operating companies to learn why they’ve yet to grant Net phone providers unfettered access to their 911 telephone infrastructure, and by doing so let them offer a competitive 911 service. […]

Sources told CNet that U.S. lawmakers are now being asked to draft rules requiring the Bells open their 911 infrastructure to Net phone providers.

One Man takes a different angle on the same subject. Both are worth reading. (Emphasis added above.)

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 12, 05 @ 2:44 pm

Comments

SBC Ameritech is an incredible ripoff

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Apr 12, 05 @ 6:55 pm
This is actually a very pressing issue. Illinois 911 systems are definitely not where they should be - calls go unanswered on occassion or are forwarded to neighboring counties when proper 911 systems don’t exist. Municipalities are charged with providing adequate funding for their 911 systems; as such, there are some wide gaps. The ICC can tell you more…

On VoIP: 911 systems are designed for “traditional” phone lines. Each “traditional” line has an ID # that transmits information about the location to the call center. The call center then can ID the caller and the location. With VoIP, these ID numbers don’t exist, and the 911 systems can’t tell who’s who. A big deal to those picking up on the other end of the line.

Boring, I know, but SO important! Thanks, Rich for picking up on this. Keep at it!

Comment by BMc Tuesday, Apr 12, 05 @ 7:25 pm
Disclaimer: I’m a big VoIP fan.

Cell phones will have an alternative, which is slowly comming into place, which is having the ability to incorporate location-reporting technology into cellular phones.

Most of them are looking at incorporating GPS (Global Positioning System) into their cell phones.

Here’s the link:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,80085,00.asp

Problem is that most 911 (and even E-911) Systems don’t have the GPS locating capability for their jurisdiction.

Bigger problem is that from what I’ve seen, much of the application software used by many of the 911 responders was created in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and it was big bucks back then, so all these folks have acquired seriously sunk capital asset that oftentimes is not particularly flexible, particularly when facing dealing with a new and fast rising technology like VoIP.

Plus, there’s another issue at play here. The big hard wired players in the telco biz (like Verizon & SBC, etc., etc.) don’t want upstarts like Vontage (not to mention Skype, which REALLY terrifies them) to get a foothold on the same playing field, because Skype’s technology (while still unpolished) has the very serious potential to just shread the existing telco players.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Apr 12, 05 @ 8:10 pm
Governor Blagojevich is in the pocket of SBC Ameritech formerly of Billy Daley.

Comment by Anonymous Saturday, Apr 16, 05 @ 10:52 pm