Internet telephony has made cheap calls possible for consumers, but the firms offering calls over the Internet are facing an expensive problem.
A 10-month-old federal mandate requires them to make 911 calls part of a standard service in the United States. The rule stipulates that companies offering voice service provide so-called Enhanced 911 (E911) data—including the caller’s location and call-back number—to emergency workers.
For Internet telephony companies, that’s a costly undertaking. Dozens of companies filed for extensions because they could not meet a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deadline last November. The problem is particularly tough in urban areas and inside big apartment buildings, where signals from satellite-based location systems don’t work. “It’s an incredible burden,” says Will Stofega, research manager for Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services at market research firm IDC.
The burden of E911 has created an opportunity for startups. This week at the VON Internet telephony conference in San Jose, California, several chip and software companies will show off technologies designed to help Internet calling firms comply with U.S. requirements.
Intrado, a Longmont, Colorado-based firm that helps set up 911 services, will talk about its results testing products from two firms, Skyhook and Rosum. Skyhook uses software to help pinpoint a caller’s location. Rosum, by contrast, has created a chip that uses TV signals to help determine location. “We are looking at all types of wireless technologies,” says Robin Erkkila, senior product marketing manager at Intrado. “One tech may work in one environment but not in another.”
, a Longmont, Colorado-based firm that helps set up 911 services, will talk about its results testing products from two firms, Skyhook and Rosum. Skyhook uses software to help pinpoint a caller’s location. Rosum, by contrast, has created a chip that uses TV signals to help determine location. “We are looking at all types of wireless technologies,” says Robin Erkkila, senior product marketing manager at Intrado. “One tech may work in one environment but not in another.”
Right now, providers make sure they send the fire trucks to the right location by relying on subscribers to update their addresses. But users can take VoIP with them on the road, and the problem will grow as more device makers and cellular operators put Wi-Fi in handsets. By 2006, Internet telephony will be a $4-billion business, according to IDC.
Both Skyhook and Rosum hope to be ready for what could be a surge in demand. While Internet telephony companies are waiting for the FCC to clarify its requirements for location-based services before making technology decisions, observers expect the FCC to give answers by this summer.