How about an anycast address implement(ed|able) by every network provider that would return a zipcode?
$ telnet 10.255.255.254 Connected 33709 Disconnected. $
are you -REALLY- arguing for the return of "finger" ??
--bill
Not finger, but something like this could work. The server would return the physical address of the customer of record assigned that IP address. Kind of a uni-directional rwhois. The VoIP phone could connect to the anycast address and the ISP would lookup the allocation for the connecting IP and return a text string with the physical service location. The VoIP provider would be handed this location as part of the SIP registration (or other proprietary protocol used). In the event of a 911 call, the phone may check the location again to make sure the address of record/IP address hasn't changed before the registration expires. This would work fine for all customers except those who are mobile and served by a wireless base station which serves a large geographic region. If the provider was using some type of authentication before handing out IP addresses (I think most probably are) they could at least hand out the serving wireless AP location - some of the newer adjustable directional APs could even be modified to give an approximate relative location. I doubt that VoIP will be exempt from 911 regulations forever as much as I would like to see that. In lieu of the regulatory state going away, it makes sense to come up with a workable technology solution which is easy for IP providers and VoIP carriers to implement. VoIP providers could recommend IP transit players who support IP911 location services. Once it becomes a competitive advantage, the smart players will quickly adapt their systems to support IP911. I think we could do this within a couple of days with a few hours of coding. It isn't terribly difficult to setup. Those providers who don't use a centralized database for provisioning and IP allocation would definitely have a harder time, but it could still be done with some effort. The extra message elements of the SIP registration message could be used immediately once a standard is decided upon much as the TXT DNS records have been used for SPF records to fight email forgery. -Robert Tellurian Networks - The Ultimate Internet Connection http://www.tellurian.com | 888-TELLURIAN | 973-300-9211 "Well done is better than well said." - Benjamin Franklin