New e-911 solution for VoIP is announced

LEVEL 3 Communications has announced a new E-911 solution for Microsoft Lync.

Problems with 911 caller location identification prompted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue a ruling in 2005 that all VoIP service providers support E-911.  Accordingly, all providers created systems that supported static E-911, but few effectively addressed the issue presented by VoIP mobility.

Microsoft Lync addresses both static and mobile E-911.  Essentially, Lync Server 2010 with E-911 support identifies location information via a wireless access point (WAP), Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), MAC address, IPv4 subnet, and/or Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) switch or LLDP switch port, then maps to a physical location.  Lync then passes on a Presence Information Data Format – Location Object (PDIF-LO) containing the physical location of the caller making an emergency call to a network provider.  This capability is especially important for nomadic workers (those who frequently change workstations/locations) because of the near impossible task of maintaining up-to-date employee location databases.

LEVEL 3 network is able to receive E-911 information from Lync server 2010 via its SIP Trunking service, determine the appropriate local public safety answering point (PSAP), and route the call, and specific location address information, to an emergency operator.   Because LEVEL 3 network is IP end-to-end they are able to provide direct E-911 integration between their SIP trunking and the VoIP Positioning Center (VPC) database.  This capability also enables a more seamless updating of the Automatic Location Identification (ALI) databases maintained by local governments to support their PSAPs.  Thus, emergency operators are able to receive current and much more specific location information for the person making the call.

LEVEL 3’s E-911 solution does not require any additional server hardware or the end-user terminal devices as long as they are Lync compliant.  The company includes its E-911 capabilities for Lync with their SIP Trunking service at no additional cost.