The reason people might not want it is because it's more govt intervention in our lives. Part of the reason many of us left POTS was to get away from the taxes.
Ditto, count me in that camp. The taxes and access fees on my BellSouth line were $24.68 and that's not including any actual phone service charges.
AirJunky wrote:
It's difficult to get 911 to with with Voip because of the router's position. One day it might be at your house & the next day it's at your hotel room. Which 911 operator do they connect you with? Sounds like it'll have to be based on the IP address but those details are things they are working out. In the meantime, we have to be held accountable for updating the 911 record ourselves..... even in Houston.
Well the responsibility for updating my address is obviously mine. I'd bet that most people are like me and don't plan on travelling with the Vonage router, or if I do, I'll be in a hotel or condo where there's already a landline. I'm not hung up on having a device that magically detect my physical address. All I want is a way to maintain my own address information and know that information will be passed along to a regular 911 operator on the 911 emergency queue and that they will receive the address I've entered in an automated fashion.
I liken it to DNS. I can update the record on my server, and then the rest of the world can lookup my new address. This isn't rocket science. The biggest hurdle is that current e911 services are controlled by the baby Bells, which do not have to provide access to unregulated providers and are not doing so simply to protect their own interests at the public expense. So once again it comes back to business being self-interested, and the government has to step in to make everyone play nice together.
AirJunky wrote:
I don't necessarily agree with it, but I'm not so blinded by my own viewpoint that I can't see theirs either.
Thanks, AirJunky. I think there's room for debate and more than one position in the discussion.
ToddlerTN Vonage Forum Evangelist
Joined: Feb 12, 2005 Posts: 482
Location: Nashville, TN
However, if a new auto manufacturer decided not to put seat belts in their cars altogether, or stated in the car's owner's manual that seat belts aren't provided with the vehicle unless and until you specifically go through a special sign-up process to obtain them--and even then the seat belts provided aren't as functional or safe as traditional seat belts--intelligent people who want the option to protect themselves would rightly be concerned, and the government would never approve that car for sale to the public.
At first I thought this analogy was not valid in this situation, however as I wrote this post I realized it was perfectly analogous, just not for the reason you think it is. Seat belts are not required in cars to protect you in the event of an accident. They are to reduce the public's liability if you are hit and injured. Example: In Florida if you choose to ride a motorcycle without a helmet you must purchase insurance or post a bond to cover the difference in damages done when someone injures you versus the damages if you were wearing a helmet.
However, if we extend this argument, if I injure someone in their home, and their damages are greater because of their inability to access emergency services delayed care. Should I be held liable for the increased cost because they did not want to pay for E911 services?
Are we going to follow Florida's example and make people buy health and fire insurance or post bonds if they decline E911 so as not to increase the burden on the public health care system?
A better question to ask is what if a visitor to your home is injured and needs 911, and you chose not to pay for it? Or what if your health insurance provider charged you a higher premium for coverage due to the increased risk factor because you chose not to pay $2 for 911.
Like the motorcycle helmet law, maybe the government should make you purchase liability insurance if you decline to carry 911.
think about it for a minute, what about the people who disconnected at the nid and don't have a cell phone? sweet fancy moses, arrest them for that crime against humanity. not to mention people who don't have phones at all. good gosh I better not go outside any more lest I be near someone without 911 service. 911 can be used for others, but my phone is not "for" them, and no one should expect anyone else to have it, or to be able to use it when they need it. anyway, we obviously disagree, and since Vonage has a form of 911 access, it's really a moot point besides those who don't read or pay attention to what they sign up for.
Voip should play by the same rules. 911 has to do with public safety, not government intervention. Telephones are expected to have such functionality.
If it is the case that this is a "public safety issue" then 911 should be paid for from the general fund and not charged per telephone line. As it stands it is a government mandated feature because governments were regulating telecommunication companies as monopolies.
So it's about money. That's nice, but I don't put a price of my families safety. 911 service with SBC around here costs $1.50. Not exactly breaking the bank.
And what does it matter if it's a "general" fund or not? Let's say you get taxed $1.50 more as opposed to getting it directly taken as a 911 fee - either way you're coming out the same.
Besides - do you know your taxes are already paying for fire/police/emergency infrastructure? You're actually getting ripped off because you don't have access to the services you're paying (a LOT) for.
Well the responsibility for updating my address is obviously mine. I'd bet that most people are like me and don't plan on travelling with the Vonage router, or if I do, I'll be in a hotel or condo where there's already a landline. I'm not hung up on having a device that magically detect my physical address. All I want is a way to maintain my own address information and know that information will be passed along to a regular 911 operator on the 911 emergency queue and that they will receive the address I've entered in an automated fashion.
But the failure point is that if they build the new E911 system around you & your needs, then they screw the odd person who happens to travel with their router, pick up that phone instead of the hotel phone & call 911. Now the police show up at this person's home instead of where the emergency is located. Even better screwup than the 911 screwups we have already!
In my case, I signed on with Vonage & then moved twice before I bought a house. In the day or two between moves where I had not yet updated my 911 info, had someone had an emergency & called 911 & were automatically sent to my old address instead of the new one....... yet another loophole for those that don't fit the ToddlerTN mold.
Give'em time.... it'll work out. Look at how far it's come already!
so you dont think a scenario where somebody other than you or the people living in your house would need to call 911 on your phone could happen? really?
Even if you argue that you are responsible for yourself, you are also responsible for others. In a nation where McDonalds gets sued for hot coffee and robbers have successfully sued homeowners for tripping on broken sprinkler heads or getting locked in garages, as ridiculous as it may sound, I can envision a guest in a Vonage household who wasn't able to reach 911 deciding to sue the homeowner.
And what if I were visiting a home that didn't have a home phone at all, only a cell... and for whatever reason the reception wasn't good enough to get an emergency call through, would I sue the person I was visiting? Would I sue the cell phone carrier? Of course not. But then I'm not one to sue McDonald's for hot coffee lol.
I wish people would actually read the decision of a court instead of the 10 second news summary.
McDonalds was ruled against in that case NOT because they had "hot coffee", but because they had been TOLD before that their coffee was too hot, needed to be cooler, and had resulted in injuries before, yet they did nothing. The person who was burned had 3rd degree burns to the genital area.
If they had addressed the issue when it was brought to their attention multiple times before and had lowered the temperature as they were instructed they wouldn't have been successfully sued.
Having 911 service available to you isnt just for you. It is for anyone that comes near your property. (guests, neighbors, delivery people, garbage collector, etc etc). You put people other than yourself at risk by not having 911 service.
When was the Constitution amended to read "..endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and access to 911 service"?
Actually that was the declaration of independence....
If 911 is something we must have for others to use "just in case" then put public 911 phones on every block. Its the same thinking as putting up a "beware of dog" sign on my gate to warn those that hop my fence and cut through my yard. Even then, if they get bit Ill get sued. I have 911 active and we also have cell fones "just in case". People need to take responsibility for themselves and stop blaming others. No hostility intended to anyone. Its up to me, not Vonage or the government.
If you're going to get upset about "rights" being taken away, then get mad at the Supreme Court. Just yesterday they overturned 200+ years of jurisprudence and ruled that suddenly now capital punishment for juvenile offenders is unconstitutional. Do you know what they based that decision on? Two unratified international treaties. Someone tell me how unratified international treaties have anything to do with the US Constitution. Five justices yesterday conspired to subvert America's sovereignty and subjugate our entire system of representative government to some unelected, unaccountable international suggestion box. That's almost treasonous, in my opinion.
Actually if you bothered to read the ruling (I know, that's too much to ask of people) they ruled as they did due to the constitutions prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment".
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Vonage Service Plans
Vonage VoIP Members
Members New HorpDrype New Today 7 Yesterday 18 Total 63405 Who Is On Site Visitors 173 Members 1 Total 174
1 Unlimited calling and other services for all residential plans are based on normal residential use by single-family household members. A combination of factors are used to determine abnormal use, including but not limited to: the number of unique numbers called, international calls forwarded, minutes used and other factors. Subject to our Reasonable Use Policy and Terms of Service.
HIGH SPEED INTERNET REQUIRED. † LIMITED TIME OFFER, VALID FOR NEW LINES ONLY. RATES EXCLUDE INTERNET SERVICE, SURCHARGES, FEES AND TAXES. As a subscriber to Vonage service, you agree to be bound by the Terms of Service. See www.vonage.com/tos for details. ¤ Where available. The number transfer process takes approximately 10 business days from the time you confirm your transfer request. Alarms, TTY and other systems may not be compatible. Vonage 911 service operates differently than traditional 911. See www.vonage.com/911 for details.
Thinking of signing up for Vonage but have questions? Business and Residential customers can call Toll Free 24 hours a day at: 1-888-692-8074 No Vonage Promotional Codes or Coupon Codes are required at www.vonage.com.
The Vonage Forum provides the Vonage sign up Best Offer Promotion Deal as a means to offset
our cost. If you are considering signing up for Vonage and have found our Vonage
News, Customer Reviews, Forums & all other parts of this site useful, please
use our Vonage FREE Month sign up offer Deal Coupon.
Vonage VoIP Phone Service is redefining communications by offering consumers & small business VoIP Internet phones, an affordable alternative to traditional phone service.
The Vonage VoIP Forum Generated This Page In: 0.58 Seconds and 424 Pages In The Last 60 Seconds The Vonage VoIP Forum
Members
New 
New Today 7
Yesterday 18
Total 63405
Who Is On Site
Visitors 173
Members 1
Total 174
+0.15