VoIP Monitor - E911

Over 90% of Customers Surveyed Would Recommend 911 Enable's Solutions

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:41:48 GMT

911 Enable announces the results of its Customer Satisfaction Survey. The survey was distributed to customers and focused on measuring why they chose 911 Enable, and their impressions of 911 Enable's customer service, staff and suite of solutions.

When asked about their motivation for selecting 911 Enable, the top three reasons indicated by respondents included:

The robust product feature-sets;
The competitive pricing structure;
Certification with today's leading voice vendors, such as Cisco, Avaya, Microsoft, ShoreTel and others.

Additional reasons for selecting 911 Enable included recommendations from industry peers, the established track record of all the solutions, and ease of set up and use.

In regard to service and staff, a variety of overwhelmingly positive responses were recorded. As one customer noted, "The customer service we have received from 911 Enable has been and continues to be second to none of all our vendors. Their product knowledge and eagerness to assist with issues we experience continues to impress us."

97% of respondents indicated that their 911 Enable solution met or exceeded their expectations, and 90% would recommend 911 Enable to their colleagues. One respondent noted "911 Enable is the best vendor I've ever worked with from a technical integration, reliability and customer responsiveness perspective."

"Since the beginning, our goal has been to deliver the best E911 solutions on the market paired with outstanding service, from sales to implementation to ongoing support," said Lev Deich, director of 911 Enable. "The results of this survey confirm that we've been consistently reaching this goal, and provide us with additional motivation to continue improving our solutions and service offerings."

Ooma Extends Free 911 Alerts to Basic Service Customers

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:18:30 GMT

Ooma announces it is extending its popular 911 Alerts feature to its Basic service customers in the U.S. and Canada. The 911 Alerts feature, which is made possible by the Ooma online platform, provides added peace of mind because it can accelerate critical communications during a home emergency situation.

With the 911 Alerts feature, Ooma subscribers can enter up to three email addresses or mobile phone numbers using the “My Ooma” online control panel. Once the emergency notification group is set up, Ooma will automatically send alert messages to specified recipients whenever 911 is called from the subscriber’s Ooma phone number.

Other features bundled with Ooma’s basic level of service include free nationwide calls, caller-ID, call waiting, 911 service, Ooma Bluetooth service that allows mobile phone calls to be answered on Ooma home phone systems, Ooma Wireless service that allows the Ooma Telo to be placed anywhere in range of a Wi-Fi network, and one-touch voicemail access at home or remote voicemail access from any phone or Web browser.

The Ooma 911 Alerts feature was previously available only to Ooma Premier service customers, an optional level of service that includes more than 25 advanced features for $9.99/month. Some of the most popular Ooma Premier features include an Instant Second Line™ from any Ooma Telo Handset, three-way conferencing, Multi-Ring to simultaneously ring or forward calls to a mobile phone, Voicemail Forwarding to Email so subscribers can listen to voicemail messages from any computer or smart phone, and Blacklist features to block certain callers or send them to voicemail and avoid unwanted solicitations.

Conveyant Systems' Sentry E911 Solutions Now Rated ''Avaya Compliant''

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:29:28 GMT

Conveyant Systems announces that it’s portfolio of Sentry E9-1-1 Emergency Location Management Solutions is compliant with key Emergency Service solutions from Avaya, a global provider of business collaboration systems, software and services.

Conveyant’s Sentry E9-1-1 Solutions helps enterprises in an emergency by providing VoIP location discovery and on-site notification when a 911 call is made. The application is now compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with Communication Server 1000 Emergency Service Release 7.5.

Conveyant Systems is a Technology Partner in the Avaya DevConnect program –an initiative to develop, market and sell innovative third-party products that interoperate with Avaya technology and extend the value of a company’s investment in its network.

As a Technology Partner, Conveyant Systems is eligible to submit products for compliance testing by the Avaya Solution Interoperability and Test Lab. There, a team of Avaya engineers develops a comprehensive test plan for each application to verify whether it is Avaya compatible. Doing so enables businesses to confidently add best-in-class capabilities to their network without having to replace their existing infrastructure – speeding deployment of new applications and reducing both network complexity and implementation costs.

Conveyant Systems was also recently named as one of the initial members of Avaya’s DevConnect Select Product Program which offers customers a streamlined way to order Avaya-compatible, third party applications.

Lightyear Network Solutions Switches to inetwork for VoIP E911

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:56:28 GMT

inetwork announces Lightyear Network Solutions as the latest VoIP service provider to migrate to inetwork's VoIP Enhanced 911 call routing solution.

Lightyear is an established provider of data, voice and wireless telecommunication solutions to tens of thousands of business and residential customers across North America.

inetwork offers E911 for interconnected VoIP, hosted PBX and over-the-top providers, automatic location information services for local exchange carriers, and a full set of solutions for innovative application developers and communication service providers.

VoIP Innovations Launches Stand-alone E911 DID Registration for Service Providers

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:30:02 GMT

VoIP Innovations announces the launch of their enhanced E911 service to their Titanium III Platform. Service providers, carriers and resellers can now register both on-net and off-net DID's for E911 service through the Titanium III portal or through VoIP Innovations' API. This service is available for all 50 states in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico.

"We realized that a lot of VoIP carriers are inflexible by only offering e911 service for DID's residing on their network," stated Jason Tapolci, President for VoIP Innovations. "Our goal is to provide a ubiquitous and single source vendor portal for service providers. Unfortunately, E911 is one of those services that no one really wants to sell, but is a very necessary component of our industry."

There are some vendors that are strictly providers of E911 service out there, however, they have traditionally charged thousands in setup fees and forced companies to sign long contracts with high commitments. VoIP Innovations realized they could save their customers a lot of time, energy and money by offering this additional service.

Patrick Hughes, IT Manager for a Hosted PBX provider, stated, "We use VoIP Innovations to register all of our DID's for E911 services. Even the ones we get through other carriers. We do this because the other carriers don't provide the portal tools and API's that VoIP Innovation has. At the end of the day, scalability is key factor for us as we are adding about 30-50 new customers per day."

TeleCommunication Systems Signs Five-Year Contract Extension to Provide E911 Services

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:28:27 GMT

TeleCommunication Systems announces that the company has signed a five-year contract extension with a Tier One U.S. wireless carrier to provide wireless E9-1-1 services through August 2016. TCS will continue supporting the carrier's emergency service needs to ensure that their wireless customers' distress calls are routed to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point together with the caller's precise location information.

As PSAPs continue to evolve and incorporate cutting-edge technology for displaying caller locations, it is critical that carriers have access to the necessary services and support to ensure effective wireless E9-1-1 services. This contract extension allows the carrier to continue to focus on high-value wireless services to its millions of subscribers while TCS maintains the required wireless E9-1-1 emergency services.

Level 3 Delivers SIP Trunking with Nomadic E-911 Solution for Microsoft Lync

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:09:14 GMT

Level 3 is working with Microsoft to provide SIP Trunking with nomadic E-911 designed to integrate with Microsoft Lync. Nomadic users in the enterprise space are those who migrate workspace locations, taking advantage of VoIP services that allow phone calls to be made anywhere Internet access is available. Due to the nature of VoIP, it has traditionally been very difficult to offer E-911 solutions, which identify the physical location of the caller to the appropriate emergency response centers.

SIP trunking allows enterprises to converge voice and data on a single network, creating tangible network and operation expense savings while laying a foundation for next-generation communication and collaboration tools. The solution takes advantage of Level 3's SIP Trunking and E-911 networks, enabling Microsoft Lync users to move throughout the workplace while still providing location-specific 911 information to the correct emergency responders.

While the inherent mobility of VoIP solutions can increase productivity and reduce costs for UC users, it also introduces 911 risk and management overhead since users can change locations frequently. Level 3's solution allows a user's location to be provided at the time of the emergency call, enabling routing to the appropriate first responders, compared to alternative nomadic 911 solutions which can only provide pre-registered locations. This allows enterprises to garner the productivity and cost advantages of VoIP and UC while efficiently managing emergency services' calling needs.

Using the Microsoft Lync platform, the new solution enables emergency services to receive current information on a user's location, offering workers a safe work environment, gaining compliance with strict safety codes and simplifying enterprise IT management. Level 3 offers this nomadic capability for Microsoft Lync as part of its enterprise SIP trunking offering in the United States, allowing customers to benefit from the functionality built natively into the Microsoft platform and helping avoid the need to purchase additional hardware or services.

Counties Throughout U.S. Are Rapidly Joining National Smart911 Program

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:35:59 GMT

Rave Mobile Safety announced that its Smart911 technology is seeing rapid nationwide adoption, including numerous municipalities in over 13 states including, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Smart911 allows citizens to enter personal information online, which is then automatically available to a 9-1-1 call taker, in the event they call 9-1-1. All counties are seeing immediate benefits of making the Smart911 service available to their citizens.

The additional data provided by Smart911 is far more extensive than what is typically available to 9-1-1 telecommunicators and first responders, and helps to dramatically improve emergency response outcomes. Smart911 has recently been deployed throughout U.S. municipalities including, Atlanta, GA, Luzerne County, PA, Southwest Regional Communications Center (including the cities of DeSoto, Cedar Hill and Duncanville, TX), and throughout Kentucky (including the cities of Frankfort and Lexington, Jessamine County and Anderson County).

Smart911 provides citizens with the ability to create a Safety ProfileSM that they want to make available to 9-1-1 call takers through a secure website at www.Smart911.com. The service is free to citizens and paid for by existing 9-1-1 fees. It also supports citizen demand for the ability to easily provide and manage special needs data. Smart911 is a national system -- once a Safety ProfileSM is created by an individual, the data is delivered with a 9-1-1 call to any PSAP that has deployed Smart911 across the United States.

Dialogic Selected by microDATA to Support Next Generation 9-1-1 Services

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:59:44 GMT

Dialogic announced that microDATA selected Dialogic to support its Next Generation 9-1-1 services. Through its use of Dialogic technology, microDATA provides reliable call routing support for high volumes of calls and other forms of communication like SMS and data messaging, and will be able to roll out its NG9-1-1 services quickly while complying with ever-evolving industry standards.

microDATA also selected Dialogic’s technology in order to poise itself to handle increased data and information sharing requirements for the future. Advancements in communication technologies have made some existing 9-1-1 systems outdated. Using Dialogic’s technology, microDATA works with phone companies to update legacy networks to IP-based services as well as to enable 9-1-1 systems to receive packet-based voice data and field other forms of communication like SMS, data messaging and video conferencing.

Ooma Provides Real-time Emergency Alerts with New 911 Notifications Feature

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:00:56 GMT

Ooma introduced its 911 Notifications feature, radically advancing critical communications during a home emergency situation. With the 911 Notifications feature, Ooma Premier subscribers can enter up to three email addresses or mobile phone numbers into the 911 Notifications area of the “My Ooma” online control panel. The Ooma 911 Notifications feature will then send alert messages to specified recipients the very moment 911 is called from the subscriber’s Ooma phone number. When safety is a top priority, the 911 Notifications feature from Ooma fits the bill like no other.

Pricing

Ooma Telo retails for $249.99. Ooma Premier is an optional level of service offering multiple advanced telephony features and services, including new 911 Notifications, and costs $9.99 per month. New customers signing-up for one-year of Ooma Premier service receive their choice of a free number port, Ooma Telo handset, Ooma Bluetooth Adapter or extended warranty.

Availability

The Ooma Telo is available at Ooma authorized resellers including: Best Buy, Costco, Datavision, Fry’s Electronics, J&R, Micro Center, and leading online destinations including Amazon, BestBuy.com, Buy.com, Costco.com, Dell.com, JandR.com, NewEgg.com, OfficeDepot.com, PC Mall, Provantage, Shop Harmony, Staples.com, Sears.com, K-Mart.com, Tiger Direct, RCS, Nebraska Furniture Mart, B&H Photo and Walmart.com.

Aastra Offers 911 Enable’s Gateway with Its VoIP Platform

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:40:52 GMT

Aastra has added 911 Enable’s Emergency Gateway appliance to its product lineup. That way, resellers can help their enterprise Aastra users implement IP telephony systems with E911 capabilities.

"E911 capabilities are an important consideration to enterprises deploying VoIP solutions," Tim Whittington, executive vice president and general manager of Aastra USA, said in a press release. "We are pleased to be able to offer a comprehensive solution like 911 Enable to our customers."

The Emergency Gateway is an on-premises piece of equipment whose functions include automatic IP phone-tracking, 911 call-recording, and security desk routing and notification. There’s also support for off-campus workers. To top it off, the gateway is the only 911 platform certified with Aastra’s VoIP product, Clearspan.

Aastra says Clearspan provides “truly unified communications" for enterprises; Clearspan’s applications include call center, unified messaging and business conferencing.

On-Demand Webinars: E911 Solutions for VoIP and UC Deployments

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:48:10 GMT

The webinars from 911 Enable's recently concluded E911 Solutions for VoIP and UC Deployments webinar series are now available for download "on-demand." They cover how IP telephony impacts E911, and provide in-depth information about how 911 Enable's products and services integrate with today's leading IP-PBX vendors. To learn more, download the webinar PowerPoint presentations or recordings here.

911 Enable Announces Comprehensive E911 Webinar Series

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 18:22:51 GMT

911 Enable will present a webinar series entitled "E911 Solutions for VoIP and UC Deployments," during the months of October and November. This webinar series will provide a complete view of E911 for IP telephony, including how to meet state and local E911 legislation, manage IP phone locations, and ensure proper routing of emergency calls to Public Safety Answering Points.

The first webinar in the series, "E911 for IP Telephony: What You Should Know," will cover the fundamentals of E911 and IP telephony. This introductory-level presentation is designed for IP telephony administrators, resellers, integrators, and consultants beginning to investigate E911 solutions. Attendees will learn:

What E911 is and how it works
The impacts of VoIP and UC on E911
How to comply with E911 regulations
The different E911 solutions available today

Subsequent webinars will explain in detail 911 Enable's solutions for today's leading VoIP and UC vendors, including Avaya, Aastra, Cisco, ShoreTel, and Microsoft. Designed for those who already have an understanding of the fundamentals of E911, attendees will learn:

How IP telephony impacts E911
An overview of 911 Enable's products and services
How 911 Enable integrates with each vendor's specific platform

The webinar series will be presented by Lev Deich, Technical Director of 911 Enable. During the vendor-specific webinars, Lev will be joined by industry experts with E911 knowledge specific to each platform. These experts will share their E911 knowledge and experiences, and will also be available to answer attendee questions.

The webinars will run from October 19, to November 23, 2010.

Emergency CallWorx Secures Growth Funding

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:47:48 GMT

Emergency CallWorx has secured a new investment of growth capital. Having quickly won a reputation as a leading innovator for call taking and dispatching in the 911 emergency arena, Emergency CallWorx has been chosen to provide public safety solutions across the country, from the Mountain West to the Gulf Coast. The newly acquired growth capital will allow the company to increase its research and development while accelerating its support, sales and marketing efforts to provide innovative Next Generation solutions for the public safety market.

The Emergency CallWorx solution brings a simpler, streamlined and more affordable system to emergency response centers in smaller markets, but can smoothly scale up to support the largest 911 Dispatch environments, all while utilizing commercial-off-the-shelf hardware. The power of the ECX solution has been demonstrated in its rapid approval for multiple state procurement contracts to provide its 911, Computer Aided Dispatch and Mapping products, further positioning ECX to take advantage of its new growth capital.

911 ETC's E911 Solution Rated Compliant With Avaya Aura

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:11:55 GMT

911 ETC announces that CrisisConnect is certified Compliant with the Avaya Aura Communication Manager from Avaya. 911 ETC's Crisis Connect helps businesses implement and maintain E911 for both VoIP and multi-line telephone systems, which ensures accurate location information for outgoing 911 calls. "As a DevConnect member since 2005, the ability to develop and test our hosted platform in a cost-effective and efficient manner using Avaya Aura Communication Manager has been beneficial for our business model," said Larry Scott, president of 911 ETC, in a statement. "In doing so, we've been able to develop our product with the ability to integrate with the latest in telecommunications technology. It has given our customers peace of mind knowing that we work closely with Avaya engineers to ensure a perfect fit."

The DevConnect program is an initiative to develop, market and sell innovative third-party products that interoperate with Avaya technology and extend the value of a company's investment in its new network. 911 ETC has been a gold member of the program since 2005.

Vassar College to Enhance Real-Time Emergency Response with E911 Solution from Teo

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:30:48 GMT

Teo announces that Vassar College is the latest higher education institution to select its leading Enhanced 911 (E911) Emergency Response System. Vassar selected Teo's E911 system to improve its ability to identify the origin of 911 calls coming from its campus.

Many organizations have internal response teams that need to have precise situational information when a 911 call occurs. With conventional PBX technology, public E911 first responders often will not get location information that identifies a secondary building, floor or office the call came from -- only the street address of the primary business location.

Teo offers the industry's most effective and affordable E911 emergency notification systems. Features include 911 call recording, 911 call monitoring, secure automatic number identification (ANI) management, multiple group partitions for a variety of functions and much more. When a 911 call occurs, messages are automatically sent to need-to-know personnel via screen pops, mobile text messages and email.

Teo's solution will enable Vassar to capture 911 real-time call data, such as when a call was dialed, when it was completed, and where it was placed from, in addition to an audio recording of the call. The system's automatic alerting feature, which provides pop-up alerts to designated users' computer screens and mobile phones, will enable Campus Security to more efficiently respond to 911 hang-ups, also removing the burden of reporting from the telecommunications office. Vassar plans to leverage the solution's alerting capabilities immediately and will look at how it might use other features in the future.

"I am glad that there is an elegant solution like Teo's to address this communications need," said Emily Harris, Vassar's director of networks and systems. "Teo recognized an issue that so many higher education institutions struggle with and have developed a reliable system that will allow the Campus Response Center to do its job better."

The E911 emergency notification systems are part of Teo's strong heritage and lineup of cutting-edge made-in-the-USA communications tools, including a series of ISDN and VoIP telephones, ISDN Network Terminations devices and ISDN Centrex Attendant Consoles.

eTelemetry Solution Now Rated ''Avaya Compliant''

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:54:16 GMT

eTelemetry announces that its LENS and Locate911 solutions are compliant with a key telephony communication solution from Avaya. LENS (Locate911 Emergency Notification System) and Locate911-N enable organizations to identify the exact station that initiated an emergency call and where to find them so that internal personnel can provide first response and direct emergency services. The LENS On-Site Notifications deliver location information via a Windows-based desktop alert agent and via email to multiple recipients. Industry-first map links within alerts provide added insurance that responders will know where to go in an emergency. LENS limits organizational liability and helps meet E911 regulations by providing alerts including life-saving location information for emergency responders immediately whenever a 911 call is made. Locate911-N automates VoIP phone tracking, ensuring data accuracy for improved emergency response and E911 compliance. The applications now are compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with: Communication Server 1000 Release 6.0.

One of the companies benefiting from the interoperability of eTelemetry and Avaya solutions is Coppin State University, a comprehensive, urban institution offering programs in liberal arts, sciences and professional disciplines. Coppin State was recently named a Laureate in the Computerworld Honors Program and awarded the Avaya Customer Innovator Award for its E911 project, which involved the deployment of eTelemetry’s Locate911-N.

eTelemetry is a member of the Avaya DevConnect program—an initiative to develop, market and sell innovative third-party products that interoperate with Avaya technology and extend the value of a company’s investment in its network.

As a Gold member of the program, eTelemetry is eligible to submit products for compatibility testing by the Avaya Solution Interoperability and Test Lab. There, a team of Avaya engineers develops a comprehensive test plan for each application to verify whether it is Avaya compliant. Doing so ensures businesses can confidently add best-in-class capabilities to their network without having to replace their existing infrastructure—speeding deployment of new applications and reducing both network complexity and implementation costs.

Gizmo5 Inks Dash Carrier Services as Exclusive E911 Provider

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:23:21 GMT

Dash Carrier Services announces that it will be the exclusive E911 emergency service solutions provider for Gizmo5. Gizmo5 offers VoIP services to both consumers and businesses. Users can make and receive calls from any computer with browser access to the Internet, or use Gizmo5 to power IP phones. Also, Gizmo5 adds a host of features like call recording, IM, file sharing, and much more. Setting up a Gizmo5 account is free, as are inbound calls to a Gizmo client, with a small fee for outbound dialing.

Of particular note, is that Gizmo5 is 100% interoperable with GoogleVoice – so callers have the best of both worlds. Gizmo5 users can answer calls from their Google Voice US number on any device or software, with callees automatically seeing their Google Voice telephone number as Caller ID.

Supporters Call to Cease State Government Raiding of 9-1-1 Funds

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:54:31 GMT

TeleCommunication Systems announces that it supports the efforts of the National Emergency Number Association to prohibit state legislatures from raiding critical 9-1-1 funding. The economic recession has devastated the revenues of many states, forcing legislatures to search for extra dollars in other areas of their budgets. Many states have found caches of money in 9-1-1 funds that have been accumulated by 9-1-1 authorities over the years to pay for equipment and service upgrades. The redirection of these funds could have disastrous consequences on the preparedness and future viability of many 9-1-1 authorities to upgrade their technologies as needed.

"What is not recognized by the current situation is that the voters continue to support activities that they see as valuable and as well managed," said Bob Oenning, Director of 9-1-1 for the State of Washington. "Even with tight money, there is support for those things of value, including 9-1-1. Taking these funds not only endangers the ability for states to keep 9-1-1 viable, it inserts a degree of distrust into one of the nation's most trusted services."

Harriet Miller-Brown, 9-1-1 State Administrator for Michigan State Police added, "While times are tight for everyone, using 9-1-1 funds for non-public safety purposes can hamper the delivery of 9-1-1 services, in the present and the future. The daily operational costs such as payroll, communications systems and training are essential to effective 9-1-1 services. Furthermore, 9-1-1 technology is in a state of growth; if emergency call answering and dispatching services are expected to keep up with the evolving technology facing them, the resources must be available for them to do that."

TCS has been enabling wireless E9-1-1 services for over a decade. Its E9-1-1 system, which provides cable, VoIP and wireless E9-1-1 service for more than 140 million wireless and IP-enabled devices, is used to ensure that consumers' emergency calls are routed to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point and automatically pinpoint and deliver a caller's location information. TCS pioneered the methods by which PSAPs in the U.S. are able to receive a wireless or VoIP subscriber's location during calls for emergency assistance. In addition, TCS currently operates the only TL9000-certified wireless and VoIP E9-1-1 Network Operations Center in the world and supports emergency services for over 150,000 E9-1-1 calls daily.

TCS VoIP Verify E911 Service Is Recognized as Outstanding Public Safety Solution

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:30:03 GMT

Technology Marketing Corporation named TCS' VoIP Verify 9-1-1 Service as recipient of a 2008 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award. VoIP Verify 9-1-1 provides a comprehensive and responsive public safety solution to ensure that customers using digital VoIP telephones are E9-1-1 compatible.

TCS' VoIP Verify 9-1-1 enables digital Voice Service Providers to determine the availability and extent of E9-1-1 service coverage to their subscriber base. The subscriber uses a VoIP telephone to dial a number supplied by the VSP -- usually a 9-1-1 variant such as 9-3-3. After dialing the designated number, the subscriber receives a recorded message describing the extent of 9-1-1 service for the VoIP subscriber's provisioned address.

VIXXI Solutions Tool Provides Real-time Information Look-up for VoIP 9-1-1 Calls

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:15:14 GMT

VIXXI Solutions has developed an online application that 9-1-1 dispatchers can use to pull up location information for VoIP callers in the rare case that only the call-back number or ESQK is delivered. The tool, called VIXXI-NRF (for ‘No Record Found’), saves valuable time over the traditional method of having to call a provider’s help desk in the middle of an emergency situation.

While VoIP 9-1-1 has made huge advances in the last four years, it is still not as reliable as wireline 9-1-1 in delivering location information. VIXXI-NRF provides a stop-gap for VoIP subscribers until Next Generation 9-1-1 is an industry standard, a program that VIXXI, already NG-ready, is actively promoting to ensure the universal effectiveness of the 9-1-1 system.

VIXXI-NRF was first tested in Sacramento County, CA, with promising feedback. “I think this is a great tool for PSAPs and wish that all carriers offered this…I commend [VIXXI for having it available,” says Susan McPherson, Sacramento Country 911 Coordinator. The tool is now being offered by the California 9-1-1 Office on VIXXI’s behalf to all 58 CA County Coordinators. PSAPs are afforded the opportunity to test drive the application first.

In order to protect the privacy of emergency callers and remain compliant with CALEA (The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), VIXXI stipulates that any subscriber information obtained from the VIXXI database must be in connection with an emergency call and shall be used solely for the purpose of answering, handling, and responding to emergency callers. To enforce this, VIXXI will notify at least two PSAP supervisors/persons of authority when a customer record has been accessed from the database by a PSAP’s user IDs.

Dash Forms Relationship with VIXXI Solutions for Expansion

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:39:31 GMT

Dash Carrier Services has formed a strategic relationship with VIXXI Solutions, as a value added vendor of E911 services for its dash911 services suite. More than 180 Voice Service Providers across North America utilize dash911, the Company’s core E911 emergency services offering.

Dash, which recently introduced an expanded suite of wholesale voice products and services, provides a unique, all-inclusive set of offerings to both emerging and established voice carriers. Its comprehensive, integrated portfolio includes dash911, E911 for VoIP, dashconnect, nationwide origination and termination, dashinfo, CNAM, 411, and nationwide directory listing services.

VIXXI is a strong supporter of the next generation objectives, which highlight E911 support for any communications device via NENA’s IP-based i3 standards, currently under development.

In addition to i3-ready technology, VIXXI’s innovative solutions offer real-time address validation against multiple databases and suggested alternatives if the address is not found, improving provisioning timelines. Validated addresses are geocoded and automatically populated to the ALI database for instant PSAP querying and immediate 911 protection for subscribers. Also included is dynamic geospatial routing, an industry first that improves routing accuracy by calculating the best PSAP route at the time of the call versus the static industry standard.

The implications of the Dash and VIXXI relationship equate to greater competition in the 911 marketplace, as the strengths of each company are leveraged to offer feature-rich solutions at aggressive prices.

Preparing for Next Generation 911

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:47:04 GMT

The Next Generation 911 vision is being developed in response to the E911 needs of emerging technologies. It is vital that all participants in the 911 community, from telecommunications service providers to public safety answering points, understand the intent of Next Generation 911 and prepare themselves for the inevitable. As several organizations, including the FCC and the National Emergency Number Association, iron out the details, a clear picture has emerged of the overall intent and high-level design of Next Generation 911, as defined here. Understanding the direction and implementing its necessary steps will give service providers, PSAPs, and enterprises a leading edge.

Why Next Generation 911?

First, it’s important to define enhanced 911 (E911). E911 is the ability to correctly route an emergency call to the appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP) and to provide the location information associated with the telephone number calling 911.

In general, the public takes this ability for granted and assumes that when 911 is dialed, whether from a wireline, VoIP, or wireless phone, the location information is transmitted to the correct PSAP. However, due to an aging 911 infrastructure designed in the 1970s for wireline, E911 coverage is inadequate for many of today’s commonly used communication technologies.

As a result, incumbent 911 providers are scrambling to come up with solutions on the fly, resulting in several non-integrated, non-standard networks for VoIP and wireless, and still no solution for other existing technologies like text, video, and telematics (like Onstar).

According to the November 21, 2008 CRS Report for Congress - Emergency Communications: The Future of 911, “Today’s 911 system is built on an infrastructure of analog technology that does not support many of the features that most Americans expect are part of an emergency response. Efforts to splice newer, digital technologies onto this aging infrastructure have created points of failure where a call can be dropped or misdirected, sometimes with tragic consequences.”

The safety repercussions created by the limited infrastructure has forced the 911 community to take a look at how to transition 911 systems to accommodate the expectations of the general public as well as the emerging technologies of today and the future. The result is Next Generation 911.

The Objectives of Next Generation 911

NG 911 is designed to meet the following objectives: enable E911 calls from any communications device; enable a flexible, open, non-proprietary and secure architecture; coordinate standards and interoperability in the US and internationally; maximize operating and maintenance cost savings; reduce capital expenditures; provide additional information to PSAPs such as location floor plans, medical records, or emergency contact information; enable geographic independent call access, transfer, and back-up between PSAPs and other emergency organizations; make routing decisions at the time of the call based on most up-to-date location information; and meet NENA i2 and i3 standards (i2 – an interim solution leveraging existing 911 infrastructure, i3 – a long-term solution based on full IP network connectivity).

These objectives combine to ensure the ultimate goal of NG 911: To improve the effectiveness of the nation’s emergency communications system and enhance public safety.

The Design of Next Generation 911

Legacy 911 systems use static circuit-switched routing and fixed physical trunks to transmit calls. Call routing is based on manually administered translation tables that employ a fixed one-to-one caller location to PSAP relationship. Limited in the types of communications technologies they can support, individual networks are inflexible, geographically dependant, and difficult to integrate with other 911 systems.

In contrast, Next Generation design uses IP technology to achieve the objectives of flexibility, geographic independence, and interoperability. Routing decisions are made dynamically at the time of the call based on automatically updated location information. Supporting all current and emerging technologies, NG design facilitates the easy transfer and back-up of calls between PSAPs.

Actionable Steps toward Next Generation 911

Service providers, PSAPs, and enterprises can rest easier knowing they are ready for the inevitable. The first step is understanding NG 911. The next step is selecting a 911 provider that delivers it. VIXXI Solutions, a nationwide 911 provider headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO, was founded in response to the E911 needs of emerging technologies per Next Generation objectives.

“Our network was purpose-built to the Next Generation vision. Not many people are aware that the Next Generation technology of ‘tomorrow’ is actually available today,” says Christopher Camut, President and CEO of VIXXI.

Camut advises that it’s important to challenge your potential provider with detailed questions that determine their viability for supporting the NG objectives. “Make sure your provider is going to prepare you for Next Generation so you are not stuck at the last minute doing a costly forklift upgrade to your infrastructure.”

Here is a comprehensive list of questions to ask your potential 911 services provider to ensure they are truly Next Generation-ready:

Can you route E911 calls from any device on a single network?
Can you deliver location information from any device?
What communication types are you able to support (i.e. text, video, telematics)?
Can you make dynamic routing decisions at the time of the call, based on the most up-to-date, automated PSAP boundary and caller location information updates?
Can you provide E911 to any PSAP, if the PSAP is E911 capable?
How does your network help me reduce my capital expenditures and direct and indirect costs?
Is your network 100% IP-based?
Can you provide additional information with a 911 call (i.e. medical records, emergency contact information, etc)?

Additional questions to ensure satisfaction with your 911 provider include:

Can you customize your solution to meet my needs (unbundled components of 911 versus the end-to-end solution)?
How easy is your solution to implement? How long will it take?
How quickly can you verify subscriber location information upon turn-up?
What are your coverage and connectivity options?
Describe your customer care support process.

By taking proactive steps to become familiar with Next Generation 911 and using that intelligence to select a competent Next Generation 911 provider, service providers, PSAPs, and enterprises can have the cost-saving benefits of NG 911, the peace of mind associated with being prepared, and the easy conscience of knowing that they are active participants in promoting the safety of the general public.

Westcon Group Signs Agreement with RedSky Technologies to Deliver E911 Solutions

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:44:47 GMT

Westcon Group has signed an agreement with RedSky Technologies to distribute two of its high-performance E911 software solutions. These solutions E911 Manager and E911 Anywhere are both now available through Westcon Group North America. In addition, RedSky is participating in Westcon's ConvergencePoint program.

RedSky's flagship product, E911 Manager, is a high performance enterprise-wide server-based E911 solution that works within Avaya, Cisco and Nortel networking environments. Meanwhile, RedSky's E911 Anywhere Hosted solution, delivers E911 functionality to SMBs through a monthly service plan.

Effective E911 services that help pinpoint a user location are critical to public safety since a caller could be located anywhere. Traditional wireline phones, which are being used at an increasingly diminishing rate, rely on a physical network to determine caller location. RedSky solutions facilitate effective emergency response in these environments as well as in IP-based wired and wireless networks.

InterAct911 Completes $28 Million in Financing

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:28:01 GMT

InterAct911 has closed on a $28 million equity round of capital led by new investors Foundation Capital and Bay Partners, joining existing investor SilkRoad Equity. Plans for the current round of capital include a significant expansion of InterAct’s worldwide direct sales and marketing efforts, strategic acquisitions and new product development. Warren Weiss, general partner of Foundation Capital, and Eric Chin, general partner of Bay Partners, will join the company’s board of directors.

InterAct is the leading provider of comprehensive public safety and homeland security solutions for private sector businesses, as well as local, state, national and international government agencies. InterAct’s suite of mission critical applications include a Next Generation 911 phone system; multi-agency, scalable computer aided dispatch, mapping and mobile data sharing systems; as well as digital video surveillance and emergency notification systems.

InterAct is poised for significant growth with high demand for versatile and adaptive Next Generation 911 systems. Warren Weiss, general partner at Foundation Capital who also joins InterAct’s board of directors, believes the public safety industry is reaching a tipping point with the development of public safety networks that will enable Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to take advantage of virtual consolidation. “InterAct is uniquely qualified to serve the needs of the evolving market trends. We are excited to back one of the clear leaders in the industry and help continue to drive their rapid growth,” said Weiss.

VIXXI Solutions Aligns with XO's VoIP Capabilities

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:35:37 GMT

XO Communications announces a new referral agreement with VIXXI Solutions in which XO will refer current and future XO VoIP customers to VIXXI as an E911 provider. VIXXI was chosen because their IP-based, geospatial technology is ideal for VoIP vendors who are required by the FCC to provide their customers with an E911 Solution that identifies caller location information and correctly routes emergency calls to the appropriate PSAP.

XO considered several critical factors when establishing this relationship for an E911 provider, including speed of deployment, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, scalability, and compliance. VIXXI uses the technology of the Internet and geospatial routing to turn-up customers instantaneously, improving speed-to-revenue, and to provide competitive per-user pricing. Also, the VIXXI web portal supports real-time location updates of nomadic VoIP users, and location detail can be tied to any data element; it does not need to be tied to a telephone number. VIXXI makes dynamic updates to PSAP boundary changes for accurate call-routing. The architecture is scalable, supporting feature and functionality growth on a single platform. The entire US and Canada are covered and the solution meets FCC standards and is i3-ready.

VoIP Providers Using E911 as Cost-Effective, Competitive Differentiator

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:33:26 GMT

E911 is commanding even greater attention in the VoIP market as Monday's FCC ruling became more stringent and reports of casualties related to VoIP E911 limitations are publicized. Not only could the liability of ignoring emerging 911 capabilities be disastrous for a VoIP company, sales could also suffer as consumers are beginning to seriously evaluate 911 functionality in their voice buying decisions. To be competitive, VoIP companies are getting in front of FCC compliance and consumer demand for public safety. Historically, 911 technology enhancement was cost-prohibitive for VoIP providers, but rising IP-based E911 companies are allowing them to compete both on technology innovation and price, due to a lower cost infrastructure.

E911 companies are catering to the safety-conscious market. VoIP providers are using companies like VIXXI Solutions, an IP-based, nationwide E911 provider that focuses heavily on product innovation. They have developed efficient geospatial technology that far exceeds current compliancy standards while reducing costs for VoIP providers. In addition to supporting nomadic VoIP users, they provide unlimited caller-customized data, such as pre-existing health conditions, to a public safety answering point. Additionally, they offer the ability to simultaneously notify relatives when a 911 call is made, with strong implications for the elderly living alone or parents of traveling teenagers.

These VoIP providers can now improve their time-to-revenue and the safety of their customers with immediate address validation in the 911 master street address guide. The new Internet-based technologies additionally allow for real-time PSAP boundary updates ensuring correct call routing, a current FCC ruling. Also for compliancy, VIXXI uniquely provides their VoIP customers with 711 (deaf relay).

While E911 historically has been a challenge that comes with the territory for VoIP providers, companies like VIXXI are making it easy to provide exceptional E911 functionality at aggressive prices. E911 is no longer a necessary distraction from a VoIP provider's core business; it has evolved into a means for VoIP companies to quickly and cost-effectively differentiate themselves in an area of high priority for voice consumers.

911 Enable Helps VoIP Providers Meet New FCC Rules

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:21:49 GMT

The FCC recently adopted new 911 rules for VoIP service providers. These rules, set out in the NET 911 Improvement Act signed into law by President Bush in July, require that VSPs have access to the 911 system and that their customers be able to make emergency calls that are routed directly to the local public safety answering point. 911 Enable provides an Emergency Routing Service that helps VSPs meet these requirements.

The Emergency Routing Service provides the largest enhanced 911 coverage available on the market, with connectivity to over 5000 PSAPs nationwide. In the event of a 9-1-1 call, the VSP simply routes the call to the ERS. The service will automatically connect the caller to the appropriate PSAP based on their registered location, ensuring that the correct location data and callback number appear on the dispatcher's terminal. Service providers can incorporate 911 Enable's provisioning interface directly into their website, allowing users to update and validate their locations in real-time, no matter where they might be. The ERS is ideal for residential VoIP providers and hosted IP-PBX providers.

911 Enable also provides E911 solutions for organizations with private IP-PBX systems, helping them meet state and local E911 obligations. Its solutions are certified with today's leading IP telephony vendors such as Cisco, Avaya, and Nortel.

Level 3 Extends Coverage of its E911 Infrastructure

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:25:03 GMT

Level 3 Communications has extended its relationship with Vixxi Solutions to support that company's network connectivity to E-911 private and dedicated infrastructures. Supporting Vixxi's deployment of FCC-compliant nomadic 911 services to VoIP service providers, Level 3 now serves as a primary provider of E-911 network connectivity for Vixxi.

Under the terms of this agreement, Vixxi will leverage Level 3's extensive geographic presence to route 911 calls to the Public Safety Answering Point over the nationwide 911 infrastructure, thereby expanding Vixxi's coverage to provide FCC compliant nomadic E-911 capabilities to service providers. Vixxi's database capability will identify the customer's location and then send the call to Level 3 with routing instructions to terminate the call to the geographically relevant PSAP.

Vonage Hails Signing of the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:14:37 GMT

Vonage applaudes President Bush's signing into law of the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008. This new act grants long awaited rights and protection to VoIP service providers to interconnect to the traditional 911 network operated by incumbent telephone providers.

"Vonage is grateful to the President and Congress for making this legislation a reality. It will enable Vonage and other VoIP providers to better support first responders in times of emergency," said Jeffrey Citron, Chairman, Chief Strategist, and Interim CEO of Vonage. "While over 98% of our subscriber lines already have access to E911, enactment of this law provides additional tools and leadership for platform neutral, responder friendly safety communications."

Vonage's E911 solution enables a customer's call to be automatically routed to the appropriate 911 center, with the caller's registered street address and telephone number appearing on the dispatcher's screen.

Dash Carrier Services Announces Improved E911 Coverage

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:04:55 GMT

Dash Carrier Services announces a new version of its 911 management system, DASH911. It is currently available to all 911 customers and is a full replacement for the previous system. The new system give users the best E911 coverage of any 911 provider. Included with the new system is advanced address processing logic that makes it simple to provision 911 addresses.

The improved E911 coverage is accomplished by leveraging the E911 footprints of multiple E911 providers. Along with E911, Dash Carrier Services will continue to provide Advanced 911 to all addresses in the United States and Canada.

Vonage Applauds Congress for Passing the New 911 Improvement Act of 2008

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:13:05 GMT

Vonage hails the United States House of Representatives' passage of the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008. This new act grants long awaited rights and protection to VoIP service providers to interconnect to the traditional 911 network operated by incumbent telephone providers.

"Vonage is grateful for the many efforts in Congress to make this legislation a priority. It helps consumers, Public Safety and Vonage support the best possible emergency solution," said Jeffrey Citron, Chairman, Chief Strategist, and Interim CEO of Vonage. "With over 98% of our subscriber's lines with access to E911, Congress has provided additional tools, leadership and encouragement to get all parties to work together."

Vonage's E911 solution enables a customer's call to be automatically routed to the appropriate 911 center, with the caller's registered street address and telephone number appearing on the dispatcher's screen -- regardless of where or what exchange they are calling from.

The bill having passed both the Senate and House now awaits President Bush's signature.

Emergency CallWorx to Demonstrate at NENA 9-1-1 Conference in Tampa

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:23:57 GMT

Emergency CallWorx will publicly demonstrate its products for the first time at the National Emergency Number Association Annual 9-1-1 Conference in Tampa, Florida from June 7-12, 2008. This event will be the first public appearance of Emergency CallWorx.

Emergency CallWorx was created to solve the multi-decade challenges associated with truly integrating the call-taking portion of E9-1-1 with the Computer Aided Dispatching process that many Public Safety Answering Point and Dispatch centers use today. The majority of agencies cannot produce a report that accurately tracks an emergency call from receipt to conclusion of a dispatched incident. While legacy vendors are scrambling to add Next Generation 9-1-1 and VoIP base functionality, Emergency CallWorx started with those building blocks, focusing on the valuable benefits that go beyond mere compliance. Emergency CallWorx applications enable more efficient call-taking and dispatch operations, comply with FCC mandates for wireless E9-1-1 calls, accommodate non-traditional communications and resolve aging legacy support issues most agencies face today.

Emergency CallWorx's highly integrated applications provide the most cost-effective solution for small-to-midsize PSAP and Dispatch centers across North America, yet easily scale upwards into the largest environments by adding commercial-off-the-shelf hardware. This tightly integrated and interoperable solution uses state-of-the-art J2EE Web 2.0, VoIP and GIS technology to provide industry standard E9-1-1 Call Taking, Mapping, Dispatch and Reporting while maximizing COTS Hardware, Software, Telecom, Internet and Wireless technologies.

TCS Expands in North East Markets to Provide Life Saving E911 Services

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:47:48 GMT

TeleCommunication announces a multi-year contract agreement under which TCS will provide Hosted Mobile Positioning Center and Hosted Position Determining Entity services for E9-1-1 to MetroPCS customers in Boston, New York City and Philadelphia. The two companies have maintained a strategic partnership since 2001.

Key to this agreement is the proven E9-1-1 technology solutions that TCS offers. TCS has provided its integrated MPC and HPDE solution longer than any other E9-1-1 vendor in the industry. Further, TCS has the only E9-1-1 TL9000 certified Network Operations Center, emphasizing its commitment to customer satisfaction, continuous improvement and performance accountability. Today, TCS provides E9-1-1 service to more than 100 million subscribers in the United States for more than 35 wireless carriers and handles more than 110,000 life saving calls daily.

TCS' E9-1-1 solution enables wireless operators to comply with Phase I and Phase II of the FCC's mandate, while providing the life-saving emergency services and security that wireless consumers expect. Using the efficient, open architecture of TCS' award-winning Xypoint Location Platform, TCS enables wireless operators to deliver wireless E9-1-1 call location information to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point. In addition to its proprietary technology platform, TCS provides operators with end-to-end support and all aspects of deployment, from switch integration, database management and Geographic Information Services, to compliance expertise, services to PSAPs and cost-recovery assistance.

Initiative to Develop Reliable E911 for VoIP Users

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:06:46 GMT

Pantel and IPextreme jointly announce the establishment of a strategic development initiative addressing the problem of automatic location of 911 emergency calls within an Internet protocol telephone network built on a ColdFire microprocessor platform. This initiative will enable emergency calls placed using VOIP telephone services to be properly located based on the geographic location of the call.

Currently, emergency calls placed using VOIP services are not automatically dispatched to the physical location of the call, but rather to the address listed on the caller’s account. The ELI is an innovative IP appliance that will enable the dispatch center to immediately identify the physical location of the call correctly, thus ensuring that first responders are directed to the proper location.

Pantel has been selected by the concept’s originator, VoIP Solutions of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to provide engineering and manufacturing expertise. Pantel’s experience in public safety communications, teamed with IPextreme’s rich semiconductor intellectual property portfolio and specialized ASIC design capabilities, will ensure the reliability of the ELI.

Florida Procures a Next Generation E911 Solution Set

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:10:54 GMT

Positron Public Safety Systems announced that Broward Sheriff’s Office, Broward County, Florida, the nation’s largest fully accredited sheriff's department in the United States has chosen to upgrade to Next Generation E9-1-1 services via the purchase of PPSS’ Voice over Internet Protocol for Emergency Response solution set. Broward County serves a population of 1.8 m people in 31 municipalities. VIPER as well as Power 911, Power MIS and Positron Sentry will be deployed across Broward County’s 13 Public Safety Answering Points. Broward County’s 13 PSAP’s are planned to be a mixed architecture of host and remote sites.

As a result of Positron’s proven reliability, Broward Sheriff’s Office plans to further leverage their next generation IP technology. VIPER’s IP technology will provide Broward County flexible disaster recovery options as well as cost and operational efficiencies. These capabilities combined with VIPER’s advanced IP features and native VoIP capabilities all factored into Broward Sheriff’s Office choice in selecting Positron as their source for their direct product delivery, service and support partner. Broward Sheriff’s Office required a partner who had a track record of being customer focused; the ability of successfully anticipating market trends and possessed an awareness of Broward County’s changing needs – all demands that PPSS was able to meet. In addition, PPSS’s reputation, ease of training and from a user’s perspective, seamless migration from an analog to a digital platform where factors as well.

San Mateo County Public Safety Communications Upgrades to VoIP

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:06:50 GMT

Positron Public Safety Systems has won an award from San Mateo County, California Public Safety Communications to upgrade their center to full digital services; a baseline system that is Next Generation 9-1-1 ready. As per the award, Positron will deploy and service VIPER and its Power suite of products, providing VoIP-based E911 services to 23 public safety agencies dispatched by SMCPSC.

SMCPSC was impressed with Positron’s proven reliability in supporting their E9-1-1 system, having used multiple Positron products for more than a decade. While applying a rigorous competitive procurement process to determine the best solution, SMCPSC considered numerous factors such as Positron’s reputation, ability to meet wireless Phase II requirements, ease of training and from a user’s perspective, seamless migration from an analog to a digital platform.

Houston-Galveston Area Council Adopts Industry Leading VoIP Technology

VoIP Monitor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:59:54 GMT

Positron Public Safety Systems announced it’s been awarded a multi-million dollar contract from the Houston-Galveston Area Council. Under the terms of the six year contract, Positron will deploy and service the Positron Voice over IP for Emergency Response solution to meet the E9-1-1 needs of H-GAC’s 23 Public Safety Answering Point’s covering an 8-county area.

An existing 10-year customer of Positron, H-GAC was impressed with Positron’s proven reliability in supporting their E9-1-1 system. When it was time for H-GAC to upgrade to emerging VoIP-based technology, they applied a rigorous competitive procurement process to determine the best solution. In order to make this determination, H-GAC measured such factors as Positron’s reputation, ability to support large installations, leading edge technology and attention to customer support. The new equipment includes the Positron VIPER, Power 911, Power MAP, Power MIS, ePrinter, Positron Sentry, Centralized GIS, and Regional MIS. Positron will be offering a turn-key solution for the entire H-GAC region and will make it possible to easily and efficiently add new agencies by establishing remote sites via the Positron VIPER solution set. The contract also includes all of the necessary support and maintenance that the PSAP’s will require.

TCS Issued Patent for VoIP Wi-Fi E911 Calls

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:13:21 GMT

TeleCommunication Systems announces the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 7,260,186, titled, "Solutions For Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) 911 Location Services." The patent enables updating the mid-call location of a VoIP 9-1-1 caller using a Wi-Fi hot spot. The invention allows VoIP Wi-Fi E9-1-1 calls to be routed to the correct Public Safety Answering Point while automatically providing the location of the caller at the time the call was established. The invention helps mobile VoIP calls to meet the current FCC mandate requiring that wireless operators provide E9-1-1 service.

"Providing E9-1-1 service to VoIP Wi-Fi calls is an essential service as cellular carriers and VoIP providers increasingly are providing nomadic and mobile VoIP service through dedicated and dual-mode devices," stated Drew Morin, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for TCS. "Hybrid VoIP/cellular service, often referred to as Fixed Mobile Convergence, is starting to be rolled out in North America, with operators such as T-Mobile initiating service this year."

ABOUT THE INVENTION

The "Solutions For Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) 911 Location Services" patent provides a method and apparatus for providing mid-call updating of a location of a VoIP Wi-Fi terminal. The patent allows for a VoIP call to be established, requests a location update associated with the movement of a VoIP Wi-Fi device, and transmits the location information of the associated movement of the device. The location of the device can be automatically determined by the VoIP Wi-Fi device, or the updated information can be input by the user.

VoIP Service to Provide Nomadic Support to Its E911 Offering

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:26:11 GMT

Intelliverse has added nomadic support to its standard E911 offering for all VoIP subscribers. Using Intelliverse, service providers can now offer customers an expanded geographical footprint when using the E911 service. Nomadic E911 will answer every 911 call and route it to the appropriate public safety answering point – regardless of the location they are calling from.

Intelliverse partnered with HBF Group to provide this service. Each address Intelliverse receives will be registered with the HBF Group. Using a real-time API integration, the solution determines where users are located by mapping the phone number to the emergency address on file while verifying and routing it to the appropriate emergency call center.

"Offering VoIP subscribers an effective and reliable E911 solution is a priority for Intelliverse," said Kevin M. Moran, president and CEO of Intelliverse. "And now with Nomadic E911, every 911 call will be answered and directed to the appropriate emergency call center regardless of physical location or phone number. This offering will allow all our subscribers to have improved service as well as a higher level of safety and security, regardless of geography.”

“Partnering with Intelliverse on this service was a natural fit for us,” said Jim Shepard, executive vice president for HBF. “Intelliverse had a solid E911 standard but with this new HBF E911 enhancement, subscribers can rest-assured that at any point they will be able to be located in an emergency.”

Free Number for Misrouted VoIP Calls in Trials

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:37:08 GMT

HBF/911 Services and Northern911 are partnering to provide a unique VoIP E9-1-1 service to the public safety community, at no charge. Called "PSAP Safety Net", this solution will provide a toll free number that the public safety answering points can utilize to transfer a misrouted VoIP emergency call directly to Northern911's Emergency Response Center, where their trained call takers will determine the proper routing and transfer the call to the correct PSAP for the caller's stated location. "PSAP Safety Net" provides a solution to a major VoIP 9-1-1 issue currently plaguing PSAPs. "The PSAP Safety Net" provides a safeguard against potential issues associated with a nomadic VoIP user (one who doesn't always have a "fixed" address associated with their VoIP phone).

Because nomadic users typically travel and thus can plug into any high speed internet connection and use their phone, there can be situations where the caller has not updated their location information. This results in an emergency call going to the wrong PSAP based on the caller's last registered location, which could be in a different city or state. To complicate matters, 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers don't always have the ability to transfer an emergency call from one PSAP to another. PSAP Safety Net allows the PSAP to transfer the 9-1-1 call at no charge, to Northern911's Emergency Response Center where it is transferred to the correct PSAP for the subscriber's current location.

HBF will conduct a two-month trial with Northern911 on the feasibility of handling misrouted VoIP 9-1-1 calls from any VoIP service provider. Upon successful completion of the trial, all U.S. PSAPs will be able to utilize one number, regardless of the underlying service provider or VoIP Positioning Center, for any misrouted VoIP call that needs to be routed outside of their jurisdiction.

"We believe that the PSAP Safety Net is a great service that will advance the success and safety of VoIP. The PSAPs serve as the backbone of our country's 9-1-1 service and deserve assistance with these problematic calls," states Jim Shepard, Executive Vice President, HBF.

HBF Joins Level 3 Technology Alliance Program

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 29 May 2007 19:09:52 GMT

HBF has been selected by Level 3 Communications to join their Technology Alliance Program. The Level 3 Technology Alliance Program brings together industry-leading VoIP and data vendors to offer end users solutions that have been tested for deployment using the Level 3 Network. HBF's i-911 VoIP Solution, an enhanced 9-1-1 system providing emergency call handling, bundles HBF's database services with the Level 3 E-911 Direct service to provide VoIP service providers with an end-to-end E9-1-1 solution that is FCC compliant for both static and nomadic end users.

"HBF offers the perfect solution for VoIP service providers," said Kevin Torf, CTO for Intelliverse. "By leveraging HBF's nomadic E-911 service with Level 3's network, we've been able to provide our customers greater availability of our VoIP services and peace of mind that they have met the FCC's 9-1-1 regulations."

Features of HBF's i-911 VoIP solution within the Technology Alliance Program:

Voice and location delivery from a VoIP emergency call
Full FCC and CRTC compliance
Subscriber address validation using the National Emergency Number Association guidelines based on Master Street Address Guide validation via HBF's SmartRoute Validation Data Base
Support of nomadic and fixed location VoIP subscribers
Support for "VoIP only" consumers who do not have a traditional telephone number for emergency dial back purposes
Real-time web services provisioning
Redundant network and data centers
Reduced time to market for VoIP Service Providers and Enterprises

"The combination of HBF's i-911 solution, Level 3's E-911 Direct service and the support of the Technology Alliance Program provides full E9-1-1 support for nomadic and static VoIP users. The TAP relationship gives customers an industry leading solution by leveraging the expertise and capabilities of two companies who are leaders in their fields," states Jim Shepard, Executive Vice President for HBF.

Texas CSEC Reports on 9-1-1 Services for VoIP

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:11:20 GMT

The majority of the state's emergency call centers now receive 9-1-1 calls from customers whose telephone service relies upon VoIP technology. In a recently released report, the Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications provided a status of statewide efforts to provide 9-1-1 service to VoIP telephone subscribers. The CSEC VoIP Deployment Report is available at http://www.911.state.tx.us.

VoIP is the term broadly used to describe telephone services that transmit voice communications over a digital data network using Internet protocol technology. Since VoIP telephony is increasingly being adopted by the public, it is critical that VoIP customers have access to emergency services through dialing 9-1-1.

In June 2005, the Federal Communications Commission issued an order requiring that companies providing interconnected VoIP telephone service also provide their customers with Enhanced 9-1-1, or "E9-1-1". E9-1-1 service means that a 9-1-1 call is routed to the correct answering point along with the caller's telephone number and location information, which greatly improves emergency response effectiveness. In Texas, E9-1-1 is almost universally available on traditional wireline and wireless phones.

Texas has deployed VoIP 9-1-1 service in the majority of the state's 544 answering points. Texas 9-1-1 entities formed a working group with industry to expedite deployment in response to the FCC's order. According to Paul Mallett, Executive Director of CSEC, the purpose of the group was to document the impact of VoIP telephony on 9-1-1 in Texas and to explore potential solutions to identified problems. "Our agency continues to facilitate and monitor VoIP 9-1-1 deployment in Texas to ensure that VoIP customers have access to 9-1-1 and emergency services," stated Mallett.

CSEC is a state agency charged by the Texas Legislature with oversight of 9-1-1 services in 224 of Texas' 254 counties. CSEC, in cooperation with the Texas Department of State Health Services, also oversees the Texas Poison Control Network that serves all Texas counties. CSEC's mission is to preserve and enhance public safety and health in Texas through reliable access to emergency telecommunications services. In accomplishing its mission, CSEC collaborates with regional and local governments and other state agencies to promote stewardship and accountability, set high standards, and foster efficient emergency telecommunications services.

Rosum Applauds Senate and FCC Review of E9-1-1 Services

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:36:45 GMT

Rosum issued comment on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s hearing on “VoIP and the Future of 9-1-1 Services,” to be held April 10. Rosum also responded to recent remarks by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin on the need for more accurate location determination of E9-1-1 calls from mobile devices.

“There are multiple trends in consumer telephony today that highlight the need for reliable ‘in-building 9-1-1’ location capability,” said Skip Speaks, CEO of Rosum Corporation. Speaks noted four specific trends: the growth in wireless-only subscribers who use their wireless handset as a primary line, the growth in users of nomadic VoIP services and users of VoIP lines as a primary line, data showing the bulk of wireless 9-1-1 calls are made indoors, and the emergence of home base stations that need to be located indoors for activation and 9-1-1 purposes.

Speaks continued, “As these new capabilities enter the home, they expand the definition of the home telephone. One can expect that a 9-1-1 call made over the traditional home phone connected by copper wire will result in first responders going to the right address. While substantial resources have been invested by providers of wireless and Internet telephony service to implement E9-1-1 service, it is clear that there is still work to be done to ensure that accurate, actionable location information is consistently delivered to our first responders. We encourage the Senate Commerce Committee and the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a thoughtful review of the future of 9-1-1 services, with a focus on in-building 9-1-1 performance. There is every reason for consumers to expect rapid and accurate response to 9-1-1 calls regardless of the technology they have chosen.”

Rosum will present on the subject of “Reliable Location for In-Building 9-1-1 and First Response” at the Geospatial Integration for Public Safety Conference, co-organized by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA), on April 16 in New Orleans.

AT&T to Help Emergency Responders Locate 9-1-1 Callers

VoIP Monitor — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:27:12 GMT

In recognition of professionals who respond to emergencies and help keep communities safe, AT&T Inc. announced $1 million in contributions to public safety organizations. AT&T provided $750,000 to the Public Safety Foundation of America, Inc. to help first-responders locate more 9-1-1 callers in times of emergency. Additionally, a $250,000 contribution to the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation recognizes the contributions of law enforcement officers and supports the families of officers killed in the line of duty.

"We remain very grateful to the dedicated professionals who work every day to keep our communities safe -- especially law enforcement officers, firefighters and other first-responders," said Jim Cicconi, AT&T senior executive vice president-External and Legislative Affairs. "We are proud to play a part in helping these professionals and extending our commitment to public safety to include the beneficial programs administered by the Public Safety Foundation of America and the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation."

AT&T's $750,000 contribution to the Public Safety Foundation of America will help equip first-responders -- police, firefighters, emergency medical personnel --- with the tools they need in order to respond to 9-1-1 calls made from mobile phones and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) devices. In counties with call centers not yet IP-enabled, dispatchers cannot always pinpoint a caller's location from those devices.

Separately, AT&T provided a $250,000 contribution to the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation (FOP Foundation), which serves police officers, their families and communities nationwide. Funds will support a program providing relief to police officers and their families struck by natural disasters, as well as a scholarship program for the spouses of officers killed in the line of duty.

In addition, AT&T funds to the FOP Foundation will support the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service, an annual initiative honoring the memories and families of law enforcement officers across the U.S. who lost their lives in the line of duty in the previous year. 2006 marked the 25th anniversary of the memorial service.

AT&T has a long history of supporting organizations that provide public safety and that address vital community needs. In recent years, the company has supported organizations that improve emergency-response communications, help police officers protect communities and provide domestic disaster relief to communities most in need. In 2006, AT&T contributed more than $101 million through corporate-, employee- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs to nonprofit organizations across the country.

Partnership to Provide Verification and E911 Notification Services

VoIP Monitor — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 16:27:35 GMT

VoiceLog announces an agreement with Suddenlink Communications to provide third party verification and E911 notification services. Because of the partnership, Suddenlink will be able to ensure its broadband phone subscribers understand their E911 service and the safety rules that accompany all VoIP phones.

Under the agreement, VoiceLog will begin immediately supplying third party verification and E911 notification services for Suddenlink’s new broadband phone subscribers in several West Texas and Missouri communities. VoiceLog will continue to support the company as it expands its voice service in West Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Missouri and California.

“VoiceLog has a great track record and will be a critical part of our efforts in 2007 as Suddenlink begins rolling out its new voice services for residence and business customers across Suddenlink’s entire footprint,” said Suddenlink Senior Vice President of Telephony Operations Tim Thompson. “That means VoiceLog will help us let customers know our service is E911 compatible as we market phone service to more than 2 million households, including 1.4 million current video and broadband customers.”

Under guidelines that went into effect in 2006, the FCC requires all VoIP carriers who connect with the public telephone network to notify their customers of any limitations to their E911 service, including where and under what conditions it may not be available. VoIP carriers must also obtain "affirmative acknowledgement" from every customer that they have received and understood that information.

VoiceLog's E911Alert notifies VoIP customers of their E911 service, while gaining their affirmative acknowledgement of the notice. VoiceLog E911Alert features include secure audio records of documented compliance, storage of the acknowledgement for three years and daily reports showing client acknowledgement.

”As a triple-play provider, Suddenlink is the type of company that will dominate the telecom industry in the future and we are proud that they selected VoiceLog for their third party verification services,” commented Larry Leikin, General Manager of VoiceLog, a division of BSG Clearing Solutions.

Vonage Equips 94% of U.S. VoIP Subscribers with E911

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:52:50 GMT

Vonage announces that more than 94 percent of its U.S. subscriber lines are now equipped with Enhanced 911 (E911) service -- a feature that automatically associates a physical address with the calling party's telephone number. The most recent upgrades bring the total number of lines fitted for E911 to more than 2 million.

Vonage's nomadic E911 solution gives customers the ability to reach a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) or 911 centers, through the dedicated 911 network infrastructure. With Vonage's nomadic E911 solution, a customer's call is automatically routed to the appropriate 911 center, with the caller's registered street address and telephone number appearing on the dispatchers screen -- regardless of where or what exchange they are calling from. Vonage will continue to turn up and test new PSAPs that are VoIP-ready every day.

Since December 15, Vonage has equipped 50 locally-run emergency call centers across the U.S. with E911 -- bringing the total number of calling centers with emergency 911 service to more than 6,600.

"Today more than 2 million of our U.S. subscriber lines have full E911 capability, which is a tremendous step for Vonage," said Vonage CEO Mike Snyder. "Vonage will continue to work with the FCC, regulators, Congress and public safety officials until PSAPs across the nation are equipped with E911."

Increased Demand for Dash911's Wholesale VoIP Services

VoIP Monitor — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:52:44 GMT

Dash911, the most popular provider of E911 services for VoIP providers announces that due to increased demand, and more customers, it has added additional carriers for its DID and termination offerings.

"Many VoIP providers have told us that what they really like is to get all their services from one provider", says Gregory Giagnocavo, "and we are pulling together the best providers in each category".

Dash911 now offers DIDs, origination and termination, CNAM for CallerID, Directory assistance and other wholesale services for VoIP providers worldwide.

"Although we aren't always the lowest, cheapest cost provider, VoIP providers have come to realize that quality is more important thant a savings of one-tenth of a cent per minute - subscribers want the same voice quality they've enjoyed for years using traditional wire line telephone service.

Dash911 is once again a Gold Sponsor at the IT Expo in Ft Lauderdale, FL Jan 23 -25, 2007. www.ITexpo.com

RedSky Earns Cisco Certification for E911 Manager

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 00:28:08 GMT

RedSky announces that its award-winning E911 Manager is now certified for use with Cisco IP communications solutions.

The certification means that organizations using Cisco solutions by themselves or in combination with communications solutions from other providers such as Avaya and Nortel now have the ability to use a single E911 Manager server to capture, manage and deliver the detailed location information required by public safety dispatchers for effective emergency response.

"As organizations adopt IP telephony (IPT), many find themselves managing hybrid networks of traditional PBXs and IP-based call servers with a wide range of analog, digital and IP-based phones, softphones and other devices," said Nicholas Maier, senior vice president, RedSky. "With this Cisco certification, E911 Manager is now the only location information management solution available that works across all major platforms and devices, making it possible for organizations to reduce their server requirements and reduce the administrative time required to manage this information. This single- server approach provides consistent, reliable E911 protection to employees and visitors that complies with all state E911 laws and is not dependent on where they are located or the type of phone they are using."

In addition to E911 Manager's ability to automatically capture, manage and deliver location information for all types of phones through its automated interface, it automatically communicates with each local exchange carrier's ALI database provider so organizations with a national presence can easily administer ALI updates throughout the country without requiring additional resources. RedSky also partners with Intrado to provide national 911 call routing and location identification service for softphones, distributed branch offices and VPN hardphones.

"Mobility is becoming prevalent among IPT clients, and RedSky's ability to determine the precise location of an IPT endpoint and manage and deliver that location information is critical not only for E911, but for a wide range of emerging location-based services that these mobile clients will require," says Maier.

RedSky is a Cisco Technology Developer Affiliate. E911 Manager is now available for Cisco Unified CallManager version 4.2(3) through leading Cisco Channel Partners and systems integrators. For more information on E911 Manager or RedSky channel relationships, please contact Jerry Lucas, director of business development for the Cisco channel at jlucas@redskytech.com.

Dash911 the Most Popular Solutions Provider of E911 for VoIP

VoIP Monitor — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 00:24:28 GMT

Dash911 announces improvements to their Dashboard management module. In the last five months, Dash911 has added to its E911 offering by making it easy to obtain other products including DIDs, 411, CNAM and PSTN call termination. So it became necessary to find a way to give customers a way to have a "bird's eye view" of all their services activity in one place with one login.

According to Michael Giagnocavo, Chief Software Architect for Dash911, "The new features include the ability for a VoIP provider to truly have one view and unified access to all the products and services we provide."

Dash91 expects that not only will current customers appreciate this new management interface, but that prospective customers will recognize the advantage of dealing with one company for all their wholesale VoIP needs, and the ability to manage all their services with one interface.

Dash911 is a privately held company based in Denver, CO. Dash911 offers wholesale VoIP services to VoIP providers around the world.