Re: FCC To Require 911 for VoIP

["Peter & Karin Dambier" <peter () peter-dambier de>]

> On 29-apr-2005, at 3:12, Owen DeLong wrote:
>
> > > Maybe a satellite network that continuously transmit  location
> > > beacon information which can be used to triangulate one's   
> > > location would
> > > do the trick?

Skype and public domain telefones dont know about location, 
nor will they ever learn.

The only place where somebody could catch a 911 call is at
a sip server.

The sip server does not know about the INAIC in Newyork
connecting me via tunnel from Germany. If they traced me
they would find my IPv6 tunnel endpoint in Japan.

Where to connect me? 
The Newyork police probably does not speak German.
In Germany emergency calls are 110 not 911.
If they connected me to Tokio police, they dont
speak german either.

The only way out for me to immagine is:

A big wooden plate with big letters and with letters for
blind people to touch, telling everybody how to dial
emergency - or open the window and shout for help.
That might be faster. 

Regards,
Peter Dambier

> > I submit that I don't necessarily want my communications device or my
> > location tracked at all times by the government.
>
> Well, adding a GPS receiver to a mobile VoIP phone doesn't  
> automatically enable the government to track your location at all times.
>
> > My point is not the
> > need for location, but, that it is impractical to reliably implement
> > the traditional 911 model for VOIP.
>
> I don't think VoIP is ever going to be as reliable as traditional  
> telephony. But, neither are cell phones so that's not necessarily a  
> disqualification.
>
> > The traditional 911 model depends on being able to make determination
> > of at least a roughly correct 911 service provider based on connection
> > point.  (Cell site, telco central office, service location, etc.).
>
> > None of these are available for many VOIP services.
>
> But there is absolutely no reason why this feature can't be added to  
> VoIP. The first order of business is for the phone to know its  
> location. For truely mobile devices this probably means GPS, but for  
> less mobile devices I can imagine a networked location discovery  
> protocol: a periodic broadcast or a DHCP option or some such. The  
> phone can then tell the SIP server or whatever similar system it uses  
> what its location is, and the SIP server can then make call routing  
> decisions based on the phone's location for certain types of calls.
>
> For extra credit the paranoid among us may design a system where the  
> SIP server only gets to hear the location when the user makes a call  
> for which location information is required.
>
> Don't forget that we're in a transition period right now. Right now  
> VoIP is mostly used as a last mile technology which is a huge waste  
> of potential. All of this will get much more interesting when end-to- 
> end VoIP calls become the norm.

-- 
Peter und Karin Dambier 
Graeffstrasse 14 
D-64646 Heppenheim 
+49-6252-671788 (Telekom) 
+49-6252-599091 (O2 Genion) 
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peter () peter-dambier de 
www.peter-dambier.de
peter-dambier.site.voila.fr