Callcentric 911 Replacement
Rick:
As those of us who depend on Callcentric know, they've had a few bad weeks with denial of service attacks, rendering their service unreliable. For those of us with E911 through them, that's a big problem. For those that use Callcentric for all their service, it's a bigger problem.
Now, Callcentric is down due to the NYC power outage. They apparently have limited emergency power for a very short period, after which they go dark, since they are in a building without backup generators (apparently you can't have them for just an office, it has to be the whole building. Apparently they didn't co-locate their datacenter.
I'm done with them. I need reliable 911 service. I will investigate other E911 options, but in the meantime I'm redirecting my 911 calls to the emergency dispatch center via their direct dial emergency number.
I use the "expert" interface, i.e. I type in the IP address of my box and edit things directly. I made the following easy change:
Physical Interfaces, Phone Port, Outbound call route:
OLD: {911:sp2}
NEW: {(<911:DIRECTDIALNUMBERGOESHERE>):SP1}
It's that simple. You can find the direct dial emergency number on the website of your dispatch center.
I will test it later today, when it's light out and the weather lightens up here in Michigan, by calling the NON-EMERGENCY number and asking if I can perform a test call on 911. If today it doesn't lighten up I'll do it tomorrow.
When Callcentric is back up, I plan on closing my account and getting a refund for September and October at least.
Hope this helps others.
Update: Tested fine. I also went into all my SP2 settings and restored to defaults, so I have no Callcentric info on my OBi, and therefore should also not have any problems that Callcentric users had with their multi-week denial of service attack, which also affected OBis.
lhm.:
"It's that simple. You can find the direct dial emergency number on the website of your dispatch center."
While the above may be true, it may happen when you call, that if the 911 call center is busy your call will be answered by a recording asking you to either leave a message or call back at a less busy time. Happened to me twice when calling that type of number (aka Urgency without Emergency) for information about a PSAP number. That's why I switched to gv911.com, as a dedicated SPx is not required on the OBI.
Rick:
Quote from: lhm. on October 30, 2012, 11:17:20 am
"It's that simple. You can find the direct dial emergency number on the website of your dispatch center."
While the above may be true, it may happen when you call, that if the 911 call center is busy your call will be answered by a recording asking you to either leave a message or call back at a less busy time. Happened to me twice when calling that type of number (aka Urgency without Emergency) for information about a PSAP number. That's why I switched to gv911.com, as a dedicated SPx is not required on the OBI.
I don't know what kind of number you called, but mine is the direct dial EMERGENCY number, not a "Urgency without Emergency" number, that I obtained from them and it works just fine.
I'm not going with a company that setup a website several months ago, provides no information about how it works, or any FAQ, and even their parent bulk911.com is as sketchy. Their signup is not even secure...
jimates:
Quote from: Rick on October 30, 2012, 11:19:00 am
Quote from: lhm. on October 30, 2012, 11:17:20 am
"It's that simple. You can find the direct dial emergency number on the website of your dispatch center."
While the above may be true, it may happen when you call, that if the 911 call center is busy your call will be answered by a recording asking you to either leave a message or call back at a less busy time. Happened to me twice when calling that type of number (aka Urgency without Emergency) for information about a PSAP number. That's why I switched to gv911.com, as a dedicated SPx is not required on the OBI.
I don't know what kind of number you called, but mine is the direct dial EMERGENCY number, not a "Urgency without Emergency" number, that I obtained from them and it works just fine.
I'm not going with a company that setup a website several months ago, provides no information about how it works, or any FAQ, and even their parent bulk911.com is as sketchy. Their signup is not even secure...
Many of use don't have the option of an alternate number "direct dial emergency number". My option is the non-emergency number (dispatcher). Which is the same number you call if your neighbor's dog shit's in your yard.
As far as gv911, everybody had to start somewhere. I recall that during the winter storm of 1992 or 93 we didn't have a land line for a week. Did that cause a stir about 911, I doubt it.
Rick:
Sounds like a valid emergency :D
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