Vonage fails to comply with FCC order

With more and more people subscribing to VoIP services, the government is keen on providing some level of control over the services it provides. One of these recent measures has come from the Federal Communications Commission, which has ordered all companies that sell internet-based phone service to comply within 120 days with its order to require enhanced 911 or E911 in all their service areas.

Well, it looks like the US’ largest VoIP service provider, Vonage Holdings Corp., has failed to meet the deadline to provide a reliable 911 service to its subscribers. This is potentially detrimental to the company’s growth because Vonage could possibly be barred from signing up new customers in many markets because of this non-compliance.
According to its compliance report, Vonage said that it was only able to give 26 per cent of its customer base full E911 services. The company has more than one million subscribers. IT said that it can transmit a call back number and location for 100 per cent of its subscribers. But the company also mentioned that it was waiting for cooperation from competitors that control the 911 network.
The FCC’s decision for E911 service compliance was raised because of public safety concerns. The FCC wanted to ensure that VoIP subscribers can reach an emergency dispatcher when they dial 911 and must be able to tell where callers are located as well as the numbers from which they are calling.
The FCC has a point here. Being able to dial an emergency number should be provided by these companies as a salient feature. It would be a comfort for a subscriber if they know they can call 911 if ever they are in an emergency, especially if they have children in the house.