| Nader Sharifi 2005-05-21, 10:55 pm |
| FCC Orders 911 Service for VoIP
As expected, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order
Thursday requiring Internet phone service companies to provide enhanced 911
(E911) emergency calling capabilities to their customers and delivered a
120-day deadline for compliance.
VoIP providers must, by default, deliver all 911 calls to the customer's
local emergency operator. Interconnected VoIP providers also must provide
emergency operators with the call back number and location information of
their customers where the emergency operator is capable of receiving it.
The new demands must be met within 120 days of the official publication of
the order, which is expected by the end of this month.
Regulatory Process Proceeds
The ruling is a response to the rapidly expanding VoIP customer base and
directly impacts providers such as Vonage and EarthLink, as well as cable
companies. It also reflects the FCC's earlier decision to take regulatory
control of Internet-based calling rather than grant that control to states.
Calling the IP-enabled services marketplace "the latest new frontier of our
nation's communications landscape," the FCC cited horror stories brought to
its attention in which VoIP customers dialed 911 but were unable to reach
emergency operators.
"The sad fact is that we have spent so much time splitting hairs about what
is a telecommunications service and what is an information service that we
have endangered public safety," said commissioner Michael Copps in a
statement. "At some point the semantic debates must end and reality must
assert itself -- when customers sign up for a telephone they expect it to
deliver like a telephone."
Cooperation from Carriers Required
Most providers, in anticipation of the decision, have been adding E911
capabilities to their systems and support the FCC. The mandate could spell
trouble, though, for smaller operations without the resources to add
emergency services capabilities.
"EarthLink and other VoIP providers are committed to providing 911 services.
We therefore support FCC and Congressional efforts to ensure public safety
by requiring that VoIP subscribers have prompt access to E911," said Dave
Baker, vice president of law and public policy at EarthLink.
Baker also noted that to meet this objective, the FCC must ensure that
incumbent phone companies provide access to the interfaces needed to deliver
and complete emergency calls.
"We have been given a big obligation to meet in a short time, so it's up to
the Bells to meet their requirements as well," he said.
Action Was Overdue
"The low-end VoIP providers will probably struggle with another regulatory
hurdle to clear, and there could be a shakeup in the industry that may be a
good thing," said IDC analyst Will Stofega. "But this has to be done because
most customers did not realize there was no support for E911 with their
service."
Still, said Stofega, the FCC has been dragging its feet on VoIP regulations
despite determining that it is an interstate communications service.
"They have been talking about this since 1999, but until now have not
offered any rules for operating next-generation phone services," he said.
Vonage announced an agreement Thursday to purchase wireless and wireline
E911 services from SBC and BellSouth (NYSE: BLS - news). And Verizon (NYSE:
VZ - news) recently announced that it will provide E911 calling system to
VoIP service providers and vendors, enabling them to connect their
customers' emergency calls to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=sto...520/bs_nf/35336
<avoidspam@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:ot4v8116an3cgm0
jn2rrkkr6aiu7gp4kmb@
4ax.com...
quote:
> On Fri, 20 May 2005 19:10:31 -0500, Jer <gdunn@airmail.ten> wrote:
>
>
> It could be if it was there to offer - but the VoIP services don't
> have one to sell.
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