Memo 6: Public Service Announcement - Emergency 9-1-1 Fund

This week we focus on funding strategies and suggestions for finding ways to fund the Emergency 9-1-1 service as we migrate from legacy technologies to more advanced telecommunication systems of the future.

Basically, the emergency telephone number, or equivalently the universal emergency telephone number is usually a three digit number, that allows callers to contact local emergency services such as the firestation, paramedics or the police in cases of extreme emergency. This service, in the United States has be assigned to the number 911 and has its roots as far back as 1957, but was only implemented as the 911 service in 1968, and was established through AT&T. 911 has since gone on and has helped saved thousands of lives human and/or otherwise and covers approximately 96% of the geographic area of the United States.

With the introduction of VoIP services on a large scale, the problem with being able to contact the Emergency 9-1-1 services is that, they may not be able to get your exact location, or number and thus the service may not be able to effectively deliver its benefits in a time of critical need. So we are left with the problem of how to mitigate these ill-effects of a primarily socially beneficial service in the form of VoIP?

As mentioned in the "FCC Mandate 05-116 states that all VoIP service providers must enable 9-1-1 calling and provide callback and location information."[1] This means a few different alternatives, and leads to the question of who must pay for the inclusion of these services as a supplementary service to the standard VoIP service that is being provided.

First I would like to elicit and expand on the basic options we have available, and then go ahead and select the one, that I feel is the best option. The first option is for the government of each region to take responsibility for its people and their safety. This primarily will ensure that the society is protected through government sourced funds that enable VoIP providers to add the call processing features that provided clear communications from VoIP users in the area to the Emergency 9-1-1 services.

One thought that may be possible is to raise these funds through federal tax options, where every individual is required to subscribe to these charges, this is hard truths, but if we are to work through this collectively then this is the way the cookie should crumble. We could lead this question onto querying exactly how efficiently our tax-dollar is being spent, anybody notice the temperature rising sharply since I said that? Or what about using Universal Service fund as a potential supplement for the charges?

Another option would be for the FCC to impose regulations on VoIP providers, with dated stipulations that imply that 9-1-1 service should be made possible to each and every user, with or without a surcharge for this service. In the case where as a VoIP user, I would be glad to face a surcharge that is distributed across all users, making it as minimal as possible, there should be no discrimination between users for these charges in the case that they are offered as part of the VoIP service, because we are all equally prone to times of emergency.

In my view, I feel that it is up to the consenses of the individual to adequately cater to their safety, agreed that not everybody has the same privilege or monetary option to opt for the service and that human life is accepted equal. But just as some people choose to drive cars in the fast, and more dangerous lane, then they should then be willing to invest in a car with airbags, besides, the savings through using VoIP services will more than cover the surcharge in the short term.

Reference:

1. NENA
2. Wikipedia
3. 911Voip.org