 
garagerock
Premium
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY | I just used it last month... And it worked fine. What's all the fuss about?
But yes, I read the instructions and activated 911 right after the service was activated. Funny how reading helps so much. | |
|  | 
Pz_
join:2001-03-31
Brownsburg, IN
clubs: | Re: I just used it last month... Sorry to hear your had to use it. (hope everyone is okay)
Nice to see someone proving that it works though. | |
| | | AquaBlaze
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA
| Re: I just used it last month... said by Pz_  :said by garagerock :But yes, I read the instructions and activated 911 right after the service was activated. Funny how reading helps so much. Sorry to hear your had to use it. (hope everyone is okay) Didn't know reading was that risky of a magical feat. o_O | |
| | | | 
EdibleTarget
Real Gamers Dont Use Consoles
join:2004-12-02
Lowell, MA | Re: I just used it last month... well normally when you call 911, something is wrong... | |
| | | | | AquaBlaze
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA | Re: I just used it last month... Oh...I thought you were hoping nobody got hurt by his RTFM...lol.  | |
| | |
garagerock
Premium
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY | thanks. it was a minor emergency and no one was hurt...the fire dept. came within 4 minutes of my call.
not sure about Phoenix, but in Louisville it works fine. | |
| | | | | 
renguy
@dslextreme.com
| Re: I just used it last month... ::begin sarcasm:: Tsk tsk. You expected people to take responsibility for their actions and ::gasp:: read the instructions? What planet are you from? Here we don't take any personal responsibility, we expect the government to take care of everything, for free, and it is always somebody elses fault when something goes wrong.
"I'm sorry Mr. Government, I built my house on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and it slid into the ocean when part of the cliff erroded, I'm poor and need your help to rebuild my house so it can get washed away again next year. I have insurance but I don't want to use it because my rates will go up and don't tell me not build my house on the edge of a cliff, this is a free country!"
::end sarcasm:: | |
| | 
fartness
Computersoc Dot Com
Premium
join:2003-03-25
Look Outside
clubs: | I just saw on the Today show that it was busy when a person called it in Phoenix. | |
| |
radiodead
@res.rr
| What I'm pissed about is that I can't receive local calls on my Vonage line
I've had the service for six monts and it's been a total runaround - they say that everything is ok and it must be BellSouth - I call BellSouth and they have no incentive to open a case (actually the say they "can't" since I'm not a customer) - so I have a BellSouth customer friend of mine open a call and they too say everything is ok and it must be Vonage - etc
This was all after I was sick of dealing with customer service - an hour on hold every time - they led me on for months that my number transfer (which should take 20 days) was still "processing" - I finally called BellSouth and they said it was not going to happen because I had cancelled my account with them - duh! - I was so fed up with customer service that I finally emailed anybody I could find at Vonage - CEO, VPs... - and they escalated my case...
Sorry to go on so - but don't expect much from those guys - and the "standard" VOIP equipment they make you buy is degraded so it only works with Vonage ( »sipphone.com/legal/ ) - and yes my shit's still broken - local incoming calls don't work - Vonage finally contacted BellSouth on my behalf - opening case Paetec 426-127 - and nothing but finger pointing from both BellSouth and Vonage resulted
| |
| hescominsoon
join:2003-02-18
Brunswick, MD
edit:
May 3rd, @04:09PM
| LOL the bureaucrats have to justify their existence somehow. | |
| | GujuGuy67
join:2003-07-28
Garland, TX | Re: LOL bureaucrats* | |
| 
Wills
join:2001-01-03
Port Charlotte, FL
| What? "States bitter they can't tax to death, sue over 911"
So where does the above quote come into play?
I got an idea, instead of jumping to conclusions, how about we either put quotes relevent to the actual story in there, or leave personal political jabs out?
--
I have a shaved head, a goatee, and tatoos. Don't you realize the rules don't apply to me. | |
| | 
TK Junk Mail
Go ahead, make my day
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Margate City, NJ
clubs:
 ·Comcast
| Re: What? said by Wills :"States bitter they can't tax to death, sue over 911" So where does the above quote come into play? I got an idea, instead of jumping to conclusions, how about we either put quotes relevent to the actual story in there, or leave personal political jabs out? Yes, I see no evidence in any of the stories that the states are suing Vonage because they can't tax them. The headline of the story is misleading unless the author has info not privy to the press.
--
My Web Page
My Blog
Join Red Room Forum | |
| | | chesney09
Premium
join:2004-07-26
Redford, MI
clubs: | Re: What? Come on.. Get real and look bit between the lines...
It certainly doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the staes are looking for more money. | |
| | 
Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02
edit:
May 3rd, @04:04PM
| It was sarcasm, a joke, a ha-ha, a jab. | |
| | | AquaBlaze
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA | Re: What? No humor for you!
What made you think I want to get a smile from my drab existance I call life? | |
| |
DenverCO
@comcast.net
| Out of the various, tacked on fees, on my POTS line I was paying $.52 a month for 911 sevice. The total amount of these add ons was $10.73. I'm not sure how every state does this, but in most cases these monies go into the general fund and are then distributed out. This means that not all 911 monies get spent on 911 service etc. This could account for the poor 911 service experienced by many people. So, yes, as many people drop their POTS service, states and municipalities are going to fight to keep their cash cow. | |
| | | hottboiinnc
Kyle
join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH
·buckeye cable
| Re: Looks like a new hobby they're suing Vonage cause they're the ones using commericals and marketing themselves as a "phone company" everyone else isn't using commericals. and when you see a commericals that looks good people will call and if they like the product sign up. Well you don't know about the others if you don't see anything about them unless someone else tells you about them. | |
| | | | 
pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
| We Need Tort Reform All of these frivolous lawsuits by the states against Vonage show very clearly why we need tort reform at the Federal level. State governments don't seem to understand that taxpayer money is far too precious to waste on silly lawsuits filed on behalf of idiots who are too lazy to read warning messages.
--
Hey Fast Eddie... you're next! | |
| | BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Everett, MA
clubs:
·Comcast
·Comcast Formerly ..
| Re: We Need Tort Reform Problem is that is why this country is getting to be a really pathetic example of democracy.
We have to put huge labels on everything because of absolute idiots. I mean geez that warning wasn't big enough.
This country rewards idiocy with huge pay days via the legal system, and they are the same people who bash big business, they then want to stick it to the "man" by doing damage to their financial being. Problem is it costs them too.
--
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt......and then it's absolutely friggin' hysterical!" | |
| | |
pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
| Re: We Need Tort Reform said by BosstonesOwn :This country rewards idiocy with huge pay days via the legal system, and they are the same people who bash big business, they then want to stick it to the "man" by doing damage to their financial being. Problem is it costs them too. What's needed is a "loser pays" system which would allow for companies to go after those people who bring frivolous lawsuits. In the interim, the only thing Vonage can do is to fight each of these suits to the bitter end and not settle.
--
Hey Fast Eddie... you're next! | |
| | shashinka
join:2000-09-16
West Boylston, MA | This sucks, poor Vonage. If the consumers were so upset and confused wouldn't there be a class action lawsuit? I don't think this is representing the consumer in the end. I knew what was going on when I signed up and had no problem about it. | |
| |
timlepes
| I think that the "Tort Reform" issue is a myth being pushed by big business interests.
The popular myth is that all these frivolous lawsuits are a huge problem. But in truth very few frivolous suits ever get anywhere. Judges and Juries are not that stupid, really. Of course there will always be some stupid crap somewhere to raise hoopla over and basically hype the situation. But even the infamous McDonalds Coffee Spill case, as I understand it, rarely mentions that the woman received serious burns well beyond your typical hot coffee burns. Hell, even if that was a frivolous case, it and others are being USED to manipulate people's perceptions here.
Big companies, when they hurt people or do bad, bad things, can write off small lawsuits as a part of doing business. ONLY LARGE SETTLEMENT and CLASS-ACTION suits have ANY real negative-pressure to make big giant (evil?) corporations behave themselves and stop hurting people or doing harm. The whole PURPOSE of the large settlements is to provide a check-and-balance from the public's interests against huge mega-zillion dollar corporations.
The scam here is to put a "cap" on the settlements, so that there are never any huge penalties ever again. That makes the lawsuits "manageable" and something that can be fiscally figured into a reasonable "risk". This is kind of like the "collateral damage" that military folks don't mind. So what if the village is razed so long as we got the one VC guy, right? Of course this is not warfare but in another sense it is a battle. Companies doing BAD THINGS can keep on doing BAD THINGS so long as it's an AFFORDABLE "risk" in the courts.
I have worked in a number of big companies and know that there is a culture of sweeping problems under the carpet and knowingly coninuing bad practices withouth any genuine regard for people's safety.
For example, I worked at Express Scripts, who run a huge mail-order perscription business along side thier other healthcare related stuff. They way they did their production line, the folks stuffing the pill bottles in the envelopes and boxes were under pressure to meet quotas. But they have to check the meds are the right ones for the right person, and put in all the right paperwork too, right? Well, to meet quotas and pressure from above, many of the workers would "double up" on orders. While they were wating for the paperwork to print on one order, they'd start scanning the bottles on the next order to save time. They weren't supposed to, because it is easy to mix up the pills between orders if they're both on the work-table at the same time. Orders arrive at workstations in separate plastic bins. But they get taken out and scanned on the table. When in a hurry, it is easy to make a mistake if you double up.
On the one hand, the managers were worried and wanted to have a way to prevent the workers from doubling up. The programmers had an answer... they could make the computer refuse to scan the next orders until the last page of the printouts was done. They'd put a scan code on the last page that would "close" the order, so they knew the last step was done (and packages immediately sealed and sent on). But they found that it could POSSIBLY take an extra 2-seconds for this safeguard. So they IGNORED the proposal and went on saying how bad it was to double-up while still pressuring the work crews. Of course some old lady then got the wrong meds, took them, and got sick. Luckily she didn't die. But it raised a big stink, especially with the Missouri Board of Pharmacy. Now what happened was they blamed the workers, canned their supervisor, and went on like they remedied the situation that way. When I know that it was a higher-up manager that knew about the solution A YEAR AHEAD OF TIME but made the decision not to implement it. She speakum with forked tounge. And of course the company saw it easier to fire poor Bob (the nice manager under Cynthia) than place the blame where it lie (Cynthia) because she was more "important", or really DO ANTYHING FOR REAL to fix the problems, at least to my knowledge.
DO NOT BE FOOLED!!! TORT LAWS ARE HERE TO PROTECT US!!!
PS - I am not a lawer or a person who has ever sued anyone ever. So I'm not just trying to rally "my side" or something. I really worry about the doubletalk and mis-conception. Really... who the fuck ever heard of "Tort" before all of this? Something that obscure needs to be checked into before forming rash and "popular" opinions.
So check it out and decide for yourself what the real deal is. Be a free thinker, not a member of the herd-mentality. Make up your own mind, but be open minded - for your own sake.
Peace through Understanding
Tim LePes | |
| 
DaveNJ
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey | make it complusary Vonage should make 911 compulsary, this way no one can complain, besides, isnt it better just to dial direct to the police, with the number (from a sticker) on your phone ? | |
| | 
qdemn7
Smurf in My Loop
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Fort Worth, TX
| Re: make it complusary said by DaveNJ :isnt it better just to dial direct to the police, with the number (from a sticker) on your phone ? Direct Dial the Police????? You're kidding right??? You must live in a small town.
Hell most people would probably have a deer-in-headlights-look, if you told them that. Don't you know POLICE is spelled NINE ONE ONE?? 
--
Don't get me wrong, I love America, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. But America often reminds of "Wackyland" in that old Porky Pig cartoon when he was looking for the Dodo. Wackyland's motto was "It can happen here." | |
| | | 
DrewCapu
Giant Diehard
join:2001-12-19
California
clubs:
| Re: make it complusary I know you're being sarcastic, but it's a good idea to at least have quick access to the actual local emergency phone numbers. This is especially true for people who only own cell phones. For them, 911 often goes to CHP and then it takes a lot longer to get them to local police which could've been avoided had they took the 2 minutes it takes to find the local #'s from the front of the phone book and put them in their address book.
There was actually a time when 911 didn't exist. It's not very difficult to take the time to be prepared for an emergency. Oh no! The microwave is broken! How am I going to cook my food??? | |
| | | | mjcrocket
Mjc
join:2000-12-02
Abingdon, MD
| Re: make it complusary said by DrewCapu :I know you're being sarcastic, but it's a good idea to at least have quick access to the actual local emergency phone numbers. This is especially true for people who only own cell phones. For them, 911 often goes to CHP and then it takes a lot longer to get them to local police which could've been avoided had they took the 2 minutes it takes to find the local #'s from the front of the phone book and put them in their address book. That is the problem, in many locations there is no such thing as "the actual local emergency phone numbers". You will not find any "local" emergency numbers in many phone books today! All you will find is 911!
In many locations emergency dispatching of Police, Fire, and Emergency Medial Services is handled by a centralized multijurisdictional command center. Even if you can find a "local" number, there is no assurance that it goes to that centralized command center. Further, there is no assurance that the number will be answered outside of normal 8 to 5 business hours Monday through Friday on non-holidays! That is what these cases are all about, Vonage claims to offer 911 service, but the calls do not go to the 911 centers or the emergency operators in those centers.
Yes, there is movement for Vonage to gain access to the 911 system under certain conditions. Remember, that the 911 system is separate from the normal phone system. When you dial 911, your local central office routes the call to dedicated 911 trunks from that central office which are connected to a dedicated 911 tandem switching center which then connects you over more dedicated lines to the emergency center that is assigned the responsibility for the area you are located in (in times of high activity, it might even be a designated backup center in another part of the state). All of this is invisible to the caller including if the call is being handled by the backup location. What is starting to happen is that Vonage is being given the opportunity to lease these trunk lines to connect their system to the 911 system, provided they can automatically supply the required caller information for each 911 call.
Unfortunately, there are at least 51 different 911 systems in the US (one for each state and the District of Columbia), none of which are interconnected! That means that they would have to lease several hundred trunk lines to make their system fully 911 interconnected. Further, before Verizon or any other telephone company can allow Vonage or any other VoIP provider to lease these trunks; Vonage and their competition have to obtain the approval of each of the local 911 centers that will be receiving these calls. | |
| | | | | 
John Galt
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Oceanside, OR
| Re: make it complusary said by mjcrocket :said by DrewCapu :I know you're being sarcastic, but it's a good idea to at least have quick access to the actual local emergency phone numbers. This is especially true for people who only own cell phones. For them, 911 often goes to CHP and then it takes a lot longer to get them to local police which could've been avoided had they took the 2 minutes it takes to find the local #'s from the front of the phone book and put them in their address book. That is the problem, in many locations there is no such thing as "the actual local emergency phone numbers". You will not find any "local" emergency numbers in many phone books today! All you will find is 911! In many locations emergency dispatching of Police, Fire, and Emergency Medial Services is handled by a centralized multijurisdictional command center. Even if you can find a "local" number, there is no assurance that it goes to that centralized command center. Further, there is no assurance that the number will be answered outside of normal 8 to 5 business hours Monday through Friday on non-holidays! That is what these cases are all about, Vonage claims to offer 911 service, but the calls do not go to the 911 centers or the emergency operators in those centers. Yes, there is movement for Vonage to gain access to the 911 system under certain conditions. Remember, that the 911 system is separate from the normal phone system. When you dial 911, your local central office routes the call to dedicated 911 trunks from that central office which are connected to a dedicated 911 tandem switching center which then connects you over more dedicated lines to the emergency center that is assigned the responsibility for the area you are located in (in times of high activity, it might even be a designated backup center in another part of the state). All of this is invisible to the caller including if the call is being handled by the backup location. What is starting to happen is that Vonage is being given the opportunity to lease these trunk lines to connect their system to the 911 system, provided they can automatically supply the required caller information for each 911 call. Unfortunately, there are at least 51 different 911 systems in the US (one for each state and the District of Columbia), none of which are interconnected! That means that they would have to lease several hundred trunk lines to make their system fully 911 interconnected. Further, before Verizon or any other telephone company can allow Vonage or any other VoIP provider to lease these trunks; Vonage and their competition have to obtain the approval of each of the local 911 centers that will be receiving these calls. But other than that, it's simple...right??
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A is A | |
| | 
longstreet
join:2004-11-14
Salt Lake City, UT
| I dunno, but if you change your phone company, you better know how shit works . . .
I just have to give a big RTFM to those people suing vonage.
If you are that fuckin stupid, to not read an agreement, vonage shouldn't have to pay you shit. Just shoot yourself and do the world a favor. | |
| | 
DrTCP
Yours truly
Premium,ExMod 1999-04
join:1999-11-09
Round Rock, TX
| said by DaveNJ :isnt it better just to dial direct to the police, with the number (from a sticker) on your phone ? Actually in some places the police HQ might not be operating 24/7 (or at least able to take calls) while 911 PSAP does.
What Vonage was doing to route the 911 calls (that are activated by the user) to non-emergency numbers because they did not have the capability to route them to the PSAP like CLECS/Telco do. These non-emergency numbers is not able to locate your location or operating 24/7 so, I think much of the lawsuits around Vonage calling something 911 that is not. It is basically a speed dial to some number that might not be able to provide the help in a timely manner when you need it.
This is changing as Vonage is signing up agreements with Verizon etc. to route 911 calls correctly. You still need to understand that you need to update the database correctly when you move the Telephone Adapter box. Little can be done about this. | |
|
DrTCP
Yours truly
Premium,ExMod 1999-04
join:1999-11-09
Round Rock, TX
| Correction: Houston sued -> Texas AG sued quote:
Houston sued the company, claiming they don't make it clear users need to set up their 911 service (this screen is apparently too confusing).
Actually the City of Houston did not sue Vonage. While the incident with 911 was in Houston, it is the office of Texas (state) Attorney General (who is in Austin, the TX capital) that sued Vonage.
So it looks like the 3 states are currently suing Vonage: Texas, Michigan and Connecticut. | |
| |
See 11 replies to this post | |
nozzer
join:2004-06-25
Waltham, MA | All this from the lawyers that bought you .... "Do Not Drink" on the side of bleach containers, as though the big black skull and crossbones and the words POISON didnt make it obvious enough. | |
| 
WhyADuck
Premium
join:2003-03-05
| Is SBC somehow behind all these lawsuits? SBC is headquartered in Texas, home of the first AG to sue. Next comes Michigan, another state where SBC is the largest telephone company. And now, Connecticut, which is the only Eastern seaboard state where SBC is an incumbent phone company.
Just a coincidence? Somehow I have a hard time buying it. | |
| | 
Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY
| You want to know how stupid people are We had this drunk wondering through our Hospital apparently looking for a equally plastered friend of his, a member of what I call the "400 club" that is a blood ETOH level of .400 or higher. This fool crapped his pants. Gravity took control of the "solids" and he ended up slipping on these butt bombs and ran his head into a wall putting a nice hole in it. He received a concussion and head cuts. The creep actually tried to sue the Hospital. What does this have do with this thread?
I just goes to show you a lawyer will represent any body if they think there is money to be made, especially if there are deep pockets. Vonage sorry but the leeches know your name.
--
Low voltage Tech's are wimps, Real tech's use 45 pound filament transformers, plate voltages no less then 2400 volts with at least 10 amp's lighting 8877 triodes...BPL I'm coming to get you. | |
| |
nutcase64
@swbell.ne
 from:
Goober
| Re: Is SBC somehow behind all these lawsuits? No, they have nothing to gain by it.
I think the VoIP providers would be better off stating that they do NOT provide 911 since this is what the states are holding them against and trying to compare it to 911 as offered by the PSTN, which is a little awkward since the FCC says it is an information service.
So, the VoIP providers would be better off saying they offer Emergency Contact service and describing what they do and saying they do not offer 911. Then the states can't sue that they didn't explain their 911 service and that it differs from 911 as offered by the phone company.
"Emergency Contact Service - We offer Emergency Contact Service where we connect your phone call to assist you in the case of an emergency. This call may be answered by a local government agency or a private company who will assist you.
To use the Emergency Contact Service, dial 911 from your VoIP phone. Note that this is not 911 service and on no way does the offering of this Emergency Contact Sevrice imply that it will be 911 service." | |
| | | 
RickNY
Premium
join:2000-11-02
New York
·Optimum Online
| Re: Is SBC somehow behind all these lawsuits? said by nutcase64:
No, they have nothing to gain by it.
How do you figure they have nothing to gain by it? They're losing plenty of customers per day to VoIP services that don't have to bow to the same regulatory requirements they do.. Of course they have something to gain by it..
--
"Make it idiot-proof and someone will build a better idiot." | |
| | | |
anoymous
@swbell.ne
| Re: Is SBC somehow behind all these lawsuits? sbc/verizon/quest/bellsouth/etc etc customers pay about 12 bucks amonth in fees taxes and other crap... vontage customers pay nothing of these fees...
although its an unfair tax applied against one industry verse another,, its not sbc sueing...
its the states, puc's and cities sueing..
and yes.. vontage pays NO franchise taxes to the cities as well... | |
| | | 
Goober
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL | Exactly! This is the main issue. | |
| bobny1
join:2004-09-10
Bronx, NY
| All about Money The only reason they are after Vonage is Money. The way they see it is if VOIP is not regulated, we can't charge those astronomical fees and taxes. So, the only way of making this wise companies pay is by suing them and make them spend their profits on settlements or lawyers. Its all about showing their muscles. | |
| 
veloct
Tarnation
Premium
join:2003-01-21
Moosup, CT | stupid CT CT is the most screwed up state in the nation. This is just proof of it, once again.
--
Using Firefox and Thunderbird | |
|
EdibleTarget
Real Gamers Dont Use Consoles
join:2004-12-02
Lowell, MA | sigh... to think theyre wasting tax dollars on this... | |
| mitska
join:2001-12-25
Sarasota, FL
·Comcast
| ct is tax crazed having recently moved from there I can tell you honestly that it is nothing short of a miracle that the state still even exists with the insane amount of taxes you must pay. Last I heard they were attempting to tax things like groceries and heating oil but I do not know if that bit of legislation passed. I remember my parents sighing in relief when they moved from Hartford, "thanks God we won't have to pay 1000/month property taxes anymore". Their property tax only, is about as much as my mortgage....... | |
| johnnyboy24
join:2002-04-07
Bayonne, NJ
clubs:
| It comes down to one thing... A lot of people do not read. Simple.
On the vonage signup page, you have this:
911 Notification
Emergency calling service or Dialing 911 requires activation (and that you provide a physical location). The 911 service Vonage offers is very different from traditional 911 and/or E911, which are not available at this time. For more information, we urge you to review the "911 Dialing" section under "Products & Services" and the "Emergency Services - 911 Dialing" section in the Vonage Terms of Service.
How is this not obvious? Its in red and white for crying out loud.
Also, there is a whole page dedicated to just 911:
»www.vonage.com/features.php?feature=911
So as everyone says... RTFM. Even when you get the damn equipment, its in there as well. This whole thing is just screwed up. | |
| |
Goober
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL | Re: It comes down to one thing... It's not explicit or clear enough. | |
|
qdemn7
Smurf in My Loop
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Fort Worth, TX
| Don't Get Too Uppity Before everyone gets too self-righteous about lawsuits, this isn't Bubba Joe Dipwad suing Vonage nor any other VOIP. It's the frigging AG of each state. The State's Lawyer, get it??? You think they might just know a wee bit more about the legal end of things than BBR people?
I'm usually one of the first ones to scream about lawsuit abuse and Tort Reform when the average ambulance chaser tries to sue someone over a frivolous deal, but THIS time I've changed my tune, and here's why.
My company (which shall remain nameless) just switched from LL phone service to VOIP less than a week ago, and guess what happens last night? You guessed it, major intranet outage (bad router). No phones, no computers, no nothing for 2 1/2 hours. I have to go to my car and get MY OWN GODDAMN CELL PHONE to contact network support, my boss, his boss, and just in case I might need a little something like Emergency help. Otherwise who knows WTF might have happened.
I can just see the future. Everyone switches to VOIP 'cause it's so much cheaper, then some hackers attack the net, and crash large portions of it, and guess what?? No damn phone service, no emergency service, all the cell phone circuits are busy cause everyone and his dog is trying to use his cell phone.
I was thinking of trying VOIP before this, but you know what, I wouldn't touch it now with a goddamn 10 foot pole.
--
Don't get me wrong, I love America, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. But America often reminds of "Wackyland" in that old Porky Pig cartoon when he was looking for the Dodo. Wackyland's motto was "It can happen here." | |
| | bobny1
join:2004-09-10
Bronx, NY
| Re: Don't Get Too Uppity Well!. Maybe if larch number of people go without service politicians would make presure on TELCO to drop unspecified fees and charges so people comback to them... It could be cicle. | |
| | | markla
join:2002-08-21
Round Rock, TX
| Re: wrong target .. IF the states are SO CONCERNED over 911 and EXPECT everyone who has anything that looks like "phone service" must also have working, "real" 911, then they need to target the LECs and make it a requirement for THEM to leave 911 on unused lines OR (at a minimum) just require they have a 911-only service offering for $2-$4 per month: no inbound calls, no outbound calls, except for 911. I'll keep the copper around for that. Afterall, they ALREADY have the infrastructure in place AND they are already taxing for funding it.
Then, it remains MY choice to keep "real" 911 if I want it (and pay for it) OR, NOT have it (and not "accidentally" accept something that says 911 but "isn't"). 
... but THEN the states would be biting the hand that is feeding them $$$ (AND the same hand that is tipping them off in regards to these lawsuits in the first place), eh? 
++Mark | |
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julia32405
| Re: wrong target .. Just to let you know, even if your phone is disconnected, you CAN dial 911 from it. So keep a regular phone connected to the outside wiring. Don't believe me? dial 611 from the same disconnected line and you will get repair. (you can even dial 311 in some areas and get non-emergency personnel) I found this out too late.
see »911petition.com
The problem is that congress took away the states' rights back in Minnesota vs Vonage, claiming exclusive federal jurisdiction. Then the FCC went ahead and accepted Vonage's application for exempt telecommunications status. Vonage doesn't deliver any calls to 911. So those of you that were talking about 'being too stupid to read', try reading para 2.8 in their terms of service. Vonage delivers calls to numbers that were DISCONTINUED for 911 use back in 1999, but they are still advertising their service as 911. Scary?
Scariest part is that you are actually taking the time to read the documentation, set up the service correctly, and then it STILL doesn't work. Why? Because it is 'Alternative Emergency Dialing'. It is not the 911 that the American people have become accustomed to since 1968. Ask a 5 year old who to call for emergency help? I'll bet you he'd say 911.
I dialed 911, I reached NO ONE, my daughter died. My service was set up according to Vonage's instructions. Yes I can read. Yes Vonage lied. And YES I am asking you to read WHY and make an Informed decision about telecommunications in your home. »911petition.com | |
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BourneKilla
join:2005-04-12
| Re: wrong target .. Very sorry to hear about your daughter Julia... that alone should say it all!!!
If everyone is now paying attention... you may have noticed Cell Phones have GPS locaters in every phone, specifically for locating 911 calls. You can disable GPS for everything but 911.
I think the FCC should require the same GPS in VOIP equipment making it possible to track and locate the origin of a 911 call. | |
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sysload
@americas.agilent | Re: wrong target .. I called 911 a few days ago in the Bay Area, Ca. and got the police records department voicemail tree, telling me that if it was an emergency call for me to hang up and call 911. | |
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CT Sues Vonage Over 911
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