VOIP 911 Issues

[Texsox]

The owner of a Chanhassen home completely destroyed by fire was distraught at his loss, and says it could have been prevented if his Internet phone service hadn�t placed his 911 call on hold.

 

The fire started at approximately 1:15 p.m. Thursday afternoon on the 6700 block of Lotus Trail in Chanhassen.

 

The home�s owner, Loren Veltkamp, says when he called 911, he was put on hold by the popular Internet phone service, Vonage.

 

"I called 911 using Vonage broadband and they put us on hold," he says. �Unbelievable� your house is burning down, and you�re put on hold by Vonage.�

 

Veltkamp waited on hold for several minutes.

 

By the time fire crews arrived, the fire had become a five-alarm blaze. The house was a total loss, but no one was injured.

 

However, Veltkamp twice entered the burning home to remove a personal computer with music he had created over many years.

 

"When I was ordered out of the building, I didn't want to comply with that,� Veltkamp said.

 

Fire crews convinced him to leave, but he later re-entered the home � followed by police.

 

"They chased me in, saying they were going to taze me if I didn't come out,� Veltkamp said.

 

He then ran from police through the house, and escaped out of the basement.

 

�When I got back outside again, they put me in handcuffs and put me in the back of a squad car,� he said. �Then I collapsed and cried for a while, and I don't know, it's going to be hard."

 

Authorities say they have seen problems with Internet phone services before.

 

�It's kind of a �buyer beware� situation,� says Pete Eggimann, Director of 911 Services with the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board.

 

A traditional, land-line phone company will enter a customer's information into a 911 database using strict guidelines.

 

However, customers of Internet-based phone services must enter their address information on their own, and are not required to follow such strict guidelines.

 

Another complication is that Internet phone companies have their own emergency call centers that attempt to redirect calls to the correct 911 center. This process can cause delays in reaching emergency services.

[NorthSideSox72]

This VOIP 911 thing reminds me of the early 90's, when managed care got its claws into 911. Some cities and counties went over to a private ambulance service to save money. But the side effect was, there were municipalities and rural areas around the country that had to call a 1-800 control center number for a health care company to get clearance from them, to send out an ambulance, for a medical emergency.

 

Fortunately, that ended quickly. Hopefully someone will drop the hammer on this too, and get these VOIP providers to be held to the same standard for emergency services that the land line companies have to follow.

[Balta1701]

Fortunately, that ended quickly.  Hopefully someone will drop the hammer on this too, and get these VOIP providers to be held to the same standard for emergency services that the land line companies have to follow.

I doubt it will take that long. If this story is more than just an isolated case...it's only a matter of time before someone dies while on hold with one of these companies and the lawsuits start. Heck, I bet it won't be long before this guy sues.

[Texsox]

It's a tech problem mostly. With landbased phones, the system knows exactly where you are, with this, you could be anywhere. We all log on soxtalk from anywhere in the world. Think of this as the central phone system, even if they look a your IP address, it doesn't tell the whole story. Based on my ISP, I'll bet I show up as Virginia, not Texas. This more closly resembles the early days of cellular and calling 911.

[NorthSideSox72]

It's a tech problem mostly. With landbased phones, the system knows exactly where you are, with this, you could be anywhere. We all log on soxtalk from anywhere in the world. Think of this as the central phone system, even if they look a your IP address, it doesn't tell the whole story. Based on my ISP, I'll bet I show up as Virginia, not Texas. This more closly resembles the early days of cellular and calling 911.

Yeah, I am somewhat familiar with the technology. And there are ways to address it - pretty easy ones, actually. For example, when you connect to VOIP, it knows what account you are. You could attach the location information to that account information easily enough.

 

I just hope that happens sooner rather than later.

[Texsox]

Like most, if not all, advances in technology, it will be profits that dictate how fast. If consumers decide that the risk of losing 911 calls makes VOiP unattractive, it will be solved quickly, if they don't care, it will take longer.

 

BTW, the true leaders in innovation in technology are the porn industry. From VCRs to E-Commerce, they drove some technology and air freighted most of it

[Balta1701]

Like most, if not all, advances in technology, it will be profits that dictate how fast. If consumers decide that the risk of losing 911 calls makes VOiP unattractive, it will be solved quickly, if they don't care, it will take longer.

 

BTW, the true leaders in innovation in technology are the porn industry. From VCRs to E-Commerce, they drove some technology and air freighted most of it

How many consumers of VOIP realize that they have a 911 related problem before its too late? I bet you this guy didn't have a clue until his house was on fire. Saying that the consumers will dictate whether or not this changes presumes that the consumer is informed, which may require legislation or lawsuits before that happens.

[Texsox]

How many consumers of VOIP realize that they have a 911 related problem before its too late?  I bet you this guy didn't have a clue until his house was on fire.  Saying that the consumers will dictate whether or not this changes presumes that the consumer is informed, which may require legislation or lawsuits before that happens.

 

Correct.