E911 For Enterprise VoIP

The move from switched circuit to packet switched telephony has created some unintended consequences. One of these is emergency calling to 911. We take the 911 system for granted. When disaster strikes, just punch in those three little numbers and help will be on the way. Well, that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

Now consider this. There’s a fire in the maintenance closet down the hall and it’s getting out of control. You pick up your handset and dial 911. You reach the emergency operator and report the fire, then run out of the building and across the street. An hour later, the facility has burned to the ground and no fire trucks have shown up. How could this happen?

The fire trucks did show up within 5 minutes of your call. Unfortunately, they went to your main office in Phoenix. You just called from the satellite office in Indianapolis. Oops! Something is not set up properly on your VoIP phone system.

Such a problem would never arise on an analog landline phone. Why? Because the phone wire is in the ground at it always goes the same place. That’s why they call it a landline. VoIP, however, is a network service. As long as a SIP phone can connect to the network, it can make a call. It makes no difference where that connection takes place. Networks that encompass multiple locations need special consideration when they are converged for voice and data. The same technology that makes it easy to move phones around also makes it easy to lose track of just where they are plugged-in. This is especially true if any of your phones connect via the Internet.

XO Communications, a leader in enterprise VoIP deployments, has an instructional video called “9 Ways to Ensure E911 VoIP Service for Enterprise VoIP Deployments.” Have a look now and see if there is something needing your attention...



Make no mistake about it. VoIP technologies, including Hosted PBX and Unified Communications, offer enormous benefits in cost reduction and employee productivity improvement. Like all new technology, the more cutting edge the solution, the trickier it is to get it right. You want to be working with a top-tier service provider who understands the legal requirements for issues such as E911 and has processes in-place to ensure that your system is set up accurately.

If you are considering an upgrade to your business phone system, get recommendations, options and pricing on competing telephony solutions. Be sure you understand how they ensure accurate E911 call routing.