Some E911 news from 8x8/Packet8. 8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT) the Packet8 voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and videophone communications service provider, announced that the Enhanced 911 (E911) service it offers Packet8 subscribers, which mirrors that of legacy landline phone service providers, is now available in 2,024 rate centers covering 43 U.S. states.
Launched nearly one year ago with support from NENA, the National Emergency Number Association, 8x8's E911 service, the VoIP industry's most established and extensive offering available today, automatically routes calls and computer-based "screen pops" of caller information to emergency personnel at local Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). Unlike "911" services marketed by some other VoIP providers, whereby a call to 911 is intercepted by the VoIP provider and forwarded to a regular, non-emergency telephone number, Packet8's E911 call is routed as 911 emergency traffic and is accompanied by caller information. Packet8's E911 services enable emergency personnel to ensure that callers receive the exact same response that they receive from 911 services provided by landline incumbent telephone carriers. The Packet8 E911 implementation routes a subscriber's call directly to a 911 operator and eliminates unnecessary dialog about callers' whereabouts, which is vital in cases where a caller may not be able to verbally communicate due to an emergency condition.
The "911" calling feature marketed today by some broadband phone service providers has come under scrutiny due to a series of lawsuits and allegations imposed upon one major VoIP service provider resulting from emergency calls that were not connected and/or unanswered because of improper routing.
"The recent tragedies stemming from the marketing of ineffective '911' services could certainly have been avoided if the broadband phone service being offered had implemented the state-of-the-art E911 capabilities used on the Packet8 network," said 8x8 CEO Bryan Martin. "It is important for consumers to know that VoIP is not a commodity and that different VoIP service providers provide significantly different features and services. By choosing Packet8 with E911 as their VoIP service, they can obtain the same reliable 911 emergency calling support that they have been accustomed to receiving from their traditional phone company." Mr. Martin continued, "We strongly encourage VoIP service providers who are still mimicking '911' services as a call forwarding mechanism to drop the '911' labeling or instead provision their phone numbers through Packet8, as we believe their current practices are a disservice to consumers and to the entire VoIP industry."
911 services provided by other residential VoIP services have either not supported emergency services or have only utilized simple techniques to route 911 calls to non-emergency, 10-digit telephone numbers. These "10-digit dialing" techniques typically result in 911 calls being connected to a variety of locations including non-emergency or administrative lines of PSAPs, the "crime-not-in-progress" number of a police station, or, in some instances, invalid numbers. Packet8's E911 service, which is deployed using VoIP building blocks provided by Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT), eliminates these issues, and delivers on the principles outlined in 8x8's agreements with NENA (available at http://www.nena.org/VoIP_IP/...FINAL%20112603.pdf).
Detailed information about Packet8's E911 service is available at http://www.packet8.net/about/e911.asp. Packet8 offers E911 service as an option on all of its service plans including its residential voice, videophone and small business services. There is an additional $1.50 per month service charge to subscribers who elect to subscribe to this optional feature.
android apple asterisk at&t blackberry cell phone cisco dell digium e911 facebook fcc google google talk gps im ip-pbx ipad iphone ipod itexpo ITEXPO lync microsoft mobile phone open source outage phone review sip skype sony unified communications verizon video video conferencing voip vonage wireless xbox 360
- Apple (280)
- Bittorrent (2)
- Call Center and CRM (48)
- Computer Hardware (183)
- Computer Software (71)
- Gadgets (650)
- Google (225)
- Home Entertainment (263)
- Internet (173)
- Linux (111)
- Microsoft (376)
- MovableType (48)
- News (187)
- Personal and Humor (118)
- Politics (9)
- Reviews (246)
- Security (2)
- Social Networking (42)
- Sports/Outdoor Technology (9)
- Tablets (32)
- Technology and Science (355)
- Unified Communications (471)
- VoIP (2285)
- Wireless (584)
- p2p (20)
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
Featured Videos