Even More on VoIP E911 and the FCC

I was just speaking with Rich Tehrani about the fact that we both received our stickers from our respective VoIP providers this weekend.

Rich mentioned that he needed more stickers, as AT&T only sent him one sticker, and he has multiple phones. My sticker (from Cablevision) came with instructions to affix it to my  modem.

Then it dawned on us...

Modem? If the babysitter needs to make an emergency call, and heaven forbid the phones don't work, do you honestly think she's going to run down to the basement office where I keep my computer, look behind the monitor, and see the sticker affixed to the modem and...? And what can she do anyway?

And what if my mother-in-law was watching the kids? She's from Canada (the English-speaking part), but let's say she was from Montreal or some other country where they don't speak English... What good is the note (assuming she finds the modem behind all the peripherals) going to do her?

At least Rich's provider (AT&T) had the good sense to suggest placing the sticker on the phone.

I guess all this proves is that the system isn't perfect.

But you'd think that the leaders of our fine industry could come together and decide where we need to place our stickers. If they got it right, they might just deter consumers from telling the carriers where to stick theirs.