Northern911 offers Voice over Internet Protocol (V911) emergency call taking to carriers across North America. Our professionally trained and certified Emergency Response Specialists deliver efficient and professional quality 9-1-1 services with a proven record of processing calls to NENA Standards, with a 95% answer time in three rings or less.
As Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has increasingly become the preferred choice of businesses and residences for its many benefits, one challenge has emerged for Public Safety professionals. When the user calls 911 on their VoIP phone, where exactly are they located? This is where Northern911’s Emergency Response Center (ERC) comes in. As the Primary PSAP, our highly trained operators retrieve location information from our client VoIP providers, or if unknown from the caller directly. Once the physical location is verified the call is transferred to the appropriate PSAP throughout North America.
In Canada, Northern911 pioneered VoIP 911 Call Transfer service of this nature and our executive team worked closely with the government regulatory body (CRTC) to define the requirements and standards that third party providers would be subjected to. We are also the largest 911 Call Transfer organization for VoIP 911 calls in the country.
If you are a provider of VoIP services, let us help you. For both United States and Canadian based companies, Northern911 offers a reliable, trustworthy, high quality third party solution that will allow you to offer V911 services to your clients. Our operators are skilled, friendly and provide excellent customer service to end users and our clients.
Telecom Decision CRTC September 15, 2010
The CRTC made a ruling effective September 15, 2010 which directs all carriers to “ensure that customers are able to update their most likely physical address online.” Address information needs to be available to the operator handling the V911 call when the subscriber is unable to give verbal information, and therefore should be current at the time of the call.
Paragraph 45 of the CRTC ruling states:
“The Commission therefore directs all Canadian carriers that offer nomadic and fixed/non-native VoIP services to implement the following measures, within 90 days of the date of this decision: (1) contact customers each time they change their billing address to confirm their most likely physical address for emergency purposes; and (2) ensure that customers are able to update their most likely physical address online. The Commission also directs Canadian carriers, as a condition of providing telecommunications services to nomadic and fixed/non-native VoIP service providers, to include in their service contracts or other arrangements with these providers the requirement that the latter abide by this direction.”
To assist you with regulatory compliance Northern911 has set up a white labeled (no branding) V911 Address Update Portal to allow your clients to update their “last known address” in real time. This site will allow your clients the immediate access they need to change address information as required by the regulations. Users who are vacationing or on a business trip may use the white-labeled website to update their temporary addresses while they are there. They may input up to three schedules with respect to the time that they will be at a temporary location. At the end of the specified time, the address will revert to the original address.
Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-44
The CRTC Ruling regarding routing of fixed/non-native and nomadic VoIP 9-1-1 calls to public safety answering points states:
“In this Decision, the Commission determines that it is inappropriate for voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers to deliver 9-1-1 calls from their fixed/non-native and nomadic VoIP customers to public safety answering points (PSAPs) using low-priority telephone lines or restricted numbers. The Commission considers that zero-dialed emergency call routing service (0-ECRS) is the only available 9-1-1 call routing method on the record that is functionally comparable to basic 9-1-1 service.
The Commission directs all Canadian carriers offering local VoIP service to use 0-ECRS as the interim solution to route fixed/non-native or nomadic VoIP 9-1-1 calls to the PSAPs, pending the development and implementation of a long-term fixed/non-native and nomadic VoIP enhanced 9-1-1 solution. The carriers are to implement this interim solution within 30 days of the date of this Decision.
The Commission also directs Canadian carriers, as a condition of providing telecommunications services to VoIP service providers, to include in their service contracts or other arrangements with these service providers the requirement that the latter comply with the Commission’s determinations in this Decision.”
The CRTC mandated that VoIP providers must provide 911 service to their clients from July 2005 onwards. 911 is not optional. If the IP service uses “non-native” phone numbers, or is used nomadically, providers must implement an interim solution. The CRTC expresses a preference for solutions that route 9-1-1 calls to an intermediate call Centre for screening and routing to the correct PSAP.
Our Emergency Response Center (ERC) is certified to operate as a third-party VoIP emergency services provider. Our ERC meets and exceeds all standards mandated by the CRTC. We currently provide 9-1-1 services to both regular Enhanced 9-1-1 clients and to Fixed, Nomadic and Foreign exchange VoIP clients from coast to coast.
Companies that wish to offer VoIP telephone services in Canada must meet certain 9-1-1 obligations as defined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Our Emergency Response Center (ERC) and its call takers and emergency dispatchers are certified to operate as a third party VoIP emergency services provider.
V911 Testing
Northern911 encourages VoIP Providers to test your system anytime you implement something new or change a process that may influence a 9-1-1 call being routed to us. We will work with you to ensure a seamless procedure from your systems to ours. To this end we have established procedures to allow our clients to test the interaction of their systems with ours.
Related Services
While our core business continues to provide emergency services, having the infrastructure and experienced call takers allows us to branch out in related offerings. Our parent company, Northern Communications, offers Support Services such as 411, 611, 711, Video Relay and Dial 0 to many Carriers.