[VoiceOps] 911 testing

[Ken Mix]

We allow customers to toggle “E911 Test Mode” via our portal so that they can dial 911 without calls routing to the PSAP, which we’ve found works better than dialing a test number (e.g. 933) to  verify their dial plans, internal notifications (important for enterprises & medical facilities), calling number overwrites (e.g. Cisco Emergency Responder, ShoreTel EGW), etc. When a customer dials 911 in test mode, we simply route the call to a Twilio number that hooks into an API on our side to dynamically retrieve the address associated with the calling number and read back the provisioned address. If a customer forgets to take their service out of test mode, they’re automatically reverted to normal 911 routing after 12 hours.

Although the test line is something that could be done in-house vs routing to Twilio, it was a quick and easy way to tie a telephony interface to our portal, and since it’s just a test interface it’s not mission-critical in the event of a Twilio outage or Internet burp.

We do provide a standalone test number for our customers and installers that follows the same route a call would in test mode, but it’s rarely used – it seems that most people prefer to toggle test mode and actually dial 911.

Ken

From: VoiceOps [mailto:voiceops-bounces at voiceops.org] On Behalf Of Carlos Alvarez
Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2017 11:19
To: voiceops at voiceops.org
Subject: [VoiceOps] 911 testing

Do you have your customers do a 911 test?  And if so, what procedure do you advise?  Some cities don't care if you call 911 and say it's not an emergency, others, like NYC, will flip their shit (I've been told).  I'm updating all of our new-client testing docs and trying to figure out a solution that works anywhere.

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