(OT) Fwd: My take on E911 and VoIP

[Jeff Kinz]

On Fri, May 27, 2005 at 07:44:42AM -0400, Bill Horne wrote:
> With my brother's permission, I'm forwarding to the list his comments 
> about my recent post.
> 
> From: 	MFF/RThomas D. Horne <hornetd.ta.mindspring.com>
> 
> Now we get into this debate and some of the VOIP providers want to blame 
> us for not staffing administrative telephone numbers around the clock 
> thus giving them an inexpensive way out of the charges being leveled 
> against them.  Those of you who are familiar with the technology are 
> even more aware than we are of the qualitative difference between 911 
> service and any ten digit telephone number but most of the public are 
> not aware of those differences.  Add to this the fact that the VOIP 
> providers are scared to death that they will be required to provide 911 
> service at the first exchange rather than at their offices hundreds or 
> thousands of miles away and you have us drawing and sharpening our 
> public relations knives quite ready to leap down the throat of anyone 
> who tries to shift the blame for the recent communications failures onto 
> us.  
> 
> The best defense being a good offense there is a strong temptation 
> to condemn VOIP providers as profiteers who are unwilling to bear their 
> share of the cost of 911 service regardless of whether that is in fact 
> true.  We have been working with the ILECs for a long time.  We have 
> gotten used to them and they to us.  The VOIP folks are the new kids on 
> the block so we are automatically on our guard for any hint of cost 
> shifting in both the financial and public confidence areas. 



Sounds Like Mr Horne understands the issues very well as well as their
importance.  I hope all of the states have their firefighters as well
represented.


-- 
Jeff Kinz, Emergent Research, Hudson, MA.