Configuring E911 for My Account (Legacy E911)

Configuring E911 for My Account (Legacy E911)

Overview

Enhanced 911 (also known as E 911) is a safety feature that protects Internet-based phone users by providing location data that otherwise would be lacking from an emergency call. 

Location in a Changing World

The strength of a softphone is that it can be run in many different places and situations, but this also means it's difficult for emergency services to locate callers on the other end of the line. The E 911 feature allows you to define detailed location information on hardware devices so that responders can rapidly get help to people who are in need.

The E911 feature is not only smart to implement, but may be a legal requirement as well. In the United States, there are two major precedents that reflect today's world: Kari's Law and Ray Baum's Act. 

Kari's Law requires direct dialing to 911 from an MLTS (a system which utilizes multiple telephone lines such as at a hotel or an office building). Callers seeking emergency services should never need to "dial out" of a phone system first, or use a prefix before dialing 911. Furthermore, the MLTS vendor or manufacturer must also provide an alert to a centralized area (such as a front desk) when one of their phones dialed 911. This ensures that the caller will receive immediate attention from both 911 responders, and the appropriate personnel at their location (such as if the incident happened in a workplace). 

RAY BAUM'S Act requires that a 911 caller's validated location (such as street address) is dispatched to the 911 operator upon receiving the call. This is regardless of the technology used to dial 911. Any type of device, on any type of network, should dispatch location information when dialing 911. 

Understanding Static E911

Dialing emergency services is extremely effective when the emergency responders can immediately identify the caller's location. If the caller is incapacitated, cannot speak, or simply is too panicked to accurately describe where they are, then in all of these cases, the caller will heavily rely on the accuracy of location services. 


Static E911
This is considered the legacy, or failover, E911 configuration. Each caller is given a Caller ID number. This number is then registered to a static location, and this location is securely stored in emergency service databases. The caller dials 911 and the emergency operators are able to then pull the caller ID's stored location. Notifications that a 911 call has been made can be sent to the local organization via an automated phone call, an email, or via a SIP message that appears on the screens of supported phones. 

Configuration

Domain Level

When a new account is created, the first thing to setup is your E911 number.  By default, we attempt to certify the address given during creation.  If we are successful, you'll only need to confirm E911 is setup properly.  

The first step is logging into your Office Admin portal at https://power.usipcom.com or https://login.phonebooth.com depending on your service.  Head to  "Inventory" > "Emergency Numbers"



Any numbers listed here that show "Not Provisioned" under Status will not properly send E911 information and will need to be corrected.  To edit this E911 number, click the "pencil" icon to the right.  You will receive a modal similar to the below


You'll need to add a valid address for E911 services.  You will need to repeat this process for every number that shows "Not Provisioned".  Every business location or remote worker will need a corresponding number and address for compliancy.  Any calls to E911 made from a number that is set to "Not Provisioned" will incur a E911 fee of $150 per.

Upon Validation you will see the following once it's confirmed


You should see 
next to the number now.  If so, we can proceed to making sure the users have the correct E911 number assigned to them.  Head to the "Users" tab, then choose "Columns" to display Caller ID and Emergency Caller ID.  This will show which users have the correct E911 assigned to them.


Any user that does not have the proper E911 number can easily be modified by clicking on the User Name highlighted to the left.  This will bring you to the Users Profile page


Scroll down to the Caller ID section of the Profile


From here you can choose the correct provisioned E911 number.  Once completed hit Save at the bottom of the section


Repeat this process for each user needing to have their E911 updated.  Once all of your users have a corresponding E911 address associated with their profile, you can move to testing.

Testing

In order to test that E911 is working correctly, we've setup a test number to confirm what the E911 centers will see during a call.  From any phone, softphone or web phone on the system, dial 933.  You should hear a recording indicating the address and number from which you have listed and provisioned.  Once this is completed, you're good to go!

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