VoIP and Emergency 911 Service

Most of the VoIP carriers offer an E911 service, but not all of them. You need to be sure to check to see if the VoIP provider you choose offers E911 because it is not a given. Even if the VoIP provider does provide E911 service, most do not offer the E911 service in all of the areas that they provide service.

Some VoIP providers offer E911 service for free and others charge a nominal fee for the E911 service. If the VoIP provider does not offer E911, then we suggest that you maintain either a cellular phone or traditional landline in addition to your VoIP line to use in case you have an emergency.

When you register your VoIP phone number for E911 service, you give the VoIP provider the address where your VoIP usually resides. It is also important to point out that if you take your VoIP phone when traveling, E911 has no way of knowing where you are when you call “911” if you are away from the registered address.

The future of VoIP and E911 service:

As the VoIP providers offer more and more coverage of service, the coverage for the E911 service will expand as well. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the FCC will impose some sort of regulation requiring E911 service for all U.S. VoIP telephone numbers in the near future.

In the more distant future, the VoIP equipment manufactures will start to produce ATAs (analog telephone adaptors) that are GPS enabled so that when you dial 911, the emergency services unit will be able to know where you are via GPS. This technology may be available and more affordable as the technology becomes more commonplace.

E911 service is only one of the things to consider before choosing a VoIP solution. In fact, there are many things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider. An educated consumer generally results in a satisfied consumer. Please see VoIP things to consider article to find a list of more things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider. You can compare VoIP providers side-by-side at www.voipchoices.com .