For VOIP, I think it would be necessary for either the terminal adapter (TA) or the host PC (soft-TA) to have a GPS receiver built into it to be able to do E-911.
A way this could be helpful is if when the TA first connects to the VOIP switch, it sends its GPS coordinates; the switch could then reply with a list of phone numbers corresponding to the closest 911 call center.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Herb Oxley From: address IS Valid.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have been told GPS does not work that well _inside a house or an office_; that its optimal use is when attached to an outside thing. Most VOIP set ups are indoors, are they not? What advantage and disadvantage would there be to equipping VOIP terminal adapters either with a small antenna capable of receiving GPS coordinates (although you might have to mount the GPS receiver either next to a window or preferably _outside_ with a wire running in to the TA itself)? Or, another approach might be for the TA unit to 'listen' for '911' being dialed, and then instantly breaking the connection and redialing 911 via a landline phone nearby? Or, have the 911 interception be done at the local ISP (whose lines you were on anyway) and have the ISP forward your call to the local 911 authorities along with its records of who you were, where you were at, etc? PAT]