Vonage to Follow Florida Attorney General's VoIP E911 Rules

By Johanne Torres

TMCnet Contributing Editor

Just as Vonage (News - Alert) announced that 93 percent of its U.S. lines are now equipped with E911 services earlier today, the VoIP provider also voiced out that it had to sign an agreement with the Attorney General of Florida, Charlie Crist, that requires it to inform subscribers of differences between how the company and standard phone carriers provide those services.

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According to the agreement reached by the VoIP provider and Crist’s office, Vonage will automatically offer E911 services to subscribers when they sign up and provide an address. Vonage also agreed to participate in providing more information to local emergency agencies so that its subscribers can be easily located and assisted whenever they are in need.

Because of the portability of VoIP, the agreement also calls for Vonage to inform subscribers that they must update their address every time they move and that they may expect a delay in updating this information. Crist also asked Vonage to inform subscribers of other limitations of the E911 service, including access interruption during power and broadband connection outages.

This is not the first time a State Attorney General has stepped in to tackle the issue of reaching out to inform subscribers about VoIP services’ E911 access and other technology limitations. Michigan State Attorney General MikeCox ( News - Alert) made news earlier this year when he warned consumers about technical limitations of VoIP–based calling services.

“While VoIP may offer less expensive telephone service, consumers should be seriously concerned about the possible risks of not having access to 9-1-1 emergency services,” Cox said. “I encourage every Michigan consumer to become informed about this new technology and the important differences between it and traditional telephone service, especially in regards to proper access to the 9-1-1 emergency system.”

Vonage’s E911 access was put to the test in the past when Loren Veltkamp, a homeowner in Chanhassen, Minnesota, lost his house to a fire last month. When Veltkamp noticed that the fire had started, he immediately called 9-1-1 using Vonage. Unfortunately, Vonage put him on hold, causing a delay in the response from emergency workers.

“I called 911 using Vonage broadband and they put us on hold,” Veltkamp said when he was interviewed by ABC channel 5 Eyewitness News Minneapolis/St. Paul. “Unbelievable… your house is burning down, and you’re put on hold by Vonage.” By the time fire crews arrived, the fire had become a five-alarm blaze. The house was a total loss, but no one was injured.”

Hopefully, with the VoIP provider’s E911 access roadmap expansion, situations like these will happen less often. However, Cox’s tips for VoIP subscribers are still very practical: