Policy —

Senate OKs “enhanced” 911 VoIP requirements

The Senate has passed a bill that would require VoIP services to offer " …

All VoIP customers are one step closer to having "real" 911 services accessible to them, thanks to the Senate. The body passed the IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act last night, a bill that had been proposed by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK). The legislation was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee last year, and will now go on to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

The bill will require all VoIP companies to provide enhanced 911 (E911) services to all subscribers. "Enhanced" means that subscribers who dial 911 will be connected to a local operator and their details (phone number, address, etc.) will be transmitted automatically. Compare that to what happened to one Minnesota Vonage customer, who dialed 911 when his house was on fire and got connected to Vonage's own emergency services center that proceeded to put him on hold. Vonage said in 2006 that about 70 percent of its customers have access to E911, but that still leaves a sizable percentage without it. (Update: Vonage tells us that as of today, over 98 percent of its customers have access to E911 services.)

The FCC has been aware of this problem for years now, which is why it has been pressing VoIP services to support E911. The House had a provision as part of its Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act requiring VoIP to offer E911 to all customers too. So far, however, nothing has passed that would mandate such a thing.

Senator Stevens' bill would give the FCC the authority it needs in order to add 911 requirements into all new phone services as they evolve, without needing Congress' involvement. It also mandates a study to "identify mechanisms and timetables for developing next generation 911 capability ubiquitously," and to identify any technical needs in providing altitude information (helpful for those in high-rises).

"Congress has been working on this legislation for several years and I am pleased to see that it has cleared the Senate," Stevens said in a statement. "This important legislation will ensure that our 911 laws are up to date with new technologies."

Channel Ars Technica