US Vonage users get VoIP emergency lifeline

Vonage America, the US subsidiary of VoIP player Vonage Holdings, said today that over 93 per cent of its US subscriber lines are now equipped with the Enhanced 911 (E911) emergency calling service.

The E911 functionality incorporates a feature that automatically associates a physical address with the calling party's telephone number.

Vonage's nomadic E911 implementation allows customers to reach a Public Safety Answering Point, or 911 centre, through the dedicated 911 network infrastructure.

A customer's call is automatically routed to the appropriate 911 centre, with the caller's registered street address and telephone number appearing on the dispatcher screen regardless of where or what exchange they are calling from.

Over the past two months, Vonage has equipped over 170 locally run emergency call centres across the US with E911, bringing the total number of calling centres with emergency 911 service to over 6,400.

"Today over 93 per cent of our US subscriber lines have full E911 capability, which is a tremendous step for Vonage," said Vonage chief executive Mike Snyder.

"Our goal is to get every Vonage customer help when they need it and we will not stop working with the Federal Communications Commission, regulators and Congress until there is equal access to E911 for Vonage's customers."