In message <telecom24.212.9@telecom-digest.org> Mark Peters
<mpeters@nospam.wideopenwest.com> wrote:
> A big problem is visitors, especially children who have been taught to
> dial 911 in case of an emergency. A device that looks like a phone and
> provides dial tone is expected to behave like a phone which includes
> 911. 911 should not be opt-in or opt-out. 911 should be there. E911 is
> the goal.
Agreed -- But how is the child better served if 911 connects them to a
call center which might not even be in the same state, and all they
know is that they're at dad's house?
Having 911 (or better, E911) for a fixed location VoIP device is
already being implemented by many/most carriers that sell a
non-portable solution.
However, making roaming 911 work is a challenge which won't be
overcome easily unless you can force users to enter a current valid
address whenever they move the VoIP device. It's virtually impossible
to get reliable GPS signals indoors, so it simply isn't feasible for
the device to do the trick itself. Cell phones at least have a fixed
location of the tower, which can give the call center a rough idea of
where the problem is, but VoIP doesn't even have that advantage.
I don't know about anybody else, but I'd rather have 911 return a
"Stop, this phone is not equipped to dial 911. Please use another
phone to dial 911" error message rather then have someone get routed
to a 911 call center that can't help them -- At least knowing that no
help is coming gives them a chance to obtain assistance elsewhere.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I wonder how this scheme would work ...
any calls to 911 from a VOIP get intercepted by the broadband ISP
who is handling the connection. The IP address in use (and its
physical address) get transmitted 'like ANI' to the local police. The
'ANI-like' information passed along (from wherever) to the PSAP
identifies it as a VOIP from address (registered with the ISP for the
IP street address.) Am I correct in my assumption that most stationary
computers with broadband stay in the same place and they are almost
always on the same IP address as well? I know in my instance I have
been 24.xxx.xxx.xxx for however long, here at the same street
address, etc. Can't those two items (IP and street address) often as
not be matched? PAT]
Path: telecom-digest.org!ptownson
Date: 15 May 2005 11:33:40 -0700
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Vonage Changes 911 to Opt-Out
Message-ID: <telecom24.214.6@telecom-digest.org>
Organization: http://groups.google.com
Sender: editor@telecom-digest.org
X-URL: http://telecom-digest.org/
X-Submissions-To: editor@telecom-digest.org
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@telecom-digest.org
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 24, Issue 214, Message 6 of 12
Lines: 19
Mark Peters wrote:
> A big problem is visitors, especially children who have been taught
> to dial 911 in case of an emergency. A device that looks like a
> phone and provides dial tone is expected to behave like a phone
> which includes 911. 911 should not be opt-in or opt-out. 911 should
> be there. E911 is the goal.
It's not just children.
From reading messages in the newgroup, it appears that the
technocrats assume everybody out there is as tech-savy as they are.
The reality is that the vast majority of the people have no clue as to
what VOIP even is, let alone how it works or its limitations. To
expect another person to know the phone isn't 911 equipped is
ludicrous. The goal of 911 is to have a universal help number so a
stranger/outsider can get help quickly in an emergency.
DevilsPGD (spamsucks@crazyhat.net)