.: VoIP and Emergency 911
By:Olivia Tan
Category:Home / Technology / VOIP
Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with VoIP and Emergency 911? This informative report can give you an insight into everything you've ever wanted to know about VoIP and Emergency 911.
VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol has gained much popularity today. There are many advantages consumers are discovering to using their broadband connections to handle all of their telecommunication needs. People also prefer integrating their telephony into one simple network. VoIP can handle all components such as voice, data, email, and web communications.
When VoIP first was revealed, it opened the door to many questions. For example, VoIP transmits packets of data, or information, over the Internet, while regular telephone services work by transmitting circuits- or electricity to create a connection between one telephone user and another. An example of this is the old switchboard operators who wearing headsets would frantically try to make the right connection and have the correct talkers communicate with each other.
This old method of using the telephones is called Circuit Switch Networks. Because VoIP utilizes packets of information, it is called Packet Switch.
There have been complications in the way VoIP users or Packet Switch networks connect to the Emergency 911 systems. Back in August 1999, the Wireless Communications and Safety Public Act took effect. This Act enforces that all telephone carriers and services will provide 911 services for all of its customers. Mobile phone carriers were having a hard time with the Wireless Communications and Safety Public Act when their services first were initiated. Currently, all mobile services provide emergency 911 services for all of their customers.
When a person calls 911, their call is routed to Public Safety Answering Point Dispatcher. It is the nature of the Emergency 911 system that when the phone call arrives at the Public Safety Answering Point Dispatcher the caller’s identification will be displayed. This includes the caller’s name (or the one registered for the phone) and address. Mobile phone carriers have now included a global tracking system so that location can be traced to the specific location where the call is being placed.
The wireless form of 911 is known as E911 or Enhanced 911. This includes displaying a cellular phone caller’s location as well as extending it to a surrounding range of 50-300 meters.
This brings us to VoIP and the difficulties that VoIP service providers have when it comes to 911. First, VoIP is not a landline service. It is wireless or used by a router connected to your broadband High Speed Internet connection. This means, that you are not going to be recognized by your physical address, but by your IP address.
The information about VoIP and Emergency 911 presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about VoIP and Emergency 911 or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.
For some who use VoIP services and call 911, there calls will be routed to a Public Safety Answering Point Dispatcher, but when the call arrives, it won’t have any information displayed pertaining to location or user’s information.
There have already been several instances in the news pertaining to VoIP and problems people have had reaching 911 during an emergency. The FCC has issued regulations regarding VoIP and the problem with 911, but unfortunately the problem is not that easy to fix. The very infrastructure of VoIP differs from standard telephone lines; therefore the system of 911 does not work with VoIP as it does with landlines.
The FCC has made the decision that VoIP service providers will have to have all customers sign a “statement or waiver” stating that they understand their 911 services may be disabled or not working according to standard with their VoIP service.
Some VoIP service providers have addressed the issue by instituting enhanced 911 services, the same as for cellular phone users, but there are still issues that remain. For instance, if a caller is on a VoIP through their laptop computer, or in a different location, the enhanced 911, may not be able to effectively track the computer because they are on an IP network.
The safest measure to take, until this is corrected, is to keep a basic landline phone in use, if not only for the sole purpose of making emergency 911 calls on. Also, you can carry your cell phone with you, even if you use VoIP for your calling needs through your laptop, or if you use a VoWiFi phone, just in case you need to call 911.
If you do need to make a 911 phone call from your VoIP, remember to stay calm, then let the dispatcher know your present location immediately. Remember, they won’t have that information in front of them.
You can't predict when knowing something extra about VoIP and Emergency 911 will come in handy. If you learned anything new about VoIP and Emergency 911 in this article, you should file the article where you can find it again.
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Article Source: http://www.articles32.com
Olivia Tan provides tips and review on VoIP service providers. Please visit www.allvoipsolution.com for more information on VoIP.
.: New VOIP Articles
1). 6 Voice Over IP Tips
There are many benefits to VoIP. Here are 6 benefits we found to voice over ip. You may be able to think of even more reasons to switch or to include this exciting way to communicate at reduced prices.
2). Top 10 Reasons You Should Switch To VoIP
If you are considering changing to voice over internet protocol or VoIP for short you need to know the arguments for changing. Here are our top 10 reasons to switch to VoIP.
3). 7 Good Reasons Not To Switch To Voice Over IP Technology
For every positive there is a negative when it comes to voice over ip technology. Here are 7 good reasons not to switch in spite of the savings you may realize.
4). How To Choose The Best Voice Over Ip Provider
Choosing the best voice over ip provider may require you to do something that you have never done before. Here are a few tips to help you choose the best voice over ip provider.
5). Residential VoIP: Things to Consider Before Switching
Choosing VoIP over traditional telephone services has its pros and cons just like anything else. It is up to the consumer to weigh the advantages and disadvantages, and to come to a conclusion with eyes wide open.
6). Advantages of IP Telephony for the Residential Consumer
As more of us are building our own local area networks at home to connect our family members to each others data and appliances, broadband connections to the outside world have expanded our pipe to the Internet, giving us plenty of bandwidth to consider converging our home network with voice over IP telephony.
7). VoIP Communication Technology
VoIP... or Voice Over Internet Protocol, is the latest and greatest communications technology.
.: Top VOIP Articles
1). VoIP Problems?
Well of course there's VoIP problems, although I think problems is too strong of a word. Instead I would call this VoIP issues. (Just semantics? maybe, read on!)
Some may be old enough to remember making long distance calls where there was static or crackling on the phone line connection. Maybe you remember having to speak LOUDER in order to be heard on the line.
2). How To Set Up A Business VoIP System
To set up a business VoIP system, you need several components. A central device to manage the calls, the way a private branch exchange (PBX) or key system unit (KSU) does in traditional phone systems is one of them.
This can be a dedicated piece of hardware such as an IP PBX, a regular PBX that has been IP-enabled, or a server running specialized software.
3). VoIP Information: Benefits & Drawbacks
Once upon a time, a telephone was just a telephone. You set the base in your home and it featured either a corded or cordless handset for talking to family and friends. Even though that same telephone remains the standard, VoIP, which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, is increasing in popularity and gradually beginning to change the way that the world sends and receives telephone calls.
4). Skype versus Yahoo
With the influx of complaints regarding Skype’s fall from grace, Danny Wirken measures up the top competitor and internet giant Yahoo!’s news internet telephony service.
Cheaper, faster, better quality, better customer service and a brand you can trust. These are the things Yahoo! want you take away from any of their promotional material for the new Yahoo! voice VoIP service.
5). Voice Over Ip – What Is It And What Are The Choices?
Voice over Internet Protocol. First was the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell had a vision. He saw people communicating over long distances with their own voice, not trough beeps and squeaks. Then came the Internet. A few students and the US military had a vision, somewhat similar to Bell’s. They saw people communicating over long distances, but this time in writing.
6). Why VOIP?
Voice Over Internet Protocol delivers the service of converting the analog line into a digital signal so that voice could be transferred through the internet and this proves to be a lot cheaper than the PSTN (public switched telephone network). Voip is the best for making long distance calls in, inexpensive rates.
Voip and IP telephony are fields which have seen extensive growth and they continue to develop efficiently.
7). Advanced VoIP Gateway Technology
Increased demand for video-based applications in the mobile network drive the deployment of 3G networks. Inherent complexities in traditional video gateways cause performance bottlenecks and inflate costs. If the industry expects to absorb the impending explosion in demand, these proposed cost-saving and complexity-reducing changes are needed.
Unrelenting market demand for video-based applications over mobile networks is driving the increased deployment of 3G networks.