In article , TELECOM Digest Editor
> responded to :
>> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Apparently, the only players in the
>> game who can get 'true E-911' are the telcos themselves or any of
>> their friends. Others have to pay for the service, and the cost was
>> pretty steep until recently when under pressure SBC agreed to begin
>> working with Vonage and other VOIP carriers. The reason this is so
>> is because when 'true E-911' was being developed, telco had it built
>> to _their_ specifications. PAT]
> All you need to see that that's not true is the example of more
> responsible, and less politically adept, VOIP carriers who have done
> the right thing instead of cutting corners, and who therefore *do*
> provide E911 service: Packet8, the cable companies' in-house VOIP
> telcos, and so forth. Surprise, surprise: their services cost more --
> because being irresponsible about 911 service gives Vonage lower
> costs. But it is ridiculous to blame anyone but Vonage for the fact
> that Vonage has refused to pay the costs of traditional 911
> interconnection and therefore does not provide actual 911 service.
> Thor Lancelot Simon snipped-for-privacy@rek.tjls.com
You can cast the VoIP providers as the demons but in reality it's the incumbents.
Pretty much every switch made for the past decade or more has been IP aware. Hell, even my G3i has a TCP/IP address, as does my Intuity LX.
And in case you didn't know here is how Vonage works:
They use Paetec and Focal switches to hand off to the PSTN. These are fully featured 5ESS and the like switches, and both those carriers are fully regulated. This is just a little side business to utilities a glut of switching capacity.
So for instance, my little RT31P2 actually talks to Vonage and then connects via Paetec's switch in Providence. My E-911 works btw. It's because RI is unique -- the state owns the E-911 infrastructure while Verizon owns the data.