Texas suing Vonage over 911 calls

Posts: 196 · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:32 pm Post subject:

Well said, mtcook01. The only thing I'd like to add is that legislation is needed to force the RBOC's to provide more affordable and ready access to the regional 911 Tandem switches so that CLEC's and Voip companies can actually router 911 calls to them.

If that hurdle were overcome, it would not be too tough for Vonage to have trunk groups into regional 911 Tandem offices and get the calls delivered correctly.

Obviously, some of the Voip companies have overcome this. Apparently, SR does it, P8 is trying to do this, BVX is trying to do this. Vonage has done it in Rhode Island. I think its coming.

One of my other Voip providers used to play a recording telling you they don't have 911. No it just gives you a reorder tone. Vonage is doing better than most of the others with 911 routing.

Posts: 66 · Full Forum Member Joined: Feb 07, 2005 Posts: 66

Vonage says that it will not give 911 Info. Does it not? It still should connect the call when you are registered...

Posts: 318 · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:44 am Post subject:

scerruti wrote:

The State of Texas knows there are a lot of stupid Texans that need to be protected from their own stupidity. The intent of the lawsuit will be to gain additional protections for stupid people in the future.

This is probably way off topic for the Vonage forums, but government is not there to protect people from their own stupidity. At least, originally that's not what our government was intended to do...in a free country, the people should be free to be as stupid as they want, as long as they don't harm anyone else. If they harm themselves...

Posts: 188 · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:52 am Post subject: Re: Ridicilous

OldSnipe wrote:

I suppose Winchester will have to put, "Warning, do not point at foot and pull trigger" stickers on their rifles next.

How come everything is always someone elses fault? We seem to becoming a nation of Wimps!

Yeah like they want to ban the use of cell phones in the cars because they blame the cell phone not the user of the phone for accident it causes. Never ending on many issues. I believe people should read, ask questions and use some common sense these days.

Posts: 188 · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:57 am Post subject:

Hmmm...I wonder when the person who had the need to call 911 forgot he/she was using Vonage? That is something to think about. When you are in the heat of something you forget everything. But I must agree that there is a binding contract with customer and Vonage and we all know Vonage wins on this one.

Posts: 2251 · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:00 am Post subject:

scerruti wrote:

All your points about people being stupid are valid, but that is exactly why the State of Texas is suing Vonage.

The State of Texas knows there are a lot of stupid Texans that need to be protected from their own stupidity. The intent of the lawsuit will be to gain additional protections for stupid people in the future.

The success of this lawsuit will be determined not on the merits of Vonage's efforts to date to inform people of the 911 situation, but by how successfully the AG's office can argue that the people of Texas are really, really stupid.

This is not a lawsuit about a stupid person suing for damages, it is about a State wanting to protect itself from financial results of its own citizens' stupid mistakes in the future. When faced with the choice of educating their citizens or forcing a corporation to idiot proof a product, which is cheaper?

(note to Texans: this could have happened anywhere, don't take it personally)

Somehow in my busy day I missed this one.

To: scerruti and anyone else that is casually referring to our kind friends in the Lone Star State as being "stupid".

This is not the place for it, please refrain from comments such as those in the future. You have an interesting topic going, I would hate to slap the locks on it.

Posts: 318 · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:01 am Post subject: Re: Ridicilous

tysonfamnc wrote:

OldSnipe wrote:

I suppose Winchester will have to put, "Warning, do not point at foot and pull trigger" stickers on their rifles next.

How come everything is always someone elses fault? We seem to becoming a nation of Wimps!

Yeah like they want to ban the use of cell phones in the cars because they blame the cell phone not the user of the phone for accident it causes. Never ending on many issues. I believe people should read, ask questions and use some common sense these days.

or better yet, the new warnings that cell phones cause brain cancer in kids. i guess we better make it illegal for your kids to use cell phones...

Posts: 281 · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 8:06 am Post subject:

I just listened to the sound clip of the call at:
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagNews/release.php?id=849

I don't see how this lawsuit will have any feet to stand on... first the message CLEARLY states that 911 service is not available on that line.. and instructs you what to do (have a neighbor call or... HEAVEN FORBID!!! call the police number like you used to have to do 5 years ago)... it's not like Vonage is being negligent about this in any way...

Posts: 1424 · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 8:23 am Post subject:

dconnor wrote:

To: scerruti and anyone else that is casually referring to our kind friends in the Lone Star State as being "stupid".

This is not the place for it, please refrain from comments such as those in the future. You have an interesting topic going, I would hate to slap the locks on it.

Gosh Dan, the point of my post was to point out that everyone else was saying that people were stupid if they didn't know about the 911 limitations.

We have seen plenty of people on this forum who have been subscribers who didn't understand the 911 situation when they signed up. I know these people are not stupid, they are just uninformed. (And whose fault is that?)

I was even concerned that the post might be taken personally by someone from Texas thus my last line saying that this lawsuit could have happened anywhere, not just Texas.

I am truly sorry if my post offended anyone.

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Feb 25, 2005 Posts: 1

I made a 911 call two weeks ago and it went very smoothly. The call went directly to the answering machine for the 911 center telling me to wait for the next available operator. Several minutes later the operator picked up the line. The actuall phone call took a total of 5 minutes, 20 minutes later an officer showed up. This call was concerning a possible breakin to a home next door.

One concern from the AG's office was the promptness of a call going thru. Well, what about on the other end. What if this had really been a life or death emergency? Waiting two or three minutes for an operator will not give you a warm fuzzy feeling if someone is kicking in your front door.

I think the real reason for the AG's suite may have something to do with the 911 centers missing the $.50 charge each month on each phone number bill. I was reading that Vonage signed up over 10,000 numbers in the Houston area during the month of February alone. That missing money adds up very fast.