VoIP firms must connect 999 calls

From 8 September next year, VoIP (voice-over Internet Protocol) providers will be legally obliged to let their users make emergency calls using their services.

The law is being changed to ensure that there are no vital delays in contacting the police, fire brigade, ambulance service or coastguard in an emergency.

Ofcom, the communications industry regulator, is pushing the law through after its research found that 78 per cent of VoIP users either incorrectly thought that they'd be able to make a 999 call using the service, or were unsure whether they could or not.

Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said: "As new voice services develop and become more mainstream, regulation must evolve too. In the future, consumers will be confident that if they can make calls to ordinary national numbers using their VoIP service then they will be able to call 999 or 112 in an emergency."

Ofcom has been considering changing the law in this area for some time, as Web User reported back in July.

However, some think that Ofcom has dragged its heels in getting this law pushed through.

Tim Wolfenden of price-comparison service uSwitch.com said: "It's disappointing that Ofcom has taken four years to complete this consultation. VoIP is predominately being used as an additional service to a landline and to date the ability to make 999 calls has not been guaranteed.

"By enabling emergency calls to be made, the number of consumers using VoIP as an independent form of communication will increase dramatically; it’s just a shame that we’ll have to wait until 2008 to get there," Wolfenden continued.

www.ofcom.org.uk
www.uswitch.com

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