FCC moves 911 VoIP deadline
p2pnet.net News:- The Federal Communications Commission says it’ll hold back on tomorrow’s deadline imposed on VoIP providers to get acknowledgments that their customers are aware of difficulties they may encounter making 911 emergency calls.
“The agency extended the deadline to Sept. 28,” says BusinessWeek Online. “If by that time a provider still has not received confirmation, then the company should disconnect a customer’s phone service, according to the FCC order.
“The agency gave companies the option of turning off regular Internet phone service to a client but still allowing emergency calls to 911 to be made. As part of this so-called ‘soft’ disconnect, a provider could also allow customers to place non-911 calls that would automatically be sent to the company’s customer service center.”
Jim Kohlenberger, executive director of a coalition VoIP companies, said the FCC decision was helpful because some customers may have been on vacation while others may have been confused or unaware they needed to acknowledge the 911 limitations, says Reuters, adding:
“It’s a recognition that consumers could have been put in harms way if their service was shut off because they inadvertently hadn’t acknowledged the limitations of the service.”
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See:-
BusinessWeek Online – FCC delays cutoff of Internet phone users, August 26, 2005
Reuters – FCC gives more time for telcos to get 911 replies, August 26, 2005
September 1st, 2005 at 9:24 am
At the beginnings of VoIP, the FCC should have mandated an either/or service level – BASIC VoIP with no 911 at all – and ENHANCED VoIP with full e911 capabilities. The market would decide what service level they wanted. The misunderstandings, lawsuits, and deadlines we now see today are a direct result of the FCC allowing a confusing and variable “middle-ground” to exist in 911 calling. And so far, I’ve not seen anyone suggest that someone should punish the FCC for this.
But on the deadlines, I just have one comment. Some VoIP providers are already e911 compliant (ie., Comcast). And compliance issues affect many businesses, not just VoIP. So why should VoIP be treated any differently than any other business? The capitalist in me says that the strong businesses should survive while the inferior businesses fall by the wayside. The wisest thing the FCC could do now is mandate the “no middle-ground” either/or service level … that after November 29th, companies either offer 911 (as the meaning of the term is traditionally understood) or they don’t offer 911. Companies that don’t should be required to say so in plain English on their websites and in their advertising. Companies that do won’t need a requirement. They’ll be crowing about it to attract the home consumer. Point is, that allows VoIP companies to survive as long as they want to … and lets market pressure (not mandates) determine how soon the companies without 911 would roll it out (if ever).
Bottom line? Consumers wouldn’t have shut-off deadlines looming over their shoulders. They’d instead have “options” to choose from.