Thus spake <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > VoIP is great. VoPI (Voice over Public Internet) is great when > > it works, but I wouldn't bet my life or my business on it. > > Who says that you have to disconnect your home phone > just because you use VoIP? In fact, one of the advantages > of DSL over cable, is that the phone line is still there. > Buy a bright red "hot-line" phone, put a sticker on it > that says "For Emergencies Only!" and another one with > "911". Place it in the front hall so that any visitors > to your home see it when they enter. Disconnect the > ringer on the hot-line phone so that you aren't > disturbed by wrong numbers and telemarketers. > > Then use VoIP for all your regular calls.
So you're saying everyone should continue paying $30/mo for a POTS line just for 911 calls? A typical Vonage customer buys the service to replace, not supplement, their POTS line. Frankly, I'm fine with 911 not working on VoIP lines; I have a cell phone for that when needed. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I've ever actually dialed 911 from a land line. I understand the woes of mixing 911 and VoIP myself, although I'm not a Vonage user. The VoIP phone on my desk connects 911 calls to the Vancouver, BC, PSAP (since it's off a PBX at work), but I also know the direct-dial number for the local Dallas, TX, PSAP -- the emergency line, not the "administrative" line that Vonage uses -- and if I bothered, I could easily set the PBX to reroute 911 there instead. Location information is tougher, but I have to tell the operator my location on a cell phone too, so it's not a deal-killer. S Stephen Sprunk "Those people who think they know everything CCIE #3723 are a great annoyance to those of us who do." K5SSS --Isaac Asimov
