[VoiceOps] 911 address policy for company phones at home

[Mary Lou Carey]

PBXs can associate a single line for one location or have multiple lines,
one for each location so that there is an address in the ALI database for
each location. These lines are all fixed though so it's very different from
VOIP because the end user can move their phone to any location that has
internet access and use it without the switch being re-programmed. That's
why there is a requirement for the CLEC to offer a way for the customer to
update their information in the ALI database themselves.   

Someone asked me about who provides the VOIP ALI update solution and I
couldn't find a provider, but in researching it I did find that there
appears to be an issue with this method because the ALI database doesn't
update in real time and since users could plug their phone in and update the
address, it didn't mean that the ALI database identified the location
correctly. YMAX commented to the FCC in November 2011 (see the link below)
that they had a solution that could work. It involved attaching a GSM
cellular transceiver to their MagicJack device so the location could be
identified but it also relied on having some type of database with customer
locations to help it identify which PSAP needed to be contacted so it
doesn't appear that is totally thought out either. It appears to me that
even though there are some requirements that the FCC put out about updating
the ALI database, the details of exactly how that will work aren't totally
worked out because of the issue with the ALI database. To me......that seems
like a great business opportunity for someone! If you could figure out how
to get a VOIP phone to automatically identify the exact location of the
phone whenever its plugged in and transmit that location to a VOIP ALI
database (which you'd need to create), then you could sell the service to
both PSAPs AND VOIP providers! 

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view;jsessionid=c1M1QZvLvW9XfyYDpTwlMGN1QK
T7yhs21npc4ThYvwR61R6JK4yv!-56284754!-224088840?id=7021744691


Mary Lou Carey
BackUP Telecom Consulting
marylou at backuptelecom.com 
Office: 615-791-9969 x 2001



-----Original Message-----
From: voiceops-bounces at voiceops.org [mailto:voiceops-bounces at voiceops.org]
On Behalf Of Jay Hennigan
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 6:33 PM
To: VoiceOps
Subject: Re: [VoiceOps] 911 address policy for company phones at home

On 1/18/13 3:46 PM, Mike Ray wrote:
> The difference here is the demarcation point.  If you're handing off 
> analog lines, there are two important differences:
> 
> 1. You're not providing the PBX functionality as part of the telephone 
> service and, 2. You're using a technology that is incapable of sending 
> a different ANI than what's in your switch for each line.

An extension-only SIP phone doesn't have a unique ANI.

> So the requirement here is that the e911 ALI address must match the 
> physical location where you have those lines installed.

But there are no "lines" for DID-less extensions or for that matter an
"installation" in the case of softphones.

The company HQ where the main ANI is answered is the ALI address.  Call it
and talk to the receptionist.  Drive there in a police car and visit the
same receptionist.

> If you are looking to protect yourself from the customer moving to a 
> new location, ATA, PBX and all, you just use a contract provision 
> requiring them to notify you of address changes.  You could also 
> require them to have you move the service to the new location for more
security there.

Yes, and you should.

> So, different animal that the hosted PBX question...

ATA, PBX and all is indeed a different animal than an extension-only remote
phone.

The problem, and I don't know if there is a full solution, is that PSTN
telephone numbers have always been used to identify the destination of a
call.  9-1-1 assumes that this identifier of a destination positively and
unequivocally also identifies the origin.

Think in terms of laptops with softphones.  There is no way to make that
work with the present 9-1-1 infrastructure.

--
Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Engineering - jay at impulse.net Impulse
Internet Service  -  http://www.impulse.net/ Your local telephone and
internet company - 805 884-6323 - WB6RDV
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