By Sharla Sikes

When I switched to VoIP from a standard land line—mostly because of the price, since I was tired of paying nearly twice in fees and whatnot than I was for the basic phone service—the one objection I heard over and over was due to 911 service.

VoIP doesn’t work in quite the same way, but users certainly still have access to emergency services. Providers of “interconnected” VoIP services (VoIP services that use the Public Switched Telephone Network), including wireless networks, will be required to offer Enhanced 911, or E911, according to the FCC.

The difficulty with accessing emergency services using VoIP is due to the fact that traditional land lines have a fixed, physical address associated with the phone number. The portability of VoIP—part of what makes it so attractive—means that the location of the caller isn’t as easy to determine immediately, and time is of the essence when it comes to 911 calls. The main challenges facing VoIP users when making emergency calls are that VoIP 911 call may not connect to a Public Safety Answering Point, where emergency calls are taken; VoIP 911 service may ring to the administrative line of the PSAP, which may not be staffed after hours, or by trained 911 operators; VoIP 911 service correctly connected to the PSAP, but did not automatically transmit the user’s phone number and/or location information; VoIP customers may need to provide location or other information to their VoIP providers, and update this information if they change locations, for their VoIP 911 service to function properly; and VoIP service may not work during a power outage, or when the Internet connection fails or becomes overloaded, according to the FCC.

So what’s the answer? The FCC and VoIP providers are working to eliminate the gaps in emergency services, so the FCC has initiated a few requirements for providers. VoIP providers must automatically supply 911 services that the customer may not “opt out” of. The provider must also obtain the customer’s physical location so emergency services can locate the customer if they place a 911 call. Interconnected VoIP providers must transmit all 911 calls, a callback number and the caller’s physical address to the nearest emergency services center. Providers also must make clear to their customers the limitations of their 911 service, and they are required to obtain acknowledgement of the customer’s understanding of those limitations in case of emergency.

The emergency services are still not quite up-to-par when compared to land line emergency dialing, but many people find the benefits of VoIP’s portability and other features to be worth it. A little education and planning are all it takes to ensure the best possible emergency calling services for a VoIP user.

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