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March 07, 2008
VoIP Customers Soon to Have 911 Service
By Brian Solomon, TMCnet Web Editor
VoIP  customers are close to having true 911 services accessible tothem, thanks to the U.S. Senate. The body passed the IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act last month, a bill that had been proposed by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK). The legislation was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee last year, and will now go on to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
"Congress has been working on this legislation for several years and I am pleased to see that it has cleared the Senate," said Stevens. "This important legislation will ensure that our 911 laws are up to date with new technologies."
The bill requires all VoIP companies to provide enhanced 911 (E911) services to all subscribers. "Enhanced" means that subscribers who dial 911 will be connected to a local operator and their details (phone number, address, etc.) will be transmitted automatically. Vonage ( News - Alert) said in 2006 that about 70 percent of its customers have access to E911, but that still left a sizable percentage without it. Today, claims that over 98 percent of its customers have access to E911 services.
The FCC ( News - Alert) has been aware of this problem for years now, which is why it has been pressing VoIP services to support E911. The House had a provision as part of its Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act requiring VoIP to offer E911 to all customers too. So far, however, nothing has passed that would mandate such a thing.
Senator Stevens' bill gives the FCC the authority it needs in order to add 911 requirements into all new phone services as they evolve, without needing Congress' involvement. It also mandates a study to "identify mechanisms and timetables for developing next generation 911 capability ubiquitously," and to identify any technical needs in providing altitude information (helpful for those in high-rises).
Brian Solomon is a Web Editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To see more of his articles, please visit Brian Solomon’s columnist page.
Don't forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Internet Protocol (IP) | X | | IP stands for Internet Protocol, a data-networking protocol developed throughout the 1980s. It is the established standard protocol for transmitting and receiving data
in packets over the Internet. I...more |
Voice over IP (VoIP) | X | | A real-time communications system that converts voice into digital packets containing media and signaling data that travel over networks using Internet Protocol....more |
(source: http://voipservices.tmcnet.com/feature/articles/22454-voip-customers-soon-have-911-service.htm)
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