Officials Warns Against Use of VoIP for Emergency Calls

Even though his parents made an emergency call to rescue the life of their dying baby, it could not save the life of eighteen-month old Elijah who died before the emergency  officials could make it to their home.

His parents had earlier called 911 using a VoIP phone and this has prompted the officials to immediately dispatched their ambulance to the caller's residence but unfortunately the officials  went to the caller's former address and before anything could be done poor Luck Elijah passed on.

This occurrence was attributed to the use of VoIP phone by the parents of the boy. According to Terry Owen, the director of technology services with the City of Edmonton's community services branch "Cell phones work better than "nomadic" connections -- like those used by VoIP phone providers Comwave and Vonage -- because emergency responders get a phone number and a location of the nearest cell phone tower, but are still more limited than landlines"

While commenting on the reasons emergency callers should avoid the use of VoIP to route any urgent call,

Devon Card, branch manager of operational services for the City of Edmonton, said enhanced 911 -- available through fixed VoIP systems, like those offered by Shaw -- puts you through to an emergency communication centre in the same city as the call, and automatically provides the address and telephone number if the call is disconnected or the caller cannot speak. In his words he said "You don't want to find out about those limitations during an emergency. Consumers need to be asking questions so they have a full understanding of their service."

However, Paul Godin, a spokesperson for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, said the CRTC is working on enhancing the service. The CRTC ruled in 2005 that phone providers must inform customers of limitations yearly.

On the other hand, the VoIP companies have vowed to enlighten users more on how they can effectively make use of the service for such purpose. Comwave representative Allison George said that following the incident in Calgary, the company will now inform customers of limitations with 911 twice a year by e-mail, instead of just annually.

Also, George said Comwave customers do not have the option of enhanced 911, and customers are asked to confirm location when on the phone with emergency services personnel. George said Comwave phones will not turn on until customers acknowledge limitations with 911.