Activate Email 
INDUSTRIES
Broadband & Mobile Featured Article
November 14, 2007
U.S. House Passes E911 Bill
By Tim Gray TMCnet Web Editor
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP
) providers will now have direct access to the nation's E911 system after legislation was approved last night by the U.S. House of Representatives requiring Internet telephone companies to provide customers with emergency calling services.
The 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act, an effort to bring Internet telephony companies in compliance with new Federal Communications Commission rules, will now allow VoIP providers, such as Skype (News - Alert), the ability to obtain direct access to the backbone of the E911 system.
"The E911 legislation is designed to ensure that a consumer calling 911 in an emergency from an Internet phone … can do so with a degree of confidence matching that of traditional phone service and wireless service," Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, said in a statement.
The move comes after a 2005 FCC (News - Alert) order from the FCC that VOIP providers to comply with E911 mandates, however, it did not provide a provision that mandating telecoms to open their infrastructure for the providers to directly connect the calls.
The legislation should help to quickly facilitate the transition to a national IP-based first responder network and allow for that transition regardless of what type of communications technology is being used.
“In another victory for bipartisanship, the leadership of both parties of the House and the Energy and Commerce Committee leadership worked to craft consensus and help improve both the accessibility and the quality of the public safety,” said Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) President Grant Seiffert.
The 911 Modernization and Safety Act, sponsored by Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), also requires the 911 Implementation and Coordination Office to develop a national plan to quickly move the nation from the current 911 system to an interoperable IP-based emergency response network that can handle voice, video and data traffic.
Tim Gray is a Web Editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To see more of his articles, please visit Tim Gray’s columnist page.
) providers will now have direct access to the nation's E911 system after legislation was approved last night by the U.S. House of Representatives requiring Internet telephone companies to provide customers with emergency calling services.
The 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act, an effort to bring Internet telephony companies in compliance with new Federal Communications Commission rules, will now allow VoIP providers, such as Skype (News - Alert), the ability to obtain direct access to the backbone of the E911 system.
"The E911 legislation is designed to ensure that a consumer calling 911 in an emergency from an Internet phone … can do so with a degree of confidence matching that of traditional phone service and wireless service," Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, said in a statement.
The move comes after a 2005 FCC (News - Alert) order from the FCC that VOIP providers to comply with E911 mandates, however, it did not provide a provision that mandating telecoms to open their infrastructure for the providers to directly connect the calls.
The legislation should help to quickly facilitate the transition to a national IP-based first responder network and allow for that transition regardless of what type of communications technology is being used.
“In another victory for bipartisanship, the leadership of both parties of the House and the Energy and Commerce Committee leadership worked to craft consensus and help improve both the accessibility and the quality of the public safety,” said Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) President Grant Seiffert.
The 911 Modernization and Safety Act, sponsored by Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), also requires the 911 Implementation and Coordination Office to develop a national plan to quickly move the nation from the current 911 system to an interoperable IP-based emergency response network that can handle voice, video and data traffic.
Tim Gray is a Web Editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP
communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To see more of his articles, please visit Tim Gray’s columnist page.
