E911 Setup Help

[lexluthor]

Hi,

New OBi200 user here.

I have SP1 as a custom VoIP provider DID that has an E911 record that is NOT the address of my OBi.

I have SP2 as Google Voice.

I haven't configured any special 911 operators as of yet.

If SP1 is the default outgoing account and I dial 911, the 911 operator will get the address of the SP1 DID, which will be wrong?

If SP2 is the default outgoing account, what happens when I dial 911?

So, now, let's say I order Anveo E911 service.  Does that take over all 911 calls regardless of which SPx is the default outgoing?  If I order Anveo from the Anveo site to get 911 at $.83/mo vs through the OBiTalk portal at $15/year, do I have to configure more details so that the OBi routes all 911 calls to Anveo?  If I just do it through the OBiTalk portal, so it then configure everything on it's own so that all 911 calls go to the Anveo SP?

Or if I just got Callcentric E911 service.  Same question, how does the OBi know to route ALL 911 calls to the Callcentric E911 service and not to the default outgoing SP?

[SteveInWA]

Now, why would we help a heinous villain like Lex Luthor?    

When you use the OBiTALK portal to set up a service provider, it will pop up a window asking if you want to use that service provider for 911 service.  When you agree, the portal will modify your OBi's configuration to use that SP when you dial 911.

So, yes, it's easy.  I'd suggest using Callcentric.  After clicking on the SPn you want to set up, you'll get the web page offering to use Google Voice, Anveo, Nextiva, etc.  Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, and click the link for OBiTALK compatible service providers, and then, on the next page, select Callcentric.  The portal will do the dirty work for you.

[lexluthor]

Now, why would we help a heinous villain like Lex Luthor?    

When you use the OBiTALK portal to set up a service provider, it will pop up a window asking if you want to use that service provider for 911 service.  When you agree, the portal will modify your OBi's configuration to use that SP when you dial 911.

So, yes, it's easy.  I'd suggest using Callcentric.  After clicking on the SPn you want to set up, you'll get the web page offering to use Google Voice, Anveo, Nextiva, etc.  Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, and click the link for OBiTALK compatible service providers, and then, on the next page, select Callcentric.  The portal will do the dirty work for you.

The park about OBi will modify my configuration really just means checking the box saying use this service for emergency 911 calls?  There's really no reason I couldn't sign up directly with a provider and check the box which will cause it to function the same way?

[SteveInWA]

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough.

You do first sign up for service with Callcentric or Anveo, independently of the OBiTALK portal.  After you have done that, and you have your SIP username and SIP password, you click on the link I mentioned, and then just enter the username and password you already obtained.  Obihai isn't involved in any financial transaction or related provider tasks.  It's just providing pre-built configurations tailored to the various SPs on the list.

Example:  I go to Callcentric, and set up service with them.  I set up my password.  I then log onto the OBiTALK portal, click SP3, and scroll down to the bottom of the page and click OBiTALK Compatible Service Providers.  On the next page, I click "Callcentric".  It then opens a form for me to fill in my Callcentric user ID and SIP password, and I also check-mark the box to "Use This Service for Emergency 911 Calls".  Optionally, I enter a local area code, and then click "Submit".  The portal configures SP3 to use my Callcentric account.

[lexluthor]

I figured it all out.  Wound up going with CallCentric for the moment.  

933 reads me back some sort of fake phone number (wrong area code for my home, though I'm at a serving wire center that services 2 area codes) and then my address.

Is it safe to assume that the OBi routes 933 to the same SP that has 911 service box checked?  EDIT: Yes, I can tell that's the case because the 933 calls show up in my CallCentric call log.

Finally, I'm in NY.  Should I get a my free DID from CallCentric?  No one (people who might call 911) would ever know what that DID is, so might that cause confusion if the E911 operator asks for the number?

[SteveInWA]

You can browse the forum for discussions on how Callcentric and Anveo's 911 service provider uses these specially-assigned phone numbers for 911 service.  They are real phone numbers, not fakes.  They're used because customers may not have their own inbound DID, or may have multiple DIDs.  Assigning these special phone numbers enables the E911 call center to call you back if the call is dropped during the emergency.

If it passes the 933 test, then yes it is working as designed.  The 933 test is contacting the 911 service provider, which is confirming to you, over the phone, that it has successfully set up your service.

The paid or free DID(s) you get are up to you, and have nothing to do with how 911 service will work.  911 is provisioned to your Callcentric account, not to a specific DID.

[lexluthor]

So the 911 operator will never expect that the person calling 911 will know the number that the 911 operator is seeing?  That won't slow anything down?

If I do get the free DID, does that replace the number CallCentric assigned when dialing 933 (and when dialing 911 for real)? 

[SteveInWA]

You're over-thinking this.

Think of E911 as a separately-provisioned service.  As I explained, you might have a dozen different inbound DID numbers on your account, or none at all.  E911 doesn't use any of your phone numbers as caller ID.

You call 911.  Callcentric's switch sees "911", and specially routes that call to their third-party 911 service provider, which uses the standard government 911 system to connect you to your PSAP (your city or county's emergency dispatch center).  The operator who answers your call will see your street address, as programmed-in by you and the 911 service provider during setup.  That's all that matters.  If they need to call you back, they just click a button, and the system calls you back via that special phone number.

None of this has anything whatsoever to do with whatever inbound DIDs you may or may not purchase or get for free.

[SteveInWA]

Think of it this way:

In an emergency, the only thing that matters is finding you at your physical location (street address), and being able to talk to you.  The telephone number being used to talk to you is completely irrelevant, as long as it works.

[SteveInWA]

See this post, with a quote from Callcentric, regarding their 911 service:

https://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3640.msg72155#msg72155