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Vonage Mother Blames Baby's Death On Failed 911 Service
Woman Got Non-Emergency
Mother Blames Baby's Death On Failed 911 Service
Woman Got Non-Emergency Police Number When She Dialed 911
DELTONA, Fla. - A mother is outraged that when she tried to call 911 she could not get someone to help her.
It's not that an emergency operator wasn't available, but the fact that she was making the call from an Internet phone.
The phone company told WESH 2 News that it is working on the problem.
With the high cost of traditional phone service, many people are turning to lower-cost Internet phone service, but one local mom said she believes a cheaper phone service cost her her baby's life.
Cheryl Waller is frustrated but relieved that the Federal Communication Commission could soon force all Internet-based phone companies to provide enhanced 911 service.
"It's too late. The FCC has known about this for a long time," Waller said.
Waller's 3 Ѕ-month-old daughter Julia stopped breathing in their Deltona home in March. But when Waller called 911 through Vonage, her broadband phone service provider, all she got was a non-emergency sheriff's recording. She ran to a neighbor's house and finally got through to a 911 dispatcher. But it was too late for Julia.
"I think we lost our daughter because there was no one on the other end and I think Vonage is at fault," Waller said.
Vonage provides service for more than 500,000 customers. The company is facing lawsuits in several states stemming from complaints that 911 service failed. Waller has launched a Web site, www.911petition.com, to fight for better regulation for companies that advertise 911 service.
A spokeswoman for Vonage said her heart goes out to the family. She said the basic 911 service does work, but admits it needs work.
"We do expect to have a solution in place that allows people to call 911 and get their phone number and their location displayed on the dispatcher's screen before the end of the year," said Brooke Schulz.
But it may not be soon enough for the FCC. It's pushing for mandatory enhanced 911 service for all Web-based phone service providers as early as late September.
Although it's a step in the right direction, Waller said it's too little, too late for her family.
"This is Julia's voice. She's screaming out, 'We're going to change this and we're going to change it now,'" Waller said.
If you're shopping around for Internet-based phone services, make sure you ask if they provide enhanced 911 system, and make sure it works.
The FCC is expected to vote on the issue on May 19.
http://www.wesh.com/news/4461222/detail.html
Read The Full Thread: Mother Blames Baby''s Death On Vonage
• Family: Baby Dies After Problems Calling 9-1-1
DELTONA, Fla. - A Volusia
• Gee I wonder if they tested the 911 calls when they got the Vonage service?
Unfortunately,
• I just tested mine, & got through to the Sheriff's dept.
(I wonder what
• The lawsuits, if presented before a jury with half a brain among them will go nowhere.
• P.S. Isn't VoIP unregulated?
If so, what powers do the FCC have over VoIP operators?
• No, the FCC ruled last December that the state governments could not regulate
• Still, as PSAP-911 is intrastate what could the FCC do concerning this case?
• The FCC can't do anything with regard to any actual cases to this point because
• Still, as PSAP-911 is intrastate what could the FCC do concerning this case?
The
LuisPR posted "Mother Blames Baby's Death On Failed 911 Service
Woman Got Non-Emergency" on 05/06/2005 |
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