AT&T solves VoIP's 911 issue

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AT&T says it's solved a problem that has dogged Internet-based phone service: how to provide emergency 911 to people who use VoIP - short for Voice over Internet Protocol - on the road.

The problem: VoIP users who call 911 from hotels and other remote sites sometimes can't be found by 911 operators. That's because the correct locations of these "nomadic" users don't show up on operators' screens.


The Federal Communications Commission has given Internet phone carriers until Nov. 28 to make their VoIP services 911-capable. AT&T's rival carriers are still working on the problem.


The national 911 service uses databases crammed with customers' home addresses to pinpoint the location of callers. VoIP is mobile. So home addresses are meaningless if a customer uses an Internet phone in a different location.


AT&T, which invented the USA's 911 service in 1968, estimates that about 5% of its 53,000 VoIP customers use the service on the road. There are about 2 million VoIP users nationwide.


"That is the bane of everybody's existence," says Robert Quinn, an AT&T vice president.


AT&T's nomadic solution, called Heartbeat, uses its Internet network to track the location of users. Here's how it works:


When VoIP customers power down, AT&T's network will automatically suspend VoIP service. Once the phone adapter is plugged back in, AT&T will ask the user to verify his or her location.


For customers who indicate they haven't moved, service will be instantly restored. If they have moved, they'll be directed to an 800 number or a Web page to register the new location.


AT&T's VoIP units - sold under the CallVantage name - are programmed to contact the carrier's global network once every 24 hours. During these communications, AT&T sends software upgrades and does maintenance.


Heartbeat works off that same protocol, Quinn notes.


AT&T's solution isn't foolproof. If a customer fails to verify he's moved to a remote location, AT&T has no way to check, Quinn says.


The plan also has a limited reach. CallVantage now connects to about 50% of the "public safety administration points" that administer the 911 program. Those who travel outside that footprint will immediately lose service, Quinn says.


Quinn allows that AT&T's fix "isn't the most elegant solution." Still, he says, AT&T is hopeful it will help educate the public about VoIP, particularly the 911 limitations.


AT&T, which has been sold to SBC - the deal could close as early as next month - is open to licensing its Heartbeat solution to other carriers, Quinn says.


The letter outlining the Heartbeat plan was sent to the FCC on Friday. Quinn says AT&T developed the plan after talking with FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.


Vonage, the USA's biggest VoIP player, is working with vendors to meet the FCC's Nov. 28 deadline. Spokeswoman Brooke Schulz says Vonage's 911 plans are "moving along nicely."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051011/tc_usatoday/atamptsolvesvoips911issue;_ylt=AvFosXS1atrwZ3LufV28ZIUjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

 

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AT&T Internet call service to require location

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Corp. said on Tuesday it would suspend Internet phone service for subscribers who fail to keep their location up to date when they move around with the mobile service.

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Internet telephone service, known as Voice over Internet Protocol, can be used anywhere a subscriber has a high-speed Internet connection, which are becoming more common around the world.

That mobility has prompted concerns by U.S. communications regulators who worry that if a subscriber does not register his location in the United States, emergency authorities may not be able to find the person if he dials 911 for help.

The Federal Communications Commission in May ordered VOIP carriers to provide 911 emergency services by November 28, including connecting calls directly to dispatchers.

Carriers, like AT&T and the biggest U.S. VOIP provider, Vonage Holdings Corp., will also have to provide callers' numbers and addresses to dispatchers. There are about 3 million subscribers in the United States to VOIP, a cheaper alternative to traditional phone service.

AT&T said it would use a telephone adapter to determine when a VOIP phone has been disconnected from the network and reconnected, prompting a query to the subscriber to confirm or update his or her location.

The customer can either confirm the location has not changed or receive directions for updating it.

"If the customer confirms that she has moved her service from the existing registered location address, service will remain suspended until she registers a new primary location address," Robert Quinn, AT&T vice president for federal government affairs, said in an October 7 letter to the FCC.

The subscriber still would be able to dial 911, according to Quinn. However, AT&T said there is not yet a way to confirm the customer's location.

"This is the best technology has to offer at this time," AT&T spokeswoman Claudia Jones said. The FCC has said it eventually plans to require carriers to provide the customer's location on their own.

AT&T said it would not offer to new customers its VOIP service in areas after November 28 where the company cannot provide 911 capabilities.

The company, the No. 1 long-distance carrier, is being acquired by SBC Communications Inc., the No. 2 local telephone company.

The FCC adopted the rules after several high-profile incidents in which people only reached an administrative or business line at a 911 emergency call center when they used a VOIP phone.

The requirements only apply to those providers that connect calls to and from the public telephone network.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051011/wr_nm/telecoms_att_voip_dc;_ylt=Ag4.7_hEtViZhpD0iflwWjQjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--