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Vonage Now Provides E911 in Over 1700 Calling Centers
TMCnet VoIP Minute Watch Columnist
New Jersey-based VoIP service provider Vonage Holdings Corp. said on Tuesday it now has E911 service in over 1700 PSAPs across the country. Vonage claims that in just one week, the company equipped an additional 112 calling centers, in over 50 new counties, with 911 calling capabilities.
Today's announcement follows a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling which mandated VoIP service providers to have E911 access up and running by the end of last November.
"Vonage has been continuing to quickly roll-out Enhanced 911 service every day to new counties across the U.S.," said Jeffrey A. Citron, Vonage's chairman and CEO. "Our goal is to get every single Vonage customer help when they need it, and we will continue working with the FCC, regulators, Congress and public safety until there is equal access to E911 for Vonage customers."
The VoIP provider currently offers E911 access in the U.S. by sending the call, along with the customer's address and phone number, to the proper local emergency call center based on the caller's street address. The caller's info is then displayed on the dispatcher's screen whenever they dial the digits 9-1-1 from a Vonage phone. In the event local authorities cannot display the Vonage customer's phone number or address, Vonage offers basic 911.
"We have been working closely with Vonage to provide all of its customers in Brevard County with E911 service," said Steve O'Conor, Brevard County 911 Coordinator. "The recent PSAP tests we conducted together went smoothly. It has been a great learning process for all parties involved."
Since December 21st, Vonage has added 112 new PSAPs in counties including Bay, Brevard, Manatee and Palm Beach, Florida; Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Houston and Rockdale, Georgia; Goodhue and Stearns, Minnesota; Atlantic and Hudson, New Jersey; Durham and Wake, North Carolina; Spartanburg, South Carolina; Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Clay, Colorado, Falls, Freestone, Galveston, Garza, Grayson, Hale, Hidalgo, Hill, Hood, Jasper, Johnson, Lamb, Lubbock, Madison, Nacogdoches, McLennan, Palo Pinto, Parker, Polk, San Jacinto, Starr, Tarrant, Tyler, Walker, Wilbarger, Wise, Wichita and Wise, Texas; and Windsor, Vermont.
Vonage made news earlier today when it announced that it teamed up with wireless electronics manufacturer Uniden America Corporation to retail the Uniden UIP1869V, a 5.8GHz digital expandable cordless broadband phone system configured with Vonage's phone service. The device phone is now available in CompUSA and Fry's Electronics.
The Uniden UIP1869V bundles Texas Instruments' (TI) TNETV1060 VoIP chipset, enabling consumers to carry out conversations though applications compatible with the Vonage service. It has a retail price of $189.99 and offers a $50 mail-in rebate to consumers after sixty days of service.
The Vonage-enabled D-Link VTA is a small, fully portable stand alone adapter that has the capability of supporting two broadband telephone lines. The D-Link Vonage co-branded VoIP gateway enables consumers to carryout conversations through voice applications that are compatible with Vonage's service. The initial VoIP telephone adapter will be based on Texas Instruments' TNETV1015 VoIP gateway chipset.
Vonage Holdings Corporation
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Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet and Internet Telephony magazine. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit Johanne Torres' columnist page
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