911 Services

Across the U.S., E911 legislation is becoming a primary focus for many organizations. In fact, 22 U.S. states have proposed or enacted E911 regulations that organizations must meet to avoid potential fines and penalties. Of the 22 states, 17 states have already passed E911 legislation.

California’s proposed E911 MLTS (multi-line telephone systems) legislation is based on NENA’s model legislation, focusing mainly on the level of location granularity provided to the PSAP (public safety answering point), as well as address validation, how information is displayed to PSAPs, and making people aware of the proper procedure for dialing 911 on an MLTS system. These requirements are intended to help locate callers more rapidly, minimize property damage, ensure safety for employees, and, most importantly, save lives.

When 911 is dialed, the 481 PSAPs servicing California often only see the main number and billing address of the organization, rather than the callback number and precise location of the 911 caller. This, of course, can be majorly problematic when it comes to locating a distressed individual placed in a multi-floor and multi-building area.

“We encounter most of our PBX (News - Alert) problems with large hospitals in our city, public schools, large businesses and city facilities,” said one of the PSAPs. “The callback number usually displays a main desk or switchboard number. We typically get someone who doesn’t have a clue that a 911 call was made. That’s if we actually reach a live person, many time it’s just a phone tree.”

Once legislation is enacted, California will require operators of MLTS to route 911 calls and precise location data to the appropriate local PSAP during 911 calls. And California, along with other states, is looking to the NENA model as a basis for their laws. California’s pending legislation calls for the following, as outlined in a webinar hosted by 911 services expert 911 Enable (News - Alert):

PSAP Display Information: Organizations must provide to the PSAP, at a minimum, the caller’s Emergency Response Location (ERL) down the building and floor level, as well as a direct callback number.

PSAP Display Information with PEAP: For businesses with a Private Emergency Answering Point (PEAP, or on-site security) and the ability to provide the PEAP with the caller’s address and floor level, they must provide PSAPs with the business’ main address and PEAP number.

Exceptions: For workspaces with less than 7,000 square feet on a single level, located on a single contiguous property, organizations do not have to provide more than one ERL.

Address Validation and Updates: The Automatic Location Information (ALI) database must be updated with a master street address guide-valid address and callback data for each MLTS telephone. In addition, any new MLTS installation requires updates to be provided to the database provider as soon as possible, and within one business day for previously installed systems. Businesses are also required to audit information accuracy in the database at least once a year.

Dialing Instructions: Since many MLTS systems require a caller to dial a prefix, usually the digit 9, before dialing out, businesses should make every effort to ensure potential 911 callers are aware of the special procedure for calling for emergency assistance.

Shared Residential and Telecommunications: For a shared residential MLTS service, all 911 calls must result in one distinctive ALI and Automatic Number Identification for each living unit. Meanwhile, shared telecommunications services require “all 911 calls from any phone result in ALI for each respect ERL for each entity sharing the telecommunications services.”

911 Enable’s E911 solutions meet the requirements of California’s proposed E911 legislation, thanks to granular location provisioning; real-time master street address guide validation; automatic IP phone discovery; support for organizations requiring connectivity to multiple PSAPs; as well as security desk routing and notification. Its Network Operations Center is also available 24/7/365.

To learn more, check out 911 Enable’s webinar on California’s pending E911 legislation by clicking here.

To find out more about 911 Enable, visit the company at ITEXPO West 2011. To be held Sept. 13-15 in Austin, TX,  ITEXPO (News - Alert) is the world’s premier IP communications event. Visit 911 Enable in booth #822 NUMBER. Don’t wait. Register now. 

Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Chris DiMarco