| Accessing emergency services by dialing 911 is a | | | | systems may get their power from centralized |
| critical component of public safety. The general public | | | | equipment which may have power back up. 911 and |
| is accustomed to the functionality of calls to 911 over | | | | other calls may fail on VoIP service during a power |
| traditional telephone service. Consumer customers of | | | | outage if each piece of equipment required to connect |
| Vonage, Skype and Google Voice as well as business | | | | the IP telephone to the Internet does not have power |
| customers of Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP and Virtual | | | | back up. |
| PBX from VoIP providers use Voice over Internet | | | | 5. VoIP calls, including 911 calls, may fail when the |
| Protocol (VoIP), which is a completely different | | | | Internet connection becomes overloaded. |
| technology. VoIP technology brings unique challenges | | | | 6. VoIP 911 calls may go through a VoIP 911 center |
| and different functionality in 911 call processing. | | | | who verifies telephone number and address before |
| Do not expect VoIP 911 calls to function the same as | | | | forwarding the call to the local PSAP. |
| traditional telephone 911 calls. | | | | 7. VoIP telephones which cannot call Public Switched |
| Key Differences Between VoIP and Traditional 911 | | | | Telephone Network (PSTN) numbers may have no 911 |
| Calls | | | | call capabilities at all. |
| 1. Traditional telephone calls to 911 are sent to the Public | | | | Although the differences between traditional and VoIP |
| Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that is responsible for | | | | 911 calls may seem scary, it is not with the following |
| a particular area. Usually the local PSAP can | | | | tips. |
| automatically identify the location and telephone | | | | Tips for VoIP 911 Calls |
| number of the caller. Some VoIP providers may not | | | | 1. Select a VoIP or Hosted VoIP provider that routes |
| connect to the local PSAP or they may inappropriately | | | | their 911 calls to a 911 center or the local PSAP for |
| ring to the administrative line of the PSAP which may | | | | your area. |
| not be staffed after hours or answered by trained 911 | | | | 2. Provide an accurate physical address to the VoIP |
| operators. | | | | provider for each telephone. |
| 2. VoIP calls to 911 may connect to the appropriate | | | | 3. Know the procedures for updating the physical |
| PSAP but not automatically transmit telephone number | | | | address and promptly update in the event of a |
| and location. | | | | change. |
| 3. Many VoIP providers allow their customers to self | | | | 4. Install power back up units to keep the Internet, |
| move their telephones to any location that has | | | | router(s) and VoIP telephones working during a power |
| broadband Internet access. The customer must take | | | | outage. |
| the responsibility to update the location information of | | | | 5. Place a test 911 call after a new VoIP telephone |
| the telephone as the VoIP providers will not be aware | | | | installation or after a change of physical address. |
| of the move. | | | | 6. Clearly mark any telephone that does not connect |
| 4. Traditional home telephones may get their power | | | | to the PSTN and cannot make 911 calls. |
| from the telephone company. Business telephone | | | | |