Caveats of VOIP

[calzephyr]

In a nutshell, the VOIP provider for a local family did not have their updated address, so when they called 911, an ambulance was dispatched to their old address in Ontario instead of their new one in Calgary. (Yeah, it's a link to the the Sun, but ah well)

Comments

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Yeesh. Yeah, I plan to have a traditional land line if I ever have kids. Right now I have cellphone only.

You'd think an IP address could've identified at least the city they lived in. I mean, when I visit say the weather.com homepage they know what region I'm in and target their ads to that, even when I've recently reset the cookies. VOIP should be able to do that too.

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not sure how much VOIP is capable of, but what you described sounds very doable.There seems to be a lot of confusion with the case, as it's being reported that the family says they did change the address. Have to wait and see.

[fairlyvanilla.livejournal.com]

That's why Shaw is so much better. Shaw digital phone comes with free ENHANCED 911 -- that means that as soon as you dial 911, your FULL name and address automatically and immediately pop up on the Calgary (or whichever city you live in) EMS center's screen. So, even if you can't speak or say anything at all, they automatically dispatch EMS to your exact location. It's a great feature to have.

Also, Shaw is a regular land line, not a VOIP system. (it goes through a separate cable line, not a telephone line, but it is not a voice over IP) I think sometimes people are confused about that fact. ;)

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that info. The VOIP providers really don't say what distingushes themselves from each other except that you'll be saving more than the company. And you're right, I didn't realize that Shaw was a seperate cable - I thought it was just VOIP too. They really need to emphasize that!

[fairlyvanilla.livejournal.com]

Btw, I wasn't trying to imply that *you* were confused at all -- just a general comment about the general population. ;)

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

No worries :-D