What would you do if you tried to call 911?

One thing that has to be kept in mind when searching for VOIP based services. I'd probably throw the land line at the wall and grab my cell phone from pocket while screaming obscenities ;)
 
Well, definitely something to keep in mind for the time when VOIP will start to get popular where I live. A very interesting thread Mark.

Would I sue them? I doubt it. I don't have the necessary upbringing to think about suing. I would report them to the authorities... most likely.
 
Vonage spokeswoman Brooke Schulz said customers are informed of the separate activation on two pages on the Internet registration form. She also said that e-mail notifications are sent to customers who fail to activate the emergency service.
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This pretty much speaks for itself.
People sign up for things without reading the contract, they get notifications which they ignore and then when things go wrong they blame the company and the lawyers get involved.
 
I didn't know that it was allowed by law to limit 911 access regardless of if you are informed or not. I guess you learn something new every day :)
 
I'm pretty sure all phones are required to have access to 911 - but I'm not for certain on this.
 
Around here something similar happened. I recently read in the paper that an old guy in my city was have cardiac arrest, and his wife called 911. The call got forwarded to the wrong county 911 center, and they sent EMTs to the same street in another county. Half an hour later, the guy finally got to the hospital. That's why I prefer everything normal--None of this VOIP stuff. It's not reliable if you ask me. Hell, I won't even use a wireless network in my house.
 
I've been doing a lot of reading about VoIP during the past year and looking at Vonage in detail, it clearly states on their web site (not even hidden contracts) that calls to 911 is an additional cost to clients' services. Moreover, Vonage always stresses the importance of having such access.

However, I see the problem in people not being familiar with VoIP and how it works. I've read a huge research done for AT&T a couple of months ago. The majority of folks still don't have a clue what VoIP is or what it stands for - many heard it for the first time. Also, even those who are familiar with the service, are forgetting that there is Internet backbone behind VoIP. Just like cellular connectivity, 911 calls have to be paid for (federal law on mobile/internet communication carriers, thus its quite amusing to see state sue the company). Its pure economics - government establishes tax on companies, which is moved to consumers.

Its right on their web site and sales reps always stress it on the phone as well - 911 calls are an extra and it is highly recommended to have. I'm sincere about the situation, I hate seeing people hurt, but why ignore something of such importance just to save a couple of bucks?

Best,
 
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