9-1-1 and VoIP

Discuss this Article No responses yet, be the first... Enter your comment below.

When a 911 call is made via a traditional phone line, location information is transmitted to emergency service providers. Due to the virtual and mobile nature of a VoIP handset, calls may not originate from a "physical" location, complicating the transmission of address information. Make sure your VoIP phone system and/or service provider properly configures 9-1-1 so each handset is mapped to the right physical address.  Then conduct a test by calling 9-1-1 and explain to the Operator what you're doing.

If you're offices are within the same local calling area (i.e., across the street from each other), there are e-911 fields that can be programmed into phone systems per handset. However, since 9-1-1 is a local service, this strategy won't necessarily work for locations that are zip codes apart. You may find that dialing 9-1-1 from a remote handset in California gets you Emergency Services in Cleveland!

For remote offices hanging off the corporate data network, the best solution is a gateway or VoIP adapter device connected to a land line that's local to the remote office. One side of the adapter is "IP" and the other side connects to the regular phone line for 9-1-1 purposes. This way, accurate location information will be transmitted to authorities via the land line. Some people try to use a fax line for this purpose. However, the problem with a fax line doing double duty is that if Emergency Services needs to call you back, they'll get a fax tone.

The most important rule when deploying VoIP and 9-1-1 is to test, test, and test. Lives could be on the line (no pun intended) and your company could be liable if it isn't properly implemented.