IP Phone Providers Miss E911 Target

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Randall <rvh40 () insightbb com>
Date: November 30, 2005 12:56:19 PM EST
To: Dave <dave () farber net>, Dewayne Hendricks  
<dewayne () warpspeed com>, cyberia <CYBERIA-L () LISTSERV AOL COM>
Subject: IP Phone Providers Miss E911 Target


Internet Phone Providers Fall Short on 911
By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press WriterTue Nov 29, 9:20 PM ET


Vonage Holdings Corp., the nation's largest provider of Internet phone
service, and several smaller companies could be barred from signing up
new customers in many markets because they failed to meet a deadline to
provide reliable emergency 911 service to all subscribers.

AT&T Inc. also didn't meet the deadline.

The Federal Communications Commission had given providers of
Internet-based phone service 120 days to comply with its order requiring
enhanced 911, or E911, in all their service areas.

The deadline to show the government where E911 is available was Monday.
House and Senate lawmakers had urged FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to give
companies more time and more tools to speed deployment, but no extension
was granted.

In its compliance report to the FCC, Vonage said only 26 percent of its
customer base had full E911 services. The company — which has more than
1 million subscribers — said it was capable of transmitting a callback
number and location for 100 percent of its subscribers, but it still was
waiting for cooperation from competitors that control the 911 network.

Vonage should have two-thirds of its customers with full E911
capabilities in the next 30 days, the company said.

AT&T told the FCC that 65 percent of its customer base had E911 service.
AT&T offers Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, to about 57,000
customers through its CallVantage service.

SunRocket, which has more than 50,000 subscribers nationwide, said it
had equipped 96 percent of its customers with full 911 services.

Citing public safety concerns, the FCC in May ordered companies selling
VoIP to ensure that callers can reach an emergency dispatcher when they
dial 911. The dispatchers also must be able to tell where callers are
located and the numbers from which they are calling.

VoIP providers were told that if they failed to meet the deadline they
could no longer market their service or accept new customers in areas
that didn't have enhanced 911. They will not have to disconnect current
customers who don't have full 911 service, as some providers had feared.

The FCC wouldn't discuss possible enforcement actions against offending
companies. "At this stage, the agency is focused on the compliance
filings by VoIP providers," spokesman David Fiske said.

Voice over Internet Protocol shifts calls from wires and switches, using
computers and broadband connections to convert sounds into data and
transmit them via the Internet. In many cases, subscribers use
conventional phones hooked up to high-speed Internet lines. But the
service can be mobile, making it difficult to ensure the call goes to
the correct local emergency center.

There are about 3.6 million VoIP users in the United States. Of those,
about half get their service from cable TV companies that already
provide enhanced 911 capabilities. Other providers offer a 911 service
that directs emergency calls to a general administrative number, but
those lines haven't always been staffed around the clock.

The order applies to VoIP that uses the public phone network to place
and terminate calls.

___

On the Net:

Federal Communications Commission: http://www.fcc.gov

VON Coalition: http://www.von.org

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