MCI Declares VoIP Emergency

MCI Inc. said Tuesday that its “MCI Advantage” is one of the industry's first voice-over-Internet-protocol solutions to support 911 capabilities at fixed locations.

The company added that it is teaming up with the National Emergency Number Association and regional emergency-communication organizations to develop and implement long-term solutions for 911 services to support mobile users.

MCI said that while most VoIP services offer a "911-like" solution, it has provided "true 911," or E911 capabilities, by using the existing 911 network to route calls to the appropriate public-safety answering point since 2001.

“If the public is able to make a telephone call from a broadband VoIP telephone service, they should be able to reach 911 services in an emergency,” NENA technical-issues director Roger Hixson said in a prepared statement.

“MCI's deployment of its VoIP service is proof that true 911 services, including location identification, can be provided today for customers at fixed locations,” he added.