Important provisions regarding 911 Service
Description VoIP services allow
you to make or receive telephone calls over the Internet to or from
the public switched telephone network. The nature of VoIP telephone
calls, while appearing similar to traditional telephone calling
services, create unique limitations and circumstances, and you
acknowledge and agree that differences exist between traditional
telephone service and VoIP telephone services, including the lack of
traditional 911 emergency services.
911 service
Because of the
unique nature of VoIP telephone calls, emergency calls to 911 through
your VoIP service will be handled differently than traditional phone
service. The following provisions describe the differences and
limitations of 911 emergency calls, and you hereby acknowledge and
understand the differences between traditional 911 service and VoIP
calls with respect to 911 calls placed to emergency services from
your account as described below.
Placing 911 calls
When you make
a 911 emergency call, the VoIP service will attempt to automatically
route your 911 call through a third-party service provider to the
Public Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”) corresponding to your
address of record on your account. However, due to the limitations of
the VoIP telephone services, your 911 call may be routed to a
different location than that which would be used for traditional 911
dialing. For example, your call may be forwarded to a third-party,
specialized call centre that handles emergency calls. This call
centre is different from the PSAP that would answer a traditional 911
call which has automatically generated your address information, and
consequently, you may be required to provide your name, address, and
telephone number to the call centre.
How your information is provided
The VoIP service will attempt to automatically provide the PSAP
dispatcher or emergency service operator with the name, address and
telephone number associated with your account. However, for technical
reasons, the dispatcher receiving the call may not be able to capture
or retain your name, phone number or physical location. Therefore,
when making a 911 emergency call, you must immediately inform the
dispatcher of your location (or the location of the emergency, if
different). If you are unable to speak, the dispatcher may not be
able to locate you if your location information is not up to date.
Correctness of information You
are responsible for providing, maintaining, and updating correct
contact information (including name, residential address and
telephone number) with your account. If you do not correctly identify
the actual location of where you are located, or if your account
information has recently changed or has otherwise not been updated,
911 calls may be misdirected to an incorrect emergency response site.
Disconnections
You must not
disconnect the 911 emergency call until told to do so by the
dispatcher, as the dispatcher may not have your number or contact
information. If you are inadvertently disconnected, you must call
back immediately.
Connection time
For technical
reasons, including network congestion, it is possible that a 911
emergency call will produce a busy signal or will take longer to
connect when compared to traditional 911 calls.
911 calls may not function For
technical reasons, the functionality of 911 VoIP emergency calls may
cease or be curtailed in various circumstances, including but not
limited to:
Failure of service or your service access device – if your system
access equipment fails is not configured correctly, or if your VoIP
service is not functioning correctly for any reason, including power
outages, VoIP service outage, suspension or disconnection of your
service due to billing issues, network or Internet congestion, or
network or Internet outage in the event of a power, network or
Internet outage; you may need to reset or reconfigure the system
access equipment before being able to use the VoIP service, including
for 911 emergency calls; and changing locations – if you move your
system access equipment to a location other than that described in
your account information or otherwise on record with AirFire
Telephone & Data.
Alternate services
If you are
not comfortable with the limitations of 911 emergency calls, AirFire
Telephone & Data recommends that you terminate the VoIP services
or consider an alternate means for accessing traditional 911
emergency services.
Inform other users
You are
responsible for notifying, and you agree to notify, any user or
potential users of your VoIP services of the nature and limitations
of 911 emergency calls on the VoIP services as described herein.
Liability
Customers are advised
to review this section with respect to AirFire Telephone & Data’s
limitations of liability.
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