TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: FCC's 911 Move a Trojan Horse? Critics Charge Engineering

Re: FCC's 911 Move a Trojan Horse? Critics Charge Engineering

Barry Margolin (barmar@alum.mit.edu)
Thu, 19 May 2005 23:55:16 -0400

In article <telecom24.221.1@telecom-digest.org>, Jack Decker
<jack-yahoogroups@workbench.net> wrote:

> http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/63675

> FCC's 911 Move a Trojan Horse?
> Critics Charge They're Engineering Death of Indie VoIP
> Written by Karl Bode

> Tomorrow the FCC will release an order that forces all independent
> VoIP providers to offer 911 service within 120 days. On the surface
> the move seems like a simple way of ensuring public safety, but
> critics believe it's really an incumbent engineered attempt to crush
> upstart VoIP competitors.

> There's been a scattered number of deaths blamed on VoIP -- whether or
> not the VoIP provider was actually culpable
> http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/63372 hasn't mattered to
> some news outlets. Vonage has also been sued for "failing to inform
> users they need to activate their 911 service" before it will work;
> apparently this welcome screen
> http://www.broadbandreports.com/r0/download/800075~433b0c31ec1520970b77229393b
> 7d713/vonage.png every customer sees was simply too mystical.

I believe the issue is that even once you activate it, you wouldn't
get connected to real E911 services. The LECs didn't provide them
with the proper access to the E911 infrastructure, so Vonage was
forwarding 911 to administrative offices rather than 911 operators.

Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***

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