Comments on: With E911 deadline past, what's next for VoIP firms?

FCC deadline for providing 911 service to all VoIP customers has come and gone, but uncertainty has only begun.

[gsm-profile]

E911 and effeteness of the real world

The main reason for doing this 911 registering is incase of emergency response a government official can react quickly and efficiently. But stop for a moment that call might route thru multiple stations. By the time it get to the right place that knows how long its take to the proper authority to be on the seen. So we all can see there is a big IF! If the right officials can show up in case of emergency, in the right time only for that this is a nice feature

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[Sir Geek]

What about the fact that the phone lines are STILL alive ?

Isn't it true that even if these people were to switch to VOIP that their phone lines are still ( By federal law ) required to be able to contact emergency services ?

Why couldn't Vonage ( and the other VOIP providers ) redesign their "modem/router" so that it is connected to the land line for 911 services ?

[Maggie Reardon]

E911 and the old network

I think the problem is that when people get VoIP they get rid of their existing phone line. That's what I did when I switched to VoIP. The physical wire that used to connect to the phone in my apartment is still there, but there's nothing in my apartment that is connected to that old infrastructure anymore. So I'm not sure how the the VoIP provider could use that line. In my opinion, it seems like the main problem is that we are trying to retrofit new technology into an old system. What would makes more sense to me is if we started upgrading the old 911 network to be IP-enabled, which would solve a lot of these issues. Everything else is going IP, so it makes sense that the emergency system would migrate in that direction. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this. I'm thinking of doing a follow up story that addresses this issue and explains how a new emergency network based on IP could be built.

[stanman0125]

They aren't....

Federal law only mandates that the line remain alive for a certain period of time (usually 14 days) when a customer is disconnected for nonpayment of service. Generally, that gets applied to disconnections that the customer requests (as when switching to VoIP service). After that time, the line is completely dead.

Charge Too Much...

I ditched Vonage when I moved, that was the worst thing I could have done. I signed up with SBC here in Dallas Metroplex, $300 and 2 months later I am back with Vonage. If the phone companies would offer cheap, easy to order and manage phone lines they could wipe VOIP all over the floor. Why don't the traditional carriers get with it and start competing? They don't have to, with the push to ban VOIP through the Spanish Civil War Tax, and now E911, they are doing all they can to stifle competition. Where are the "People" who often accuse MicroSoft of being a monopoly, where is the outrage over charging people $80/month and 10 cents a minute for long distance. If VOIP is banned I will chose to have NO PHONE, rather than pay the man! I will NEVER go back.