While E911 is easily one of the greatest public safety-related inventions in recent memory, it often can't provide its fullest level of service in the presence of VoIP -- Voice over Internet Protocol -- systems. But some recent work is going a long way toward putting that extra punch in E911 no matter what system it's working on, and making it equally effective whether over land lines or Internet protocol.

Perhaps the biggest problem in getting E911 to work is an issue of providing information about the caller, things like phone number and address and the like. While land line connections can provide that information in rapid fashion, Internet connections simply don't do the job. But some recent developments can provide that information by going out of band.

With a steadily growing number of people using 911 -- around 300 million calls per year -- it's quite clear that a solution of some kind is necessary. That's where Rave Mobile Safety stepped in, backed up by a $43,000 grant from Florida's state government, to offer up a new solution that's quite exciting. Rather than asking how the phone can present the necessary data, the Rave Mobile Safety program -- dubbed Smart911 -- instead provides that data via a massive database, which is constantly updated and added to as was necessary. Additionally, this can represent substantial cost savings for the state and local governments providing E911 services as well, especially as compared to the costs of traditional CAMA trunks and ALI ANI services may require depending on the numbers of users they are set to cover.

This concept in turn is providing a new way of thinking about things for Avaya (News - Alert), and a clear impetus to not only provide a way to get 911 services to VoIP programs and the like, but also allow users of VoIP programs to have that security benefit at the same time they provide substantial cost savings for their users. Allowing both concepts to exist simultaneously will go a long way toward providing the dual-faceted solution demanded by this particular problem.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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