Question about 911 service

Posts: 20 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jan 24, 2005 Posts: 20

What exactly is the difference between standard POTS 911, and Vonage 911 now that i have it activated? Do I not actually go to standard 911 emergency services? I only ask because I keep seeing things that say

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT 911 DIALING IS DIFFERENT THAN TRADITIONAL 911. We encourage you to login to your Vonage account and click on Features in your Account Dashboard to learn more.

Only I click on all of that stuff but I don't really see what the difference is. Thanks!

Posts: 448 · Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 7:47 pm Post subject:

When you dial 911 from a POTS line, your call is routed to an emergency operations center where 911 operators answer. They can dispatch police, fire, and/or ambulance-- whatever is appropriate for the nature of the emergency. Furthermore, the operator can see your incoming phone number and street address, enabling them to dispatch even if you cannot speak. This is Enhanced 911 (E911) service.

When you dial 911 from a Vonage line, your call is routed to your local Public Safety Access Point (PSAP) which is usually one of the emergency services in your area. We're in a densely populated urban area, and our 911 call is routed to the county's Fire Rescue department. That's fine if our house is on fire or if someone is injured, but is less than optimal if we have a police emergency. It's also not Enhanced service-- you must speak your address to the person answering, or they won't know where to send help.

Word from Vonage is, they are trying to have E911 service in most (if not all) states by the end of this year. We'll see.

Posts: 78 · Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 8:35 pm Post subject: RI was First

Having gotten E-911 later than most states, Rhode Island was in a unique position to have E-911 enabled for Voip.

If there is one thing we've got in this state, it's state of the art systems for E-911.

Posts: 492 · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 5:49 pm Post subject: Question About 911 Service

Cell phones can access the E-911 service and some suppliers of Voip as well. How do they do it and why can't Vonage use the same technique? I can think of a few ways in which this could be done, starting right at the Web-Based Utility. Could it not be programmed with name, address and an access code to the proper E-911 service? It sounds to simple to be of any use, but we know it can be done because people are doing it.

Posts: 281 · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:36 pm Post subject:

Not sure what the issue here is.. but in my area.. I called the 911 non-emergency number and asked for the 7 digit 911 number, they gave it to me. It appears to be the same as what Vonage is dialing.