Re: Vonage SUED over not clearly informing customers re 911 service lacking

[Adam Rothschild <asr+nanog () latency net>]

On 2005-03-24-14:02:26, "Network.Security" <Network.Security () target com> wrote:
> I'm not saying (nor do I hope the PSAPs are either) that Vonage
> should cease and desist service because of the 911 issues, rather
> greater partnership needs to be initiated to insure that VoIP
> service and POTS have the same priority for 911 [...]

Actually, I believe it would be a step in the right direction.

I've had an opportunity to use a CLEC-resold version of the Intrado
service, which I believe is what Vonage uses to provide its customers
with "911" capabilities.  Intrado's job is not an easy one, and given
the technical, regulatory, and demand-related obstacles they face,
they do a decent job at what they do.  (With that said, accidents can
happen, mostly in the form of the LEC neglecting to contact Intrado
and inform them of a subscriber's address, or Intrado neglecting to
enter that information in the database, and there's no real way to
detect this shy of placing test calls to 911, but I digress...)

Rather, the problem we face is that VoIP, despite working "good
enough" 99% of the time, is susceptible to failure modes above and
beyond POTS: loss of power and/or IP connectivity, to name a couple.
The likelihood of these failure modes surfacing in the event of a
fire, flood, theft, or other event requiring a 911 dispatch, is a
non-trivial concern.

What Vonage (or any operator in their position really) should do is
tell its customers, in no uncertain terms, that their service does not
exist as a replacement for a land line, and to keep a cellular or POTS
phone available for use in case of an emergency.  And if a subscriber
chooses to dial 911 anyway, present them with either a reorder tone,
or a recording instructing them to hang up and proceed to the nearest
land/cell phone.  Of course, the likelihood of this happening out of
moral responsibility, and without any -- dare I say -- federal
mandate, is unfortunately slim, and goes against the way these
services are presently marketed to consumers...

My $0.02,
-a