Tallahassee, FL (AHN) - An agreement between Vonage and five states over the company's 9-1-1 dialing system might save lives, according to Florida Attorney General and Governor-elect Charlie Christ.

Florida and four other states entered an agreement with Vonage, effective Dec. 14, requiring the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service to change its procedures so customers signing up for 911 emergency services.

Customers will now be informed of differences between how Vonage and standard phone companies provide those services.

Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and North Carolina began investigating Vonage in May 2005 after receiving complaints about the company's dialing procedures.

The agreement terminated 18-month investigation, where Vonage officials denies the allegations of the states. The states have said the agreement is in no way an admission of guilt.

Because the calls go over the Internet, the states alleged that Vonage misrepresented its 9-1-1 emergency dialing service, saying it is the same as or similar to what the customer receives from its regular phone.

"Not only should consumers know what they are signing up for, they should also be able to trust that lifesaving services are readily available," Crist said.

Other problems the states found with Vonage's 9-1-1 feature included a procedure that directed Vonage customer's calls to an administrative line rather than directly to emergency response personnel through the local 9-1-1 network.

In some places, these administrative lines were answered only during regular business hours or were answered by an automated answering service. Despite these limitations, the states alleges Vonage promoted its 9-1-1 dialing capability and advertised the service as a "replacement" for traditional phone service.

According to the agreement, signed by Vonage on Nov. 15, the company's 9-1-1 services will now be offered to customers automatically when they sign up and provide an address for the service.

The company will also begin providing more information that will help local emergency agencies locate and assist Vonage customers in need.

As part of the agreement, the 9-1-1 feature will be automatically activated when a customer signs up provides Vonage and provides a physical address. This address will be transmitted to emergency response personnel as the address of the caller.

Vonage must inform consumers that because the service is portable, users must update their address every time they move and they should be aware that there may be a delay in updating the information.

Vonage must also disclose other limitations of the 9-1-1 service, including the fact that a consumer will not have access to 9-1-1 during power outages or if the consumer's broadband connection is lost.

As part of the agreement, Vonage must pay the states $280,000 to cover costs of the investigation.