Best Value / Reliability for E911 Service to Use With 'New' Google Voice w/ OBi

[scoleman.69@gmail.com]

Hi Folks,

Have searched, but nothing definitive of a recent nature apparent for the question of which E911 service ONLY for use with Google Voice via OBi has the best value and reliability.  I know that CC and Anveo were previously considered the usual first choices; does that remain the case?

Any advice appreciated.  Looking to set back up with GV and perhaps my Mother.

Albeit hers is a tad more complicated in general since her INet service in her assisted living facility is via WiFi, so presume an OBi WiFi set up is required, unless there was a way to come off her computer which gets the INet WiFi as a connection to the OBi box which would have to be via a USB port in some fashion as that's only thing available AFAIK, and I'm guessing that ain't an option...  any advice regards that would also be appreciated.

TIA,

Steve

[Taoman]

I haven't used it personally but a lot of people seem to like gv911.

http://www.gv911.com/

[zorlac]

an OBi WiFi set up is required

Using the OBiWiFi Wireless Adapter, the OBi200 can be placed anywhere within range of an 802.11b/g/n access point.

OBiWifi Wireless Adapter

[Mango]

For your consideration, Callcentric provisions your address with the e911 provider when you sign up for e911 service.  Anveo provisions it at the time of the call.  This means that Callcentric has fewer points of failure.  They are also more expensive.

What do the other phones in the facility do for 911?  If the facility has 24-hour nursing care, perhaps she would receive help faster if the call was routed to the nursing station.

[ceg3]

For typical GV setup needing E911 I vote for Anveo.  I've used them in the past and recently signed up again.  There reasons users have their favorites.  I just feel the Anveo setup is solid and easily setup using OBiTALK.  Tip:  if you sign up through OBiTALK it will cost 15.00 for a year and you get notifications when 911 is called.  Come to think of it, you might like that feature since it's for your mother.  If you sign up at the Anveo site you get the service for 12.00 without the notifications, but you have to deposit a minimum of 20.00.  When I did it recently I just decided to spend the 15.00, rather than tie up 20.00.

[scoleman.69@gmail.com]

I haven't used it personally but a lot of people seem to like gv911.

http://www.gv911.com/

Thanks for the tip.

On the surface it looks like a really neat, simple and cheap [ $12 / yr ] service, however a quick scan of reviews indicate it has reliability drawbacks that are backed up with various logical reasons as to why.  Too bad as is does really appear to be a simple as it gets.

[scoleman.69@gmail.com]

an OBi WiFi set up is required

Using the OBiWiFi Wireless Adapter, the OBi200 can be placed anywhere within range of an 802.11b/g/n access point.

OBiWifi Wireless Adapter

Thanks for confirming what I thought was the case.  Mother's INet WiFi receiver is very small unit [ forget mfr ] sitting on her computer desk connected to her desk top via USB.  It's an 'open' net as any visitors have access to the WiFi service without PW.  May sound pretty insecure, but given the location of the apt. bldg. within a sprawling campus and a relatively weak signal it's unlikely, albeit obviously not 100%, that anyone would target it for whatever purposes. Of course that may be somewhat naive on my part, but just an observation having seen the minimal comings and goings of 'outsiders'.

I noted that AZ is now describing the OBi100 and OBi110 as being compatible with GV.  Is that correct?  Have the latest production of these units been upgraded, firmware flashed, etc. that allow them to work with GV?  Which is to say will the 'old' OBi110 I have which was originally used w/ GV and subsequently switched to Phone Power be useable with GV now?

Given the 200 and 202 are only a couple dollars more the obvious option for any new units is I PRESUME to choose those models...  right?

As for a set up for Mother the OBi200 @ $48 plus the OBiWiFi Adapter @ $20, plus whatever it costs to port her present land line number would set her up for free unlimited calls within the US and CA.  Then whatever for E911 service [ see following reply ].

Note: Since GV will only port mobile numbers at this point, I would have to use one of the 'workarounds' to get her number ported and that might nix the whole deal as I'm sure she'd object to not being able to keep her original number.  If GV will port numbers from Consumer Cellular I can pull a 'free trial' deal for an added line with them using a free SIM with an old phone used with them, port her landline to them, which has a 45 mins. or 45 days free trial period, enough to get the confirmation calls, etc., then cancel after porting to GV is complete.  Only problem may be, if I understand correctly, the process may take a few days during which she might be without service. Comments please?


As an aside: Just noted on GV's site it says 'If you're calling from the United States and Canada to a number within those countries, almost all calls are free, but a few destinations will cost USD 1 cent per minute depending on the specific phone number.'  Just how does one know, or find out, what these 'specific numbers' are?  And if one doesn't carry a credit balance with GV which I don't what happens if I were to unknowingly attempt to call one of these 'specific numbers'?


I realize I'm deviating some from the original subject, and appreciate ya'll's patience in that regard.

TIA,

Steve

[scoleman.69@gmail.com]

For your consideration, Callcentric provisions your address with the e911 provider when you sign up for e911 service.  Anveo provisions it at the time of the call.  This means that Callcentric has fewer points of failure.  They are also more expensive.

What do the other phones in the facility do for 911?  If the facility has 24-hour nursing care, perhaps she would receive help faster if the call was routed to the nursing station.

For typical GV setup needing E911 I vote for Anveo.  I've used them in the past and recently signed up again.  There reasons users have their favorites.  I just feel the Anveo setup is solid and easily setup using OBiTALK.  Tip:  if you sign up through OBiTALK it will cost 15.00 for a year and you get notifications when 911 is called.  Come to think of it, you might like that feature since it's for your mother.  If you sign up at the Anveo site you get the service for 12.00 without the notifications, but you have to deposit a minimum of 20.00.  When I did it recently I just decided to spend the 15.00, rather than tie up 20.00.

Thanks for the suggestions and comments, which I will consider in choosing an E911 service.

However, after thinking it through, it may really be unnecessary to have the additional 911 service in my case specifically and perhaps even in my Mother's case.

I presently have a Phone Power OBi Special acct. which if they keep to their promise to not raise the rates from the original $35 / yr. I will definitely keep given all the services they provide, to include 911.  Even if they increase their rates on us to their std. $9 / mo. it's likely we'd keep it.  In addition we have two cell phones available at all times which can be used for emergency calls.


As for my Mother, it's very unlikely that she'd ever call 911 at her assisted living apt. since they have 'pull cord' and 'remote pendant' alert calls which will bring nursing staff asap. She also has a DNR so isn't really anxious to be hauled off to the hospital and would almost certainly refuse to be if she were able to resist. As for other emergencies such as fire or intruders it's likely she'd use the alert system, although I've not discussed that with her or the staff, but will. I believe there are Fire Alarms in the hallways, and the whole place is sprinklered.  AFAIK there's been no problems anywhere on the campus with break-ins or intruders, although if some miscreants knew how easy it would be to pull off home invasions, etc. at such places no doubt there'd be some.
.

[zorlac]

"She also has a DNR so isn't really anxious to be hauled off to the hospital and would almost certainly refuse to be if she were able to resist."

That's the spirit! God bless her.
All non-business obi's <$100 are GV compatible (the obi web portal flashes them current when you configure GV), only newer ones are RingTo compatible.

[SteveInWA]

So...

You started the thread asking about E-911, and now you've decided that it's unnecessary.  That's fine.  Just put a sticker on the phone to advise any visitor or other person who doesn't know, that the phone cannot make E-911 calls.  You don't want anyone wasting time trying to call 911 if it won't work.

Google Voice questions/answers:

Yes, Obihai updated the firmware for all the OBi products, back to the oldest OBi 110, to comply with Google's current requirements for authentication to GV. 

Here's my step-by-step guide to getting it working:

http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=8560.msg56460#msg56460

RE:  porting, yes, it has to be ported from a mobile phone carrier.  Don't use one of the little MVNO carriers like H20 Wireless or one of the America Movil brands like Straight Talk or Tracfone/Net10 -- they're really incompetent at the procedures required for porting into a land line carrier (GV).  Porting instructions:

https://support.google.com/voice/answer/1065667

RE:  calling rates:  certain carriers, mostly rural telcos and a few independents, charge excessive inter-carrier termination rates.  The so-called "free" teleconference calling services use these carriers in a shady practice called "traffic pumping" to share revenue with these carriers.  Rather than just block calls to these carriers, Google now charges one cent per minute, to partially offset the cost.  There is no list, but you can enter a specific telephone number on this page to find out if it is one of those numbers:

https://www.google.com/voice#billing

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/traffic-pumping

[scoleman.69@gmail.com]

So...

You started the thread asking about E-911, and now you've decided that it's unnecessary.  That's fine.  Just put a sticker on the phone to advise any visitor or other person who doesn't know, that the phone cannot make E-911 calls.  You don't want anyone wasting time trying to call 911 if it won't work.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll be sure to take that to heart and see that it's done wherever 911 is not in service.

Google Voice questions/answers:

[ snip lots of good info, can be found in above post ]

Thanks for everyone's help and patience,

Steve

[Taoman]

All obi's are GV compatible............

Not entirely accurate. The 5xx series of OBi products are not "GV compatible."

[Rick]

A couple of things here, and I speak from experience with TWO in different facilities.

1) If you're not going to get 911 service, then setup the OBi to dial the phone number of the 911 dispatch desk.  Given she has a transmitter, tell her to FIRST hit the button.  She of course should attempt to exit during a fire emergency if she can without trying to call 911 or hit the button unless she needs assistance.

2) Be prepared to deal with issues like the OBi needing to reboot, her being uncertain as to a message that she heard when making a call making it impossible for you to diagnose, GV being down, etc.  For one elderly relative who WAS comfortable using his cellphone I bought a  XLink BT Gateway (you can also get the BTTN).  This connects their cell to a standard house phone, enabling all calls to be made on the cell - which has unlimited calling.  They pickup the house phone and get a dial tone and dial, and the cell makes the call.  I ported their home number to the cell and so all calls they would have received go to the cell which rings the house phone.  And, I disabled the cell voicemail so all messages go on their answering machine like they always did.  Even with this simple solution I have to go there every 3 - 4 months to fix whatever they did - they don't remember what they did but now only the cell works.  I tried hiding the cell but their cell requires you to clear the display when a call is missed (some do, some don't), so they need to do that.  They do not have internet service, the wifi in the building could not support an OBi, and if I had to pay for internet that would be another expense and might as well pay for a landline.  This is a $40 or $50 one-time expense and you're done.

I also have an elderly mother, who in her prime couldn't run a VCR without assistance ("you have to put a tape in?"), and I would NEVER consider giving any of them an OBi unless they had a landline also which defaulted if the OBi wasn't functioning properly. 

[drgeoff]

All obi's are GV compatible............

Not entirely accurate. The 5xx series of OBi products are not "GV compatible."

Nor the 3xx one(s).

[scoleman.69@gmail.com]

A couple of things here, and I speak from experience with TWO in different facilities.

1) If you're not going to get 911 service, then setup the OBi to dial the phone number of the 911 dispatch desk.  Given she has a transmitter, tell her to FIRST hit the button.  She of course should attempt to exit during a fire emergency if she can without trying to call 911 or hit the button unless she needs assistance.

2) Be prepared to deal with issues like the OBi needing to reboot, her being uncertain as to a message that she heard when making a call making it impossible for you to diagnose, GV being down, etc.

[ snip details of typical non-techie elder's issues with techie thingies...  ' ]

Thanks for the input.

I've just 're-discovered' that OBi STILL has a deal with Phone Power for $35 and $60 / yr. depending on service level, which one would never know cause ya can't find it on PP's site, at least in a straightforward manner, and earlier I'd not ran up on it on OBi's site where it should have been, or at least where I thought it would have been.

So, I could set her up with PP via an OBi box which has integral 911 service, BUT there's still the occasional issues with either PP's system doing something stupid, such as 'The service provider has rejected the number dialed. Reason 4xx.' [ most likely ], or the OBi needs some attention [ less likely ].  In addition she doesn't have a cell nor other phone to be the 'fail safe' default in case of the Net being down.

Since she makes very few outgoing LD calls and only short ones, and when she calls me, we hang up and I call her back to keep her charges low.  Her bill runs about $30 / mo. which includes her 'email client' since she used to get her INet via DSL from them and we'd lose that so she'd have to change to another email program and after they made a few 'upgrades / changes' to their email program she still b*tches about having to re-learn how to use it, so that right there's a definite con to dropping her present phone service...  '

Looking more and more like $30 +/- / mo. ain't that beeg a deal.
 

[jims2321]

Tried Anveo, depending upon your area they may not cover it.  Example here in Atlanta GA, no support.  So check with them first.