How soon for e911 + Very Helpful first call to support.

Posts: 482 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:09 pm Post subject:

houuser wrote:

In my city, people abuse E911 by calling for non-emergency matters.

I am glad by 911 calls route to the non-emergency number. The call is answered quicker.

That's ridiculous. Are you saying that people in your city are safer NOT calling 911 and calling the non-emergency line?

Here in Nashville, 911 calls roll over to the non-emergency queue during periods of high call volume. If you ever can't get through to 911, you wouldn't have gotten through to the other number, either. They are the same people at the same computers answering both lines, they just come in on two different priorities so that non-emergency callers remain on hold if there is high 911 call volume.

Posts: 3198 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:10 pm Post subject:

shouldn't say a blanket statement like that because it's not true for everyone.
it's definitely not true in my county.

Posts: 18 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:14 pm Post subject:

I think that Vonage is going to have to offer E911 service in the very near future to compete with companies such as Packet8 which already offers the service.

Posts: 482 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:19 pm Post subject:

drewwid wrote:

I asked if it was a 911 line (and it was) and then i asked if they were receiving my address info. They were NOT. Which is what i expected.

Here in Nashville, the call goes to the same group of operators who handle 911 calls, they simply have two different queues, and the 911 queue gets answered first. Call 911 from a POTS line or call 862-8600 (what Vonage 911 connects to) and you will get the exact same people. But they do not get a popup with your location, and during periods of heavy 911 call volume, the people who dialed 862-8600 will get put in hold until call volume returns to normal.

The way one of the operators explained it to me was assume, for example, there's a pileup on the interstate and everyone passing by is calling 911. If you call 862-8600, you will wait on hold as long as people are still calling 911, which in that example, could be a long time. God forbid that happens to be the exact moment my child chokes on popcorn or something.

drewwid wrote:

I asked when e911 would be available (to see if i got a different answer this time). He said they were beta'ing it in RI and once the kinks were worked out they would roll it out nationwide. So i asked if he thought it would be a couple of months and he said probably.

They guy you talked to has no idea what's going on with e911. Nobody there does. I've done a lot of research on this. Some states (like RI which is why they piloted there) have statewide systems that are easier to patch into. In other states, 911 is regulated by the counties, so there's literally dozens of systems to try and coordinate with before e911 gets rolled out in your area. The FCC is taking a look at the issue this year and may federalize the system so that there is a nationwide standard.

drewwid wrote:

On a side note, packet8 says on their site that they offer 911 with address info shown but their price is $5 higher (for the cheapest) and they charge for 911. Has anyone tested their 911 service out?

Packet8 offers e911 in some areas, but certainly not all areas. I was going to sign up with them when I learned how Vonage handles 911, but then if you go look it up on the Packet8 site, you'll see that they offer it in only about half the states, and even then not in all areas of the state. They are having to deal with the county-by-county thing just like Vonage. So depending on where you live, it could be a LONG time before you get true 911 over Voip.

Posts: 9 · New Forum Member Joined: May 23, 2003 Posts: 9

This is an article that was published in the Greensboro News and Record recently regarding Voip and 911. Sounded more like an advertisement for TimeWarner's Digital Phone service than anything else to me ... but I thought it may be beneficial in this thread.

The URL for this article is:
http://www.news-record.com/news/local/voip021505.htm

Quote:

Online phone may not work for 911

2-15-05

By Allison Perkins Staff Writer
News & Record

Is it worth risking your life for cheap or free phone service?

County officials have issued a warning that some users of the new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephones might not be able to dial 911.

Voip systems take the analog audio signals, the sound you hear when you speak on the phone, and turns those sounds into digital data that can be transmitted over the Internet.

The result is, in many cases, free phone calls made to virtually anywhere in the world, provided by global companies.

But bypassing the phone company also may mean giving up access to emergency services.

“The technology is fantastic; it’s cutting-edge. But, just with any new technology, we need to be very careful about how we apply it,” said Craig Whittington, 911 coordinator for Guilford Metro 911, a consolidation of the emergency call centers in Guilford and Greensboro.

The FCC does not require Voip carriers to follow the same rules as traditional phone companies, meaning they do not have to provide 911 services.

Richard Nifong, High Point’s director of communications and information services, said he is not aware of any Voip customers being unable to connect with the city’s 911 system.

But he said that if large businesses, universities or hospitals were to use the technology, emergency responders would only receive the site’s general address.

“It presents a real challenge to the public safety community in the area of response,” he said.

Whittington said many of the bigger Voip companies do allow customers to dial 911 by putting calls through an assigned 10-digit number, including an area code.

Where the situation gets even more tricky is if someone in Greensboro packs up their Voip connection, goes on a business trip to Kansas, plugs the phone in, sees an accident happen and dials 911.

That call may be put through to emergency services in Greensboro.

Time Warner is the only local company Whittington says he knows of that has solved all these problems.

The city of Greensboro uses 3,000 of the lines in its system, and there have been no complaints locally.

“If someone makes a lot of long-distance calls, they can see some significant financial savings over a traditional phone,” Whittington said.

“What you have to realize is that if you do have one, tell your family members, tell your baby sitter, everyone has to know you can’t dial 911, or if you do, you have to stay on the line and tell them where you’re at.”

Staff writer John Vandiver contributed to this report.

Contact Allison Perkins at 373-7157 or aperkins@news-record.com

Posts: 492 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:08 pm Post subject:

You might like to check this out as well:

http://vonage-forum.com/ftopic2773.html

Posts: 433 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:51 pm Post subject:

In my town, due to the excessive abuse of 911, the non-emergency number gives a faster response.

In defense, we lived for many years without 911. I feel 911 is important, but should not be a service that should replace common sense.

If your loved one do not know their own address, that is the issue. Not that E911 is not available. Most of the US in not E911 compliant. (That is the answer I received from my local 911 service).

Posts: 14 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Mar 01, 2004 Posts: 14

One of the reasons that I have Vonage is because it's cheap. I don't give a rat's behing whether or not they ever get E911. Do you think Vonage is going to let you have it for free? I don't think E911 is worth the price. I can call the ambulance myself by dialing 4 more digits, hello. If you must have it, stay on POTs and pay their price.

Posts: 482 · Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 12:30 am Post subject: Re: E911

redstick wrote:

One of the reasons that I have Vonage is because it's cheap. I don't give a rat's behing whether or not they ever get E911. Do you think Vonage is going to let you have it for free? I don't think E911 is worth the price. I can call the ambulance myself by dialing 4 more digits, hello. If you must have it, stay on POTs and pay their price.

Vonage and all the other Voip companies will be glad to know you've solved the problem.

Posts: 68 · Full Forum Member Joined: Feb 14, 2005 Posts: 68

There's an idea -- put the number on speed dial Wink

e911 is a good thing, I have no doubts.. the only thing is, it's not 100% reliable either, I wouldn't be surprised if landline companies had as unreliable e911 as packet8, lol.

Then again, that's just a random thought Smile