VoIP and
Emergency 911 Service
By Chris Landry
Most of the VoIP carriers offer an E911 service, but
not all of them. You need to be sure to check to see if the
VoIP provider you choose offers E911 because it is not a
given. Even if the VoIP provider does provide E911 service,
most do not offer the E911 service in all of the areas that they
provide service.
Some VoIP providers offer E911 service for free and
others charge a nominal fee for the E911 service. If the VoIP
provider does not offer E911, then we suggest that you maintain
either a cellular phone or traditional landline in addition to your
VoIP line to use in case you have an emergency.
When you register your VoIP phone number for E911
service, you give the VoIP provider the address where your VoIP
usually resides. It is also important to point out that
if you take your VoIP phone when traveling, E911 has no way of
knowing where you are when you call “911” if you are away from the
registered address.
The future of VoIP and E911 service:
As
the VoIP providers offer more and more coverage of service, the
coverage for the E911 service will expand as well. It is not
out of the realm of possibility that the FCC will impose some sort
of regulation requiring E911 service for all U.S. VoIP telephone
numbers in the near future.
In the more distant future, the VoIP equipment
manufactures will start to produce ATAs (analog telephone adaptors)
that are GPS enabled so that when you dial 911, the emergency
services unit will be able to know where you are via GPS. This
technology may be available and more affordable as the technology
becomes more commonplace.
E911 service is only one of the things to consider
before choosing a VoIP solution. In fact, there are many
things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider. An educated
consumer generally results in a satisfied consumer. Please see
VoIP
things to consider article to find a list
of more things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider.
You can compare VoIP providers side-by-side at www.voipchoices.com.
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