E-911 is short for Enhanced 911. In general, E-911 allows your telephone number and service address to be displayed to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). Today, E-911 includes the ability to call 911 via a landline, via your cell phone and using a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) connection. Note that in those last two cases, your physical location may not be tied to your phone number. This fact raises many issues for the emergency response system. How do we locate the individual if their phone number does not tie directly to that information?
Multi-Line Telephone Systems
But there is another issue affecting business telephone systems. These business telephone systems are referred to as multi-line telephone systems (MLTS). Many multi-line telephone systems do not offer effective 911 service. Most MLTS systems allow 911 to be dialed and routed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). However, the vast majority of these systems do not provide granular location information with the call to enable emergency responders to know the actual location of the emergency. Typically, these systems will provide addressing information that will get responders to the street address. But what if you have multiple buildings on the property? What if you have multiple floors? If the caller is unable to provide his or her location and no one else is available to provide assistance, such a lack of location information can prove fatal. Most employees assume that if they dial 911, the emergency dispatcher knows their location, just like dialing 911 from their home telephone. Unfortunately, this is a false assumption.
Let’s Get Technical
Having a multi-line telephone systems itself presents technical challenges for identifying the specific location of a caller. Couple this with the fact that many multi-line telephone systems will themselves be VoIP systems, and add to this the idea that some of the handsets may be wireless devices (or even smartphones) and the problem becomes overwhelming. Unfortunately, the majority of current 911 systems are voice-only networks based on an original wireline, analog, circuit-switched infrastructure. These systems are not going to be able to provide the level of functionality needed to provide location services with today’s devices. A major upgrade (at taxpayer expense) is going to be required for these centers to keep pace.
State of the Art
Currently, nineteen states have enacted some form of statute or regulation requiring Enhanced 911 service for multi-line telephone systems. States with legislation on the books are : Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. A few others have legislation pending.
This legislation typically requires enterprises over a certain size (like 7,000 square feet), occupying multiple floors of a building or those purchasing a new PBX to implement E911. NENA, the National Emergency Number Association, has proposed model legislation specifically for the MLTS issue.
New Mexico does not currently have E911 legislation in place for multi-line telephone system operators.
What to Do?
What can you do if you are a business owner using a multi-line telephone systems:?
- Familiarize yourself with E-911 MLTS legislation in your state. Often, state legislation may include grace periods or grandfathering of existing systems.
- Talk to your telephone system vendor to find out if your system is compliant with your state’s requirements.
- If not, ask your telephone system vendor about your alternatives to become compliant. There may be adjunct products or services to help bring you into compliance.
- Even if you are not required by law, you may want to have your attendant or other designated people informed when a 911 call happens. Some business telephone systems provide this functionality. Ask your vendor.
Coming to Terms
Here is a list of common E-911 terminology to help you navigate the literature:
Is your phone system E-911 compliant? What does your organization do to deal with internal 911 calls? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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