Peel police warn public of VoIP 911 shortcomings
The Peel Regional Police Service took the unusual step September 13 of issuing a media release to warn the public that 911 service may not work as they expect when using VoIP services. The release highlights the case of a London ON subscriber who had selected a 416 area code for his VoIP local number, who dialed 911 and reached the Toronto call centre rather than the London centre where he was located. "We recommend that anyone requiring emergency services to use their conventional phone service that is connected to the local 911 network," the press release continues. "If they are going to use Voice over Internet, they should then ensure that their VoIP provider gives them access to the local 911 call center with the phone number and address information. This becomes critical if a caller is suffering a health emergency and cannot speak, or has language difficulty."

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