Still think Vonage is a good deal? You only need real 911 once in your life for it to be worth every penny you ever spend on it.

Vonage 911 Caller Put On Hold While House Burns Down

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/03/vonage_fire.html

3/24/2006 11:50:50 AM

i have a cell phone too

I wouldn't trust vonage to be my only phone just yet.

3/24/2006 11:51:45 AM

landlines are soo 1990's

3/24/2006 11:53:51 AM

I'm going to get TWC's VoIP solution shortly. They offer e911 as well as full QoS support. I have vonage right now, and never use it because the jitter makes it worthless.

3/24/2006 11:57:25 AM

I think if I had kids, I would get the landline for the safety of mind.

But cell phones do the job well enough for me now.

3/24/2006 11:57:54 AM

i use my cell for everything and have a regular phone plugged into the wall. you get 911 service even without giving bellsouth money.

3/24/2006 11:58:46 AM

this just happened recently in a tri-county area of NC with a cell phone

womans husband was home from heart surgery, had chest pains, she called 911. hit the wrong tower, got transferred around, paramedics got there like an hour later

3/24/2006 12:01:35 PM

Is this an isolated incident?
How often do 911 calls by traditional phone calls gets misrouted?
How often do 911 calls by Vonage calls get misrouted?
Is there a signficant difference between the two?

3/24/2006 12:41:43 PM

yes, there's a huge difference between the two.

see: http://news.com.com/FAQ+Why+the+FCC+is+targeting+VoIP+911+calls/2100-7352_3-5712788.html

3/24/2006 12:48:11 PM

Thanks for the link ... that explains a lot. I didn't know 911 call centers were privately owned/operated.

3/24/2006 12:58:17 PM

You'd think neighbor would have called.

I also don't know what jitter problem you are talking about. My vonage line is the clearest phone line I've had (cell or land) in years.

3/24/2006 1:01:23 PM

you're lucky then. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. And if I'm VPN'd in to work, forget any calls at all.

Vonage can't provide any QoS across an ISP's network, so your mileage may vary. TWC's Voip solution will travel on TWC owned equipment, with packet prioritization given to it's voice traffic end to end, so it'll be inherently superior to a 3rd party VoIP provider.

3/24/2006 1:24:24 PM

maybe it's all the porn...

3/24/2006 1:28:26 PM

1) Try not to catch your house on fire.
2) Have Cellphone
3) Try not to die
4) Use regular phone.

3/24/2006 1:30:59 PM

^^ aha, but all my pr0n is locally stored.

3/24/2006 1:40:52 PM

wait, so any phone plugged into a jack...even if there's no service, will get 911? That's not true from everything I know about phones and phone service.

3/24/2006 1:47:34 PM

Quote :

"i use my cell for everything and have a regular phone plugged into the wall. you get 911 service even without giving bellsouth money."

Also, any cell phone (even if not hooked up for service) can still call 911.

3/24/2006 1:50:11 PM

^^^so you've stopped d/ling new stuff?? dear god you are getting old...

3/24/2006 2:09:56 PM

^^ but they can't automatically trace the call to get your location, which is generally (but not always) important.

3/24/2006 2:11:48 PM

My father is convinced that Vonage is the way to go
I'm compiling shit like this to send him.

Thanks

3/24/2006 4:27:30 PM

^^ It depends on where you are. Wake County is a wireless E911 phase 2 county. In phase two counties, your location (lat + long) is displayed on the PSAP operator's screen. More rural areas are more likely to be phase 0 or phase 1.

3/24/2006 6:20:25 PM

locating a cell phone caller is a low accuracy procedure, even for phase 2

3/24/2006 7:08:47 PM

my brother has vonage because he went to dominica for school but he got the 919 number so its really cheap for us to call him and vice versa

3/24/2006 7:22:22 PM

Quote :

"i use my cell for everything and have a regular phone plugged into the wall. you get 911 service even without giving bellsouth money."

yep. that's what i do.

Quote :

"TWC's VoIP solution"

just like their broadband service is overpriced as usual. of course they neglect to mention they can match vonage's prices, but you have to know who to talk to.

3/24/2006 7:53:16 PM

Quote :

"landlines are soo 1990's"

you need a landline if you have a fam
... also, how would you 10 year old call you if they needed to? would they have a cell phone like their parents?

3/24/2006 8:29:33 PM

I love how this is located right next to the newstory:

Ads by Google
Vonage Phone Service
Unlimited US & Canada Calls $24.99
Order Now and Get One Month Free!
http://www.vonage.com

3/24/2006 8:44:52 PM

Quote :

"... also, how would you 10 year old call you if they needed to? would they have a cell phone like their parents?"

by the time they are old enough to be home alone they are old enough for a cell phone

before that, they can call me on the cell phone of whomever is watching them

3/24/2006 9:27:34 PM

A bit of discussion into the fire seems to indicate that all is not as reported, or more accurately the news article is embelishing and also leaving out that POTS calls to 911 can and have been put on hold as well.

http://www.vonage-forum.com/ftopic11631.html

3/24/2006 10:45:38 PM

Quote :

"locating a cell phone caller is a low accuracy procedure, even for phase 2"

ph2 locate accuracy is required to be within 100m.

3/25/2006 10:05:57 AM

Quote :

"I have vonage right now, and never use it because the jitter makes it worthless."

3/25/2006 8:28:45 PM

nationwide calling is just as clear as POTS. it's when you make a lot of international calls that the call quality is worthless.

3/27/2006 6:58:17 PM

vonage and cell phone that works only for 911 is still cheaper than a local phone company service.

the benefits far outweigh the bad

3/28/2006 8:23:12 AM

the only problem i have with vonage is when I'm downloading something on bit torrent, but I just throttle my bt downloads during the times i'll be home and that prevents it from being a problem

3/28/2006 9:08:08 AM

eh, I work on a lot of voice quality issues for enterprise voip implementations, and it's ingrained in me that voip without QoS is a bad idea.

3/28/2006 9:13:24 AM

i knew a guy who tried vonage in wolf village... haha, that shit was staticky and horrible and pretty much useless

3/28/2006 4:31:48 PM

I was watching some tv last night-and NOW at the bottom of the screen, it says "911 calls may not always work properly" or something to that effect. I LOL'd!

4/5/2006 11:05:12 AM