WASHINGTON -- Internet phone providers are facing static over alleged public-safety failings, with federal regulators poised to unveil new rules that could drive up prices and crimp growth.
At stake is 911 emergency service, a feature that most people assume is available on any phone. But it's not always supported by so-called voice over internet protocol, or VOIP, services, creating a dangerous misunderstanding, according to industry critics who are pushing for reforms.
The Federal Communications Commission will vote Thursday on the new requirements, which could force significant changes to how VOIP networks and devices are configured. John Logan, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and former senior staffer at the FCC, said that, at the very least, the vote will likely be "a pretty good warning that if you're going to enter this (VOIP) world, be prepared to provide 911."
Once limited to clunky computer and microphone systems, VOIP services have grown considerably in the past couple of years thanks to devices that connect ordinary handsets to a broadband connection. While these phones look and act exactly like traditional phones in many respects, there are significant differences in how they operate. As a result, hooking up internet-based phones to the existing 911 emergency services system poses a number of technical problems.
Unlike the traditional telephone network, which uses dedicated circuit-switched lines to terminate and originate calls, VOIP networks use IP addresses that make it more difficult to pinpoint precisely the geographic location of users. In addition, VOIP providers require cooperation from traditional phone carriers, which control the physical links to 911 dispatch centers. In some cases, VOIP providers argue, such cooperation has not been forthcoming.
Regardless of the reason for the delays, the FCC has become increasingly concerned that consumers are replacing their traditional phones with VOIP devices -- without understanding the implications for emergency services.
In late March, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a lawsuit against leading VOIP provider Vonage after a Houston family subscribing to Vonage tried to call 911 during a home invasion. Two victims were shot multiple times, but the victims' daughter apparently was never able to get through to 911.
Although the shooting victims survived the incident, Abbott charges that Vonage should have disclosed its alleged 911 shortcomings.
"The lawsuits have started flying," said William Stofega, IDC's research manager for VOIP services. "The FCC is saying 'enough already. Let's treat this as a mature service.' I would expect pretty clear guidelines on what VOIP carriers need to do."
VOIP providers insist they are not against providing 911 support, but they have balked at requirements that might increase their costs and give rival Bell operating companies a choke point to slow or prevent their entry into the market.
Rich Tehrani, chairman of the Internet Telephony Conference, said that the VOIP industry generally supports the concept of offering 911 capabilities but has urged extreme caution.
"I support any initiative that may save lives and keep human beings safe," Tehrani said. "On the other hand, I am concerned that regulation may make it difficult to provide inexpensive VOIP service."
Tehrani said the industry is pretty much holding its breath in anticipation of Thursday's action.
"Depending on how drastic the FCC rules are, it may be impossible to comply in the short term," he said. "Some providers may not be able to afford to comply."
Vonage spokesman Chris Murray said much will hinge on the incumbent local exchange carriers, or LECs, that control access to the 911 switching centers -- known as public-safety answering points, or PSAPs.
According to Murray, incumbent LECs have been reluctant to provide PSAP access to VOIP providers voluntarily. Lack of access to PSAPs contributed to the Texas incident and similar cases of people not being able to reach 911 operators, he said. "If we had had that access, we wouldn't have had these incidents," he said.
Some consumer advocates, who generally support 911 capabilities for VOIP, have also urged the FCC to link any VOIP 911 requirement to rules that force the incumbent telcos to cooperate.
"We don't want to see a requirement on VOIP providers to do 911 but not require it to be implemented quickly by requiring the (local phone monopolies) to work with them," said Janee Briesemeister, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union.
Another question is whether the FCC's rules will apply to "nomadic" VOIP devices that consumers take with them to different locations or use as a mobile phone by connecting over a wireless network.
By definition, such devices are more difficult to associate with a specific, fixed location.
"What if you're in the Las Vegas airport and someone is trying to use that network to send a 911 call?" said Greg Murphy, chief operating officer of San Mateo, California-based AirWave, which provides wireless network management software.
Also unclear is whether the FCC's rules will touch peer-to-peer VOIP services such as Skype, which in its purest form doesn't touch the public-switched telephone network, or PSTN.
A new flavor of Skype known as SkypeOut, however, does enable callers to reach people on the PSTN, which could put the company under the microscope.
"If it's peer-to-peer, I think it's untouchable," said IDC's Stofega. "If it's touching the PSTN, that's a little different."
