VOIP services have been infiltrating the home telephone market for quite some time now and the number of users are growing. The excellent voice quality and most importantly the low price along with an impressive list of services makes it a no brainer for most people when it comes to picking VOIP over the local TELCO’s. However, there was one thing that was recently brought to light in the media that most VOIP users don’t consider: Does your 911 work?
Earlier last week, a toddler died due to a screw up in 911 routing from an unnamed VOIP service. The family of the child called 911 from their VOIP phone and was immediately patched through to emergency services…in Mississauga. Since the family lives in Calgary, emergency services were not dispatched, and the child died 30 minutes after the call was placed.
Apparently, the reason why this all happened is because the family had moved and did not have up to date information on file with their service provider. Unlike conventional land line phones, they can’t trace the call back to a physical address at the location where the call originates. It is up to the individual to make sure that the service providers are aware of any address changes so that in cases where an address can’t be taken, emergency services can still send help to the proper address.
If you use VOIP services as your primary phone, make sure that your service provider has your most up to date information. This goes for cell phones as well. If you’re in trouble, and they can’t get an address from you, at least emergency services has a plan B to get you the help you need.