Moving towards the Next-Generation 9-1-1 System

Below, we consider (Section 2) why simply making the existing 9-1-1 system in the United States work for VoIP is not satisfactory and only suitable as a stop-gap measure for those consumers who have migrated over to VoIP services as a replacement for their former POTS service and have every right to expect that substitute service to provide a comparable emergency response capability. We also contrast the opportunities that a modern, IP-based emergency calling infrastructure offers. A core argument of this comment is (Section 4) that responsibility for VoIP 9-1-1 service has to be a shared one if we posit a modern multi-provider Internet that provides competition between infrastructure and service providers. We also briefly describe (Section 5) the major standardization activities that are providing core components for a next-generation 9-1-1 service that carries emergency calls using Internet protocols from caller to PSAP.