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One Million Vonage Subscriber Lines Now Have E911
TMCnet Contributing Editor
New Jersey-based VoIP service provider Vonage announced on Thursday that more than one million of its subscribers now have Enhanced 911 (E911) service, a feature that automatically associates a physical address with the calling party's telephone number.
"With one million subscriber lines turned up with E911 service in just 9 months, Vonage (News - Alert) is leading the fastest nomadic E911 deployment in telecommunications history," said Jeffrey A. Citron, Vonage's chairman and chief strategist in a statement. "Our goal is to get every Vonage customer help when they need it and we will not stop working with the FCC (News - Alert), regulators, Congress and PSAPs until there is equal access to E911 for Vonage's customers."
VoIP service providers had to step up to the plate and get their E911 access up and running after the Federal Communications Commission ordered they do so back in June last year. The agency gave the companies 120 days to complete the difficult task. Vonage worked closely with local Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), across the country to turn on E911 for as many customers as quickly as it could. Vonage is currently testing new PSAPs which are VoIP-ready every day.
Vonage's E911 access was put to the test recently when Loren Veltkamp, a homeowner in Chanhassen, Minnesota, lost his house to a fire last month. When Veltkamp noticed that the fire had started, he immediately called 9-1-1 using Vonage. Unfortunately, Vonage put him on hold, causing a delay in the response from emergency workers.
"I called 911 using Vonage broadband and they put us on hold," Veltkamp said when he was interviewed by ABC channel 5 Eyewitness News Minneapolis/St. Paul. "Unbelievable… your house is burning down, and you're put on hold by Vonage." 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.
Whether the access works effectively or not remains to be seen in the next few months. We contacted Vonage for comments and the VoIP service provider never got back to us about this incident. The company now includes a tiny disclaimer in its TV commercials that warn consumers that its 911 access works differently than traditional telephone services.
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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