13 Apr 2015 19:40
E911 Emergency Services Policy
1. EMERGENCY SERVICES - 911 DIALING
1.1 911 Dialing. VoIP 911 Dialing is different than traditional 911 service.
Customers can have access to either basic 911 or Enhanced 911 (E911) service. With E911 service, when you dial 911, your telephone number and registered address is simultaneously sent to the local emergency center assigned to your location, and emergency operators have access to the information they need to send help and call you back if necessary. Customers in locations where the emergency center is not equipped to receive your telephone number and address have basic 911. With basic 911, the local emergency operator answering the call will not have your call back number or your exact location, so you must be prepared to give them this information. Until you give the operator your phone number, he/she may not be able to call you back or dispatch help if the call is not completed or is not forwarded, is dropped or disconnected, or if you are unable to speak. As additional local emergency centers become capable of receiving our customers' information, we will automatically upgrade customers with basic 911 to E911 service. We will not give you notice of these upgrades. You are advised to test call the E911 service before there’s any real emergency. A test/sample E911 script is provided below:
(Please note that some cities or counties will require you to schedule E911 test calls in advance and will charge penalties if a call is unscheduled and not an emergency call (penalties average between $75 and $150/call). You should check with your local county authorities before placing unscheduled E911 test calls. Try to call during off hours such as 6:00AM-7:00AM)
•Hello, this is a non-emergency call, I'm calling from and this is a Voice-Over-IP test call. Do you have a moment to verify my emergency information would you rather have us call at a later time?
•Did you receive ANI information? What number do you see? (confirm that this matches the caller-ID that you have configured and expect to be sent)
•Are you able to retrieve ALL information? Can you verify the address that is displayed? (confirm that this matches your provisioned emergency address)
•Do you see my Call Back Number? (confirm that this matches the callerid number that you have configured and expect to be sent)
•Does the information on your display appear in the proper fields? (Operator should answer yes, which confirms that all information shows up correctly -- and fields are not sent incorrectly, for example street number appearing in the zip field or city field)
•Thank you for your help, may I know when would be the best time to conduct some more testing?
•Have a great day!
Certain customers do not have access to either basic 911 or E911. If you don't have access to basic 911 or E911 your 911 call will be sent to the national emergency call center. A trained agent at the emergency call center will ask for the name, telephone number and location of the customer calling 911, and then contact the local emergency center for your current location in order to send help. Examples of situations where 911 calls will be sent to the national emergency call center include when there is a problem validating a customer's address, the customer is identified with an international location, or the customer is located in an area that is not covered by the landline 911 network. In addition, if you use a nomadic product such as a SIP account registered to a WiFi location or Softphone, due to the portable nature of these Devices, your 911 calls will be routed to the national emergency call center if no proper address is found for the calling number. Emergency personnel do not receive your phone number or physical location when your 911 call is routed to the national emergency call center.
You authorize us to disclose your name and address to third-parties involved with providing 911 Dialing to you, including, without limitation, call routers, call centers and local emergency centers.
1.2 Notify All Users. You should inform any household residents, guests and other third persons who may be present at the physical location where you utilize the Service of the important differences in and limitations of 911 Dialing as compared with basic 911 or E911. The documentation that accompanies each Device that you purchase will include a sticker concerning the potential non-availability of basic 911 or E911 (the "911 Sticker"). It is your responsibility, in accordance with the instructions that accompany each Device, to place the 911 Sticker on each Device that you use with the Service.
1.3 Registration of Physical Location Required. For each phone number that you use for the Service, you must register (provision) the primary physical location where you will be using the Service with that phone number. When you move the Device to another location, you must register your new location. If you do not register your new location, any call you make using the 911 Dialing feature may be sent to an emergency center near your old address. You will register your initial location of use when you subscribe to the Service. Thereafter, you may register a new location by following the instructions from the "911" registration link on your account dashboard. For purposes of the 911 Dialing feature, you may only register one location at a time for each phone line you use with the Service.
1.4 Confirmation of Activation Required. Your 911 Dialing feature will not be activated for any phone line that you are using with the Service, unless and until you receive an email from us confirming that the 911 Dialing feature has been activated for that phone line.
1.5 Service Outages.
(a) Service Outages Due to Power Failure or Disruption. 911 Dialing does not function in the event of a power failure or disruption. If there is an interruption in the power supply, the Service, including 911 Dialing, will not function until power is restored. Following a power failure or disruption, you may need to reset or reconfigure the Device prior to utilizing the Service, including 911 Dialing.
(b) Service Outages Due to Internet Outage or Suspension or Disconnection of Broadband Service or ISP Service. Service outages or suspensions or disconnections of service by your broadband provider or ISP will prevent all Service, including 911 Dialing, from functioning.
(c) Service Outage Due to Disconnection of Your Account. Service outages due to disconnection of your account will prevent all Service, including 911 Dialing, from functioning.
(d) Service Outages Due to ISP or Broadband Provider Blocking of Ports or Other Acts. Your ISP or broadband provider or other third party may intentionally or inadvertently block the ports over which the Service is provided or otherwise impede the usage of the Service. In that event, provided that you alert us to this situation, we will attempt to work with you to resolve the issue. During the period that the ports are being blocked or your Service is impeded, and unless and until the blocking or impediment is removed or the blocking or impediment is otherwise resolved, your Service, including the 911 Dialing feature, may not function. You acknowledge that we are not responsible for the blocking of ports by your ISP or broadband provider or any other impediment to your usage of the Service, and any loss of service, including 911 Dialing, which may result. In the event you lose service as a result of blocking of ports or any other impediment to your usage of the Service, you will continue to be responsible for payment of the Service charges unless and until you disconnect the Service in accordance with this Agreement.
(e) Other Service Outages. If there is a Service outage for any reason, such outage will prevent all Service, including 911 Dialing, from functioning. Such outages may occur for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, those reasons described elsewhere in this Agreement.
1.6 Re-Activation Required if You Change Your Number or Add or Port New Numbers. 911 Dialing does not function if you change your phone number or if you add or port new phone numbers to your account, unless and until you successfully register your location of use for each changed, newly added or newly ported phone number.
1.7 Network Congestion; Reduced Speed for Routing or Answering 911 Dialing Calls. There may be a greater possibility of network congestion and/or reduced speed in the routing of a 911 Dialing call made utilizing the Service as compared to traditional 911 dialing over traditional public telephone networks.
1.8 Disclaimer of Liability and Indemnification. We do not have any control over whether, or the manner in which, calls using our 911 Dialing service are answered or addressed by any local emergency response center. We disclaim any and all responsibility for the conduct of local emergency response centers and the national emergency calling center. We rely on third parties to assist us in routing 911 Dialing calls to local emergency response centers and to a national emergency calling center. We disclaim any and all liability or responsibility in the event such third party data used to route calls is incorrect or yields an erroneous result. Neither MultiTEL nor its officers or employees may be held liable for any claim, damage, or loss, and you hereby waive any and all such claims or causes of action arising from or relating to our 911 Dialing service unless such claims or causes of action arose from our gross negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct. You shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless MultiTEL, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents and any other service provider who furnishes services to you in connection the Service, from any and all claims, losses, damages, fines, penalties, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys fees) by, or on behalf of, you or any third party relating to the absence, failure or outage of the Service, including 911 Dialing, incorrectly routed 911 Dialing calls, and/or the inability of any user of the Service to be able to use 911 Dialing or access emergency service personnel.
1.9 Alternate 911 Arrangements. If you are not comfortable with the limitations of the 911 Dialing service, you acknowledge that it is your duty to secure alternate means of accessing traditional 911 or E911 services or disconnecting the Service.