Virtual E911 Solutions by Amcom Software

Difficulties Identifying 911 Caller Locations

Many large enterprise networks now have multiple PBXs, which can even reside in different communities. Typically, a main PBX is designated as the primary means of interfacing with the phone companies and local public safety answering point (PSAP)—the call center that provides 911emergency response. The remaining PBXs may route their outbound calls through the main PBX and then to the outside world.

The problem with this setup is that if a 911 call is made from a secondary PBX or remote VoIP user’s phone, the PSAP for the main PBX would receive the call (in most cases) and not the 911 call center closest to the caller. Thus, the automatic identification of the caller’s location is not possible, presenting a tremendous safety concern. As an example, a remote worker in Washington connects via a VoIP phone to his company’s Atlanta headquarters. If he places a 911 call, he would reach a PSAP in Atlanta,hundreds of miles from his location.

The Solution: Virtual E911

Amcom Software solves this by implementing our Virtual E911 application in concert with Amcom™ Enterprise Alert™. Virtual E911 is an IP-based, next-generation solution that helps ensure a 911 caller’s exact location is reliably sent to the right 911 public safety network—the one that’s closest.

Benefits

Quick, easy deployment
Routes remote 911 calls to the caller’s local PSAP
Creates 911 database records for remote sites and uploads to 911 ALI database
Supports numerous remote sites with multiple phones that network from a main site/node
Enables PSAP callback to remote 911 callers
Tracks IP and wireless device movement and identifies the new IP device location (with the option of Amcom’s IP Phone Tracking Gateway)
Provides onsite notification, 911 call monitoring, and recording features. Onsite notification and call monitoring are based on caller location.

How It Works

Using Amcom Virtual E911, it appears to the caller and the appropriate PSAP as if the 911 call was routed to the local 911 network from the 911 caller’s local address, when in fact the 911 call may have been routed over a wide area from a completely different geographical location. The system determines the correct PSAP and the appropriate callback number to use to contact the 911 caller. There is no requirement to purchase the ALI database service from the local telephone company to handle the remote sites’ phone numbers.

This works equally well with VoIP or PBXs that are networked to the main PBX over a traditional telephone network. Thus, an enterprise network with PBXs at complex sites distributed throughout multiple regions/states can be handled with Amcom Enterprise Alert and Amcom Virtual E911.