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Connecticut Attorney General, DCP Sue Broadband Phone Company For Misrepresenting Its 9-1-1 Emergency CapabilitiesAttorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced a lawsuit against Vonage Holdings Corporation for misrepresenting its ability to connect broadband telephone consumers to local 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers. Blumenthal is filing the suit in cooperation with Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) Commissioner Edwin R. Rodriguez, alleging Vonage violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA). Vonage is one of the largest providers of Internet-based telephone service – also known as "Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)." Companies offer VoIP as the affordable alternative to conventional telephone services, but some fail to provide the same The lawsuit alleges that Vonage misrepresents its 9-1-1 dialing feature by failing to properly disclose that 9-1-1 calls over its service may take longer; may not be routed to a live operator; and are at greater risk of encountering a busy signal. Buried in fine print, the company also advises consumers to maintain other means of calling 9-1-1. These limitations could delay – or completely prevent – emergency response. "This lawsuit should send an emergency message to Vonage – and every Internet phone provider – that 9-1-1 is too important for half-truths," Blumenthal said. "Inadequate disclosure about 9-1-1 capabilities is not only bad business – it's life threatening. The company deceptively leads consumers to believe their emergency access will be as reliable as conventional landlines. Every second wasted routing calls could mean life or death. This lawsuit should sound an alarm: Consumers need and deserve to know whether 9-1-1 means real, immediate human help, or an answering machine." "Consumers need to know exactly what their 9-1-1 emergency dialing capabilities are," Rodriguez said. "How Vonage represents those capabilities leaves a false impression that dialing 9-1-1 will result in direct contact with emergency dispatchers. There is evidence that that is not the case. As a matter of public safety, consumers need full disclosure of the facts in order to make a decision that could have life or death consequences." Blumenthal and Rodriguez urge consumer caution when subscribing to VoIP services. Some VoIP services do not offer 9-1-1 access at all. Others may route 9-1-1 calls through administrative lines to call centers – rather than directly to local 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers. Emergency dispatchers may have more difficulty verifying the caller's address in these cases, causing response delays. In one recent incident, a Torrington woman dialed 9-1-1 when her infant son required immediate medical attention. Rather than connecting to an emergency dispatcher, the woman's call was routed to the police department's main number where she was greeted by a recording. The state's lawsuit against Vonage seeks financial penalties and improved disclosures to consumers about its 9-1-1 service capabilities. |