Roy <garlic@garlic.com> writes:

...

This issue went national in March 2005 with the addition of a new N11 number for "One Call" notification. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-257293A1.pdf

The new abbreviated number will be 811 and it looks like carriers are required to implement by April 2007--since it's been in the Federal Register for about a month now. http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a050413c.html

But is it applicable to VOIP carriers?

Call-Before-You-Dig is not applicable to users of dig(1). Not being facilities-based, I don't believe VoIP carriers will be required to be participating utilities in One Call. Seriously, though, I can't imagine why VoIP providers would resist being involved in three-digit "One Call" programs any more than they resist implementing 611 or 411 calling. Sending to the CBUD service that serves the billling address of the VoIP phone should be close enough for government work and the liability issues involving misdirected e911 access and the need for super accurate physical location information (both existing because human lives are acutely at risk) simply aren't there in this application. Stated another way, if it were acceptable to shuffle an e911 caller around to four different agencies before they found the right one, require them to give the address where they were physically located manually, and then it was OK to take up to 48 hours to arrive, nobody would be resisting implementing e911 either. :) ---Rob