Understanding 911 Calling With VoIP Providers

Accessing emergency services by dialing 911 is a critical component of public safety. The general public is accustomed to the functionality of calls to 911 over traditional telephone service. Consumer customers of Vonage, Skype and Google Voice as well as business customers of Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP and Virtual PBX from VoIP providers use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which is a completely different technology. VoIP technology brings unique challenges and different functionality in 911 call processing.

Do not expect VoIP 911 calls to function the same as traditional telephone 911 calls.

Key Differences Between VoIP and Traditional 911 Calls

1. Traditional telephone calls to 911 are sent to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that is responsible for a particular area. Usually the local PSAP can automatically identify the location and telephone number of the caller. Some VoIP providers may not connect to the local PSAP or they may inappropriately ring to the administrative line of the PSAP which may not be staffed after hours or answered by trained 911 operators.

2. VoIP calls to 911 may connect to the appropriate PSAP but not automatically transmit telephone number and location.

3. Many VoIP providers allow their customers to self move their telephones to any location that has broadband Internet access. The customer must take the responsibility to update the location information of the telephone as the VoIP providers will not be aware of the move.

4. Traditional home telephones may get their power from the telephone company. Business telephone systems may get their power from centralized equipment which may have power back up. 911 and other calls may fail on VoIP service during a power outage if each piece of equipment required to connect the IP telephone to the Internet does not have power back up.

5. VoIP calls, including 911 calls, may fail when the Internet connection becomes overloaded.

6. VoIP 911 calls may go through a VoIP 911 center who verifies telephone number and address before forwarding the call to the local PSAP.

7. VoIP telephones which cannot call Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) numbers may have no 911 call capabilities at all.

Although the differences between traditional and VoIP 911 calls may seem scary, it is not with the following tips.

Tips for VoIP 911 Calls

1. Select a VoIP or Hosted VoIP provider that routes their 911 calls to a 911 center or the local PSAP for your area.

2. Provide an accurate physical address to the VoIP provider for each telephone.

3. Know the procedures for updating the physical address and promptly update in the event of a change.

4. Install power back up units to keep the Internet, router(s) and VoIP telephones working during a power outage.

5. Place a test 911 call after a new VoIP telephone installation or after a change of physical address.

6. Clearly mark any telephone that does not connect to the PSTN and cannot make 911 calls.

The FCC imposed 911 obligations on all Interconnected VoIP providers in 2005. An Interconnected VoIP is VoIP over a broadband Internet service that connects with the PSTN or traditional telephone network. By FCC rules, the VoIP provider must provide 911 as a standard feature, obtain customer physical address before service activation and offer an easy means to update information. With the FCCs rules and by following the tips above, 911 service will be available on VoIP telephones when an emergency arises.

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