• E9-1-1
• Introduction
• What is E9-1-1?
• Calling 9-1-1
  • About Calling 9-1-1
  • Cellular Calls
  • VoIP Calls
• Amber Alerts
  • AMBER stick
  • Amber Alert Information
• Senior Citizens
• Rural House Numbering System
• Updating Your Information
• What Is It to Be a Dispatcher?

WHAT IS VoIP?

What is VoIP?
VoIP allows you to make telephone calls over a data network like the Internet. VoIP converts the voice signal from your telephone into a digital signal that travels over the Internet then converts it back at the other end so you can speak to anyone with a regular phone number. When placing a VoIP call using a phone with an adapter, you'll hear a dial tone and dial just as you always have. VoIP may also allow you to make a call directly from a computer using a conventional telephone or a microphone.

The FCC has ruled that interconnected VoIP providers must:

• deliver all 9-1-1 calls to the local emergency call center
• deliver the customer’s callback number and location information where the emergency call center is capable of receiving it
• inform their customers of the capabilities and limitations of their VoIP 9-1-1 service.

The ability to access emergency services by dialing 9-1-1 is a vital component of public safety and emergency preparedness. Recent reports of consumers’ inability to access life-saving emergency services while using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services have highlighted a critical public safety gap. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken steps to close this gap by imposing Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) obligations on providers of “interconnected” VoIP services, i.e., VoIP services that allow users generally to receive calls from and terminate calls to the public switched telephone network (PSTN), including wireless phone networks. E9-1-1 systems automatically provide a 9-1-1 caller’s callback number and, in most cases, location information to emergency service personnel.

Disadvantages of VoIP
If you're considering replacing your traditional telephone service with VoIP, there are some possible differences:

• some VoIP services don't work during power outages and the service provider may not offer backup power

The Public Safety Challenges of VoIP Services
Traditional phone services have generally associated a particular phone number with a fixed address. Portable interconnected VoIP services enable consumers to take their home or business phone service almost anywhere. Because certain interconnected VoIP services can be used from virtually any broadband connection, the location of the caller cannot automatically be determined.

This portability raises a number of challenges for the emergency services community. The FCC has recently taken action to make sure that emergency calls from these VoIP services will get through to the appropriate public safety authorities, but there are certain things that consumers need to be aware of.

When you call 9-1-1 from a traditional telephone, the call in most cases is sent to emergency service providers who are responsible for helping people in a particular geographic area or community. These emergency service providers often can automatically identify your location and direct the closest emergency personnel to that location. They also often can automatically identify your telephone number so that they can call you back if you are disconnected.

But consumers who use interconnected VoIP telephone service have had difficulty and/or experienced problems accessing 9-1-1 services. Examples of these problems include:

• VoIP service simply did not connect to 9-1-1
• VoIP service rang to the administrative line of the public safety answering point (PSAP), which is not often staffed after hours, and is usually not staffed by trained 9-1-1 operators
• VoIP service rang to the correct line of the PSAP but did not automatically include the consumer’s/customer’s phone number and/or location information
• customer must provide certain information (such as location information) in order for the VoIP provider to set up 9-1-1 service, but failed to do so (some customers claimed that 9-1-1 warnings were hidden in pages of terms and conditions)
• customer moved VoIP service (phone number can be used anywhere the customer has a broadband connection)
• VoIP service did not work during a power outage
• VoIP service did not work when the broadband connection (cable modem or DSL) went down or was congested

Currently VoIP calls come in at the Cass County E9-1-1 Center on the 7-digit administrative lines.