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Telstra Asks For Emergency VoIP Numbers |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Monday, 20 February 2006 |
Telstra has submitted a position paper to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) about the issue of location services for emergency calls via the VoIP network.
ComputerWorld, the major telco, which is responsible for the operation of the emergency calling services, as begun implementing a three-digit number for VoIP calls to emergency service operators
The move is designed to head off the sort of potentially fatal confusion caused overseas, particularly in the United States, where callers have died as a result of making emergency requests via a VoIP service.
The nature of the VoIP technology makes it extremely difficult to implement a system to track caller location, a service which is relatively easy over the wired PSTN network.
Callers dialing 000 must presently be asked for their location, whereas callers on a landline can automatically be tracked for location using the intelligence in the Telstra network.
To get around this issue, Telstra has asked all VoIP carriers and providers to attach a VoIP code (number 98) so despatchers automatically know the call is coming from a VoIP phone so they can ask additional questions.
Jane Elkington, emergency services answer point manager for Telstra, told ComputerWorld the company is trying to flag VoIP services so despatchers can verify the details rather than assuming the caller is correct.
"In the interim we have put a position paper to DCITA on the suggestions of using a separate number range for VoIP so our operators and the emergency services know the call is coming from a VoIP service,” she said.
"We do around 35,000 calls a day and all it takes is one to go astray, of which there have been a few examples with VoIP."
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