It's probably no secret that I don't have a lot of love for SBC, mainly because it seems as though any time they have a choice between doing something that would be beneficial to their customers or the general public, or making a profit, they always seem to choose to make a profit. This seems to be the way of most large corporations, I fear -- it seems that people in a pack will conspire to do evil that none of the members of that group would think of doing individually. In this case it's a pretty clear cut distinction -- SBC would rather see people's lives endangered than lift a finger to help what they perceive as a competitor gain acess to 911. The thing is, this doesn't even surprise me anymore, in fact it's exactly the sort of action I'd expect SBC to take.
The Real Reason Why SBC Won't Work With Vonage on E-911
-Posted by Russell Shaw @ 5:49 am
I am not surprised that SBC is declining to work with Vonage on a way to allow Vonage subscribers access to the E-911 emergency network.
SBC's public reason for not being all that eager to do so is that well, Vonage hasn't figured out all the tech stuff on their end and we, SBC, don't have time to help them with it. Or, as the giant ILEC recently told the FCC, "SBC can not agree to engage in numerous individual tests with each and every VoIP provider."
But why then, are Verizon and BellSouth cooperating with Vonage on a way to make 911 access work?
First of all,the "it would be a pain in the neck" issue doesn't hold water with me. Since most VoIP service providers use similar equipment, getting in the lab with Vonage could result in a template for E-911 solutions that could be deployed by many, if not most, of the 400 or so VoIP access companies in the U.S.
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