Level 3 exec: VoIP presents opportunity to improve 911 service

As many industry observers focus on efforts to make voice-over-IP 911 offerings equivalent to emergency-calling services on the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a Level 3 executive said the nascent voice-calling technology’s capabilities should be used to enhance the effectiveness of the 911 program.

"It’s not just about making VoIP do what the PSTN can do; we need to focus on things the PSTN can’t do," said Ron Vidal, Level 3’s group vice president of emerging technologies.

Specifically, 911 over VoIP would allow first responders to immediately access relevant information--medical history on an individual, or virtual blueprints of a building--en route to the scene of an incident, Vidal said. In addition, he said phones can be equipped with cameras to scan the immediate area, which is of particular importance if the caller cannot speak for some reason or is a young child with limited ability to communicate.

While some of these technologies might be considered cost prohibitive today, the prices are dropping rapidly and likely would decrease even more if they became commonplace due to market pressures or regulations. Meanwhile, the value of the information to first responders cannot be overstated, Vidal said. "As a former volunteer fireman, I can tell you that it’s a lot easier to deal with something when you know what it is before you get there," he said. "What VoIP can do is help first responders better match their resources to the situation and give them more time to prepare."

Vidal summarily dismissed any remaining arguments that VoIP providers should be exempt from 911 requirements, because consumers will expect the service when using a phone--even if there were some notification that the device is not 911 capable. Vidal also expressed confidence that all technical challenges regarding 911 can be resolved.

Currently, public-safety organizations are struggling to secure funding to make E-911 upgrades to public-safety answering points serving the legacy PSTN, so the notion of an improved, VoIP-based 911 system is not a focus of attention. But Vidal said it is important that legislators, regulators and the public-safety community try to make a VoIP 911 system something more than a duplication of the existing program. "The debate today is saying that VoIP has to do what the PSTN does," Vidal said. "If that’s where the debate stops, we’re missing a golden opportunity to really improve the 911 system."