VoIP and the 911 Fiasco

It may sound like heresy, coming from a devoted VoIP user, supporter and blogger, but the recent legal action in Texas against Vonage regarding their policies on 911 are cause to step back and think. Now, don't get me wrong - from the standpoint of just being sure that all the steps are taken to assure 911 service is turned on, I find Vonage not only easy to work with but in some cases they seem to be absolutely pleading with the new user to be sure their service is set up properly for 911 calling.

But one must question the true value of VoIP implementation if the service really has technical glitches and fails to live up to it's specs. I cannot attest to this, of course, having never even attempted to make a 911 call, but I can state unequivocably that it was simple to set it up on my Vonage service. (Same goes for Lingo, as well.) But does it work? Some say yes, some say no.

This underlines a basic point we have always recommended for VoIP service: use it as a 2nd line! That's right, folks - keep one standard POTS line at your location at all times straight from the good ole local Telco, strip it down to the bare minimum if you have to, and use it for a backup and emergency calling. We have a basic line in one of our locations which we use for incoming faxes and outgoing calls from TiVo, DirecTV boxes and the security system. (Some of these have trouble with VoIP lines anyway.) It ends up costing about $15/month but provides that Ma Bell security, while we gloat on the savings we have using the unlimited calling and extra features with our Vonage line.

Someday VoIP services will be as reliable as the local telco, but that day is not quite yet. This lawsuit should serve to remind us that this still is a relatively new technology, and as with any such technology, use it with knowledge of it's risks.