911 Calls
synchron:
Am I missing something? I dropped my landline almost 8 yrs ago and switched to voip. Even though my local phone co. shut the service down I can still use any phone, connect it to the RJ in the wall and have 911 service. There's no dialtone, per say, but you still get a live operator, probably the same as paid e911 service. No Obi ATA or need be involved and no bill from Ma Bell.
I thought this was a federal law to provide free 911 or am I just "lucky"?
Synchron 8)
Stewart:
Quote from: synchron on March 22, 2012, 12:03:30 pm
There's no dialtone, per say, but you still get a live operator, probably the same as paid e911 service. No Obi ATA or need be involved and no bill from Ma Bell. I thought this was a federal law to provide free 911 or am I just "lucky"?
The rules vary by state. In which one are you?
In California, a "disconnected" line has dial tone. You can call 911, or 611 (for repair, if your line got this way by mistake), or 811 (if you didn't pay the bill, or to order new service). All other calls are sent to a recording that explains the above three options. With such a line, I'd be concerned that it could fail, or be accidentally disconnected when the pair was reused to provide service to someone else. You could make a test call every month or two (to the recording), to have some confidence that the line would be available, should it be needed in an emergency.
I very much doubt that you would be routed directly to a PSAP just by going off-hook -- there would be too many false calls caused by testing, accidental shorts, etc. I suggest that you pick up the phone as a test. If you do get the PSAP, immediately state that you don't have an emergency and are just testing; don't hang up until they confirm this. Otherwise, ask the operator what your options are, and whether it would be ok to do a periodic test.
synchron:
The phone I use for the wall (seperate from the Wireless Uniden system I use with voip) is pretty old with a pulse dialer. But, you're right, there is a faint dialtone and if I dial a 7digit number I get a recording but it comes in loud and clear. The recording pretty much says no service. I dialed '611' and got an AT&T gal and she reassured me that 911 can definitely be used ICOE. She was very friendly and was able to read out my location (street address, unit#, town) but not my name via CLID. I'm in Southern CA.
synchron 8)
Rick:
My line in Michigan was dead, no faint dial tone. California is very progressive...
MichiganTelephone:
Quote from: sic0048 on March 22, 2012, 09:40:46 am
Quote from: MichiganTelephone on March 14, 2012, 11:56:03 pm
Quote from: pigpile on February 26, 2012, 05:40:27 pm
is this a forum or a lecture hall?
THANK YOU!!! There are some people on this forum that really need to stop trying to impose their beliefs and values on others. Not everyone thinks that "being safe" should be a top priority in life. We're all going to die someday, and to be honest I'd rather do it BEFORE I'm so old and feeble that I hate every second of my continued existence on this planet.
Even if you live alone in a detached home, you probably have visitors come by your house. Therefore you are being pretty hypocritical because while you can choose to ignore forum posts, someone in your house does not have the same ability to make their own choices regarding 911 service. YOU made the decision to not have 911 location services. Even if they can pick up the phone and dial 911 (no guarantee that they can), most guests won't have your full address memorized to be able to provide it to the 911 operator. Talk about pushing your beliefs on someone - just because you believe that nothing will happen doesn't mean it won't.
If I go to someone else's home I make NO assumptions about what safety provisions they may or may not have made. Maybe it's the neighborhood I live in but I get the distinct impression that most of the people around here are not super concerned about safety. I like living here!
Quote from: sic0048 on March 22, 2012, 09:40:46 am
You probably don't wear your seatbelt either or a helmet while riding a motorcycle and claim that you are only effecting yourself by those decisions. ;)
Actually, I wore a motorcycle helmet back before it was illegal to ride without one. And I didn't give a damn if that made me seem "uncool" among my peers — I valued my noggin more than their approval. But if the only way I'd have been able to obtain a motorcycle helmet was to rent one and pay a monthly fee, I'd probably have gone without it or just given up motorcycle riding.
Quote from: sic0048 on March 22, 2012, 09:40:46 am
I'm all about saving a buck. This is why I looked at the Obi system and dropped my landline phone. But having 911 service with your location being automatically provided is the de facto standard in the US now and by not providing it you are putting people at risk. It's just too inexpensive to be worth the gamble IMHO.
At risk of becoming one of the "lecturers", I'll just say this: You're making quite an assumption there about a "de facto standard." How do you know that the person you visit has any landline service at all? If they have a cell phone, how do you know that it's charged up and usable?
Believe me, it's not an academic question. A huge percentage, perhaps even a majority of people under 30 have no landline phone service, and rely on cell phones exclusively. And that age is creeping upwards as people age - I expect it will be true of people under 40 and maybe even under 50 real soon now, if it isn't already.
So if you are really THAT concerned about safety, you'll carry your own cell phone wherever you go, and you'll always have a way to charge it up. Because if you make unwarranted assumptions about people you visit, those assumptions could cost you your life!
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