VoIP providers grapple with emergency calls

US federal regulators have spent much of the past year prodding internet phone providers to link their customers to the enhanced 911 system but accomplishing that goal is no small feat, industry representatives said on Tuesday.

The enhanced 911, or E911, system is a step up from the basic 911 system in that it supplies emergency call operators with the caller's geographical location and callback phone number. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decreed that such E911 service must be mandatory and new customers will be denied the option of choosing voice over IP (VoIP) service without it.

Mary Boyd, a vice president at Intrado, which offers net phone providers database technology designed to deliver such information to public safety operators, said: "We're making progress but it's extremely complex." Boyd participated in a panel discussion at a conference in Virginia sponsored by the National Emergency Number Association (Nena), a strong proponent of improving 911 technology. Others on the panel included representatives from Verizon Communications and Vonage.

One obstacle lies in the maintenance of the database, known as the Master Street Address Guide, which stores a 911 dialler's location information. Because in many cases it's up to net phone users to update that address, the address is not always accurate, said Roger Hixson, Nena's technical issues director.

Another challenge has proven to be co-ordination among all the appropriate parties - net phone providers, telecommunications companies which own 911 infrastructure, companies such as Intrado which provide call-routing technology and public safety operators.

Virtually all net phone providers already supply at least basic 911 capabilities, according to statistics from the Voice On the Net Coalition, which represents VoIP providers. But as of last November, about 750,000 of an estimated 2.5 million residential VoIP subscribers didn't have E911 access, the coalition reported.

Faced with reports of VoIP emergency call failures that resulted in tragedy, the FCC announced last June that all net phone providers must equip their networks with E911 call-routing prowess by the autumn - or cut off customers without such access. A US Senate panel also has edged closer to passing legislation imposing such a requirement, though with less stringent consequences for non-compliance.

Under pressure from industry and public safety groups fearing such a hard rule would do more harm than good, the FCC eventually backed off on its deadline. Instead, it set the condition that no net phone company can market its services or take on new customers in areas where E911 isn't available.

Maureen Napolitano, director of E911 customer service for Verizon, which rolled out E911 coverage for all of its New York City subscribers last July and said it would enable other area VoIP providers to do the same, said: "We have a long way to go to get the rest of our customers done."

VoIP isn't the only industry still working to deploy E911 access. Nearly 10 years ago, the FCC ordered wireless carriers to do so, though it didn't set a similarly rigorous deadline. An estimated 81 million US citizens still live in areas without full E911 access, according to the Voice On the Net Coalition.

Anne Broache writes for CNET News.com