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Message to FCC: Stop Hurting VoIP

When the FCC mandated enhanced 911 capabilities for VoIP providers, it opened a potentially anti-innovative can of worms commissioners can't solve with one punitive pen stroke. VoIP E911 is a complex problem with no simple answers, but if the FCC wants to keep the burgeoning industry growing quickly, it should stimulate discussion and aid compliance instead of fixing itself into a scolding pattern.

With this week's deadline, the FCC ordered non-compliant carriers to stop marketing their services. As compliance letters filtered in, the tally of fully compliant companies approached zero, with Qwest Communications and SunRocket among few claiming to come close. Skype Technologies didn't even file, claiming exemption. Vonage said a quarter of subscribers had service, petitioned for a waiver in a 365-page report, and continued marketing. Even Verizon claimed only 20 % compliance. (Search for your VoIP provider's filing here, entering 05-196 in the proceeding field)

The problem eclipses technology, creeping into competition. Big telecom built, own and control special routers that put calls into the 911 system. Without agreements, other providers have no way to get calls through. This affects even Verizon, which in FCC filings partially blames its low numbers on lack of access to other companies' routers. The FCC can right at least this part of the problem with a simple mandate.

IP addresses don't show specific location, so figuring VoIP caller addresses is difficult. Possible solutions include matching subscriber addresses to phone numbers, which wouldn't cover nomadic services like Vonage and software-based systems like Skype, and expensive GPS integration into all VoIP devices. Similar issues surrounding radiolocation slowed E911 adoption for cellular providers in recent years.

This isn't to say that safety isn't an issue and exploding subscriber numbers could make the case for a forced FCC hand. I've been told that since I work from home near Washington and have a VoIP phone with a Long Island exchange, it's possible that emergency personnel could show up to InformationWeek headquarters in New York if I ever called 911 on my work phone. Misleading advertising and lack of services led to at least one lawsuit against Vonage earlier this year. And even if companies solve location issues, VoIP service, unlike traditional phones, shuts off in power and Internet outages, potentially hindering disaster relief. Yet VoIP still isn't the main communication method for most people. The biggest thing here is to make customers aware of VoIP's E911 troubles.

Despite safety issues, the convergent possibilities of VoIP and the inevitable move of everything to IP holds too much promise to hinge innovation on immediate E911 compliance.

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