E911 Hosted Solutions Featured Article

To top off quite a momentous year for the E911 industry, one state that underwent hefty legislative processes throughout 2011 looks to finally be on its way to ensuring comprehensive E911 compliance within organizations, from universities and public institutions to enterprises and SMBs.

Michigan, which would be the 16th state to put forth regulations that necessitates multiline telephone system (MLTS) operators to deliver accurate, detailed location data about callers on their networks, is now in possession of a governor-signed amendment requiring businesses and organizations to implement multiline telephone systems.

According to news reports, organizations have been granted a more than generous timeframe to comply with the state’s pending E911 legislation. The Dec. 31, 2016 extension is partially a result of many of Michigan’s larger organizations, in particular state universities, appealing for more time to make their systems completely compliant with these new laws.

In Michigan, the pending legislation calls for “any entity that installs or operates a private business and provides telecommunications facilities or services to businesses, or buildings that contain a workspace of 40,000 square feet or less, shall assure that the system is connected to the public switched network in a manner that calls to 911 result in automatic number and location identification,” according to a document outlining each of the 22 states’ legislation. 

Each aspect of the proposed legislation for Michigan was delineated in this document, which was presented to Michigan’s Public Service Commission earlier this year:

Granular location data: Depending on the built form of where the caller is located, there are particular details that are required in the location data sent to the PSAP. For example, a building with its own street address and occupying an area of 40,000 square feet or less, all located on a single floor and on a single adjacent property, will require the MLTS operator to identify the specific location of each communications device, including the street address. As for separate buildings using one MLTS and occupying an area of more than 40,000 square feet, on a single floor, on a single contiguous property and with a common public street address, the MLTS operator will have to comply with the same process.

Dialing directions: An organization must post emergency dialing instructions within five feet of any communications device if the MLTS does not allow three-digit dialing of 911.

Non-compliance fines: If an organization does not follow E911 protocol by the Dec. 31, 2016 deadline, its networks will be reviewed by the Michigan Public Utilities Commission and subsequently hit with a penalty ranging from $500 to $5,000 for each offense.

For updates on Michigan’s legislation, as well as other states in the process of enacting E911 compliance, stay tuned to the E911 Hosted Solutions channel, exclusively on TMCnet.

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 Rich Steeves