The U.S. Federal Communications Commission says it will delay a Monday, August 29 deadline for Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) providers to get acknowledgments from customers that they understand may encounter difficulties trying to dial the 911 emergency number.
The FCC had told VOIP providers they should disconnect VOIP service to customers who had not responded to the notice. Today’s announcement by the FCC extends the deadline to September 28, 2005; after that date, the FCC says providers should disconnect a user’s service if they have not received confirmation from that customer. The agency’s action comes after complaints from VOIP providers that the action would leave some customers without any phone service at all. Vonage, the largest VOIP provider in the U.S., said it would have had to terminate service to as many as 31,000 of its customers.
The FCC also allowed providers to use a "soft disconnect" with affected customers, enabling 911 calls to still be made, but where non-emergency calls would automatically route to the provider’s customer service department.
The FCC has ordered companies providing VOIP services to offer full 911 emergency calling capabilities by November 28, 2005. Providers have balked at that date, noting that implementing 911 for VOIP calling is not simple, and the FCC granted cellular operators years before requiring them to provide full 911 service.
Unlike traditional telephone service, where numbers are associated with fixed locations, VOIP telephone calls rely on high-bandwidth Internet connections and can originate from anywhere with sufficient bandwidth. That makes it difficult for providers to route 911 emergency calls correctly, since emergency services are handled by local and regional dispatchers, rather than nationwide (or international) agencies.
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