Internet telephony New calling service debated

While nearly four million Americans are enjoying the stateof-the-art-features and low cost of internet telephony, few are aware of the many complications that can accompany broadband phone use.

Fire and police officials say, for example, that many users of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services are unaware that they do not have basic 911 services.

VoIP telephony, the cutting edge in telecommunication, offers low-cost service to its patrons by using the Internet instead of wireless or land line transmission. While traditional phones operate by sending messages over dedicated phone lines owned by the major telephone companies, VoIP works by digitizing the sender’s voice and then sending the message via the Internet. In essence, VoIP phone users are “e-mailing” their conversation.

“It’s great when people can save money by getting their phone service over the Internet, but at the same time these consumers need to realize that not all VoIP providers offer 911,” said Maria Grycan, a community service representative for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Because VoIP utilizes the Internet rather than land lines, a number of complications arise when emergency calls are placed.

When a person dials 911 on a traditional phone, the call is received by one of the nation’s 6,200 emergency call centers. Since all land lines are assigned a geographical location, operators are able to instantly transfer emergency calls to the closest fire or police station without the caller having to disclose his or her location.

VoIP numbers, however, are assigned IP (Internet protocol) addresses instead of geographical addresses. When an emergency operator receives the call, they have no way of knowing the caller’s location unless it is stated in the conversation.

“A lot of VoIP companies contract with call centers in Canada, which means emergency calls are routed to Canada and then back to the United States,” Grycan said.

Call centers in Canada are not dedicated emergency hubs; people who dial 911 late at night are often greeted by an answering machine.

Local officials became aware of these issues after a VoIP emergency call was placed by an Agoura Hills resident on Dec. 19. The call reportedly was routed to a center in Canada and then sent to the business line of a Malibu fire station. If the station had been empty, emergency personnel would not have received the call and would not have responded, officials said.

Currently, the FCC is investigating VoIP telephony and is attempting to establish clear guidelines outlining procedures for handling emergency calls. The federal government reportedly frowns upon VoIP usage because of the inability to place wiretaps on Internet phones.

Regarding emergency calls, some VoIP companies, such as Vonage, currently offer a service called e911. The service requires users to register their phones with geographical addresses so that their emergency calls can be properly delivered.

VoIP phones can be used wherever broadband outlets are located, but this can lead to confusion in routing emergency calls if the service providers are not notified about the user’s change in location.

While e911 is helping to remedy some of the problems associated with VoIP, major hurdles still exist. While traditional phones are able to operate during a power outage, VoIP phones cannot be used because they rely on electrical and broadband service.

Officials recommend VoIP users keep basic phone service in their homes in order to place emergency calls.

“People might think they can use their cell phones instead of their VoIP phone to place emergency calls, but these calls are often answered with a busy signal,” Grycan said.

The California Highway Patrol answers all emergency cell phone calls for Los Angeles County and their systems are often overwhelmed by the high volume of calls they receive.