[Asterisk-biz] Tossing out an idea for 911 - your thoughts and comments please.

[Jason Brown]

It is my understanding that Vonage and all the big guys are using 911 call centers for this...I know L3 has a big one that simply serves to take inbound 911 calls and the operator calls the appropriate agency - does anyone know the accuracy of this?

Anyway, my idea is to start a not-for profit company to create a 911 call center. I am meeting with a person who owns a call center here in Florida who may be interested. My idea is really simple:

A monthly fee to maintain the app that will be developed to facilitate taking 911 calls - and chip in on paying employees.

A per use charge for each 911 call that has to be taken, and the operator facilitating an emergency call.

OnStar does the same basic thing - you ring an emergency call and they simply get the appropriate agency on the phone based on your GPS locator in the car. Alarm companies do the same thing - your alarm doesn't ring up 911 directly.

What we need is:

A web portal that allow us to update customer locator information to the app that runs when a call goes through.
An 800 number to the call center.
Your VoIP servers of course must pass the correct outbound caller ID number.
The call center adds a CIDname somthing like EMERGENCY DISPATCH CALL for calls inbound to the 800 number for the call taker.
The caller ID number associated with the call tells the operator on screen what is the phone number to the appropriate authorities, i.e. a caller ID number associated with locator info provided by VoIP company A brings up a list of Fire, Police, Parademic emergency numbers for the operator to dial automatically.

Now about cost:

In the early days, when I was in the Budget process I went to a provider that my PRI provider recommended, OM2Tech. They initially quoted me 250.00 setup, and 250.00 min monthly and .25 per DID after. That turned out to be a farce, since BellSouth and Intrado decided to keep wraps on their local monopoly.

Intrado wants 4500.00 setup, and 3500.00 min monthly to provide 911 service. If they get a call that cannot be routed, they charge you 85.00 per call that their call center has to route.

I am thinking a hybrid model. What if we could get a call center to do this for 250.00 per month and charge us 100.00 per call that they have to route?

I would take this solution in a heartbeat. If the customer makes a bogus 911 call, they get a bill - but in the interest of public safety I would not care about paying 100 bucks for a single 911 call to be routed properly and quickly.

I welcome everyone's thoughts and possible interest in this scenario. I could get it up and running in as little as 2 or 3 weeks from what I am being told.

Jason
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It is my understanding that Vonage and all the big guys are using 911 call centers for this...I know L3 has a big one that simply serves to take inbound 911 calls and the operator calls the appropriate agency - does anyone know the accuracy of this?

Anyway, my idea is to start a not-for profit company to create a 911 call center. I am meeting with a person who owns a call center here in Florida who may be interested. My idea is really simple:

A monthly fee to maintain the app that will be developed to facilitate taking 911 calls - and chip in on paying employees.

A per use charge for each 911 call that has to be taken, and the operator facilitating an emergency call.

OnStar does the same basic thing - you ring an emergency call and they simply get the appropriate agency on the phone based on your GPS locator in the car. Alarm companies do the same thing - your alarm doesn't ring up 911 directly.

What we need is:

A web portal that allow us to update customer locator information to the app that runs when a call goes through.
An 800 number to the call center.
Your VoIP servers of course must pass the correct outbound caller ID number.
The call center adds a CIDname somthing like EMERGENCY DISPATCH CALL for calls inbound to the 800 number for the call taker.
The caller ID number associated with the call tells the operator on screen what is the phone number to the appropriate authorities, i.e. a caller ID number associated with locator info provided by VoIP company A brings up a list of Fire, Police, Parademic emergency numbers for the operator to dial automatically.

Now about cost:

In the early days, when I was in the Budget process I went to a provider that my PRI provider recommended, OM2Tech. They initially quoted me 250.00 setup, and 250.00 min monthly and .25 per DID after. That turned out to be a farce, since BellSouth and Intrado decided to keep wraps on their local monopoly.

Intrado wants 4500.00 setup, and 3500.00 min monthly to provide 911 service. If they get a call that cannot be routed, they charge you 85.00 per call that their call center has to route.

I am thinking a hybrid model. What if we could get a call center to do this for 250.00 per month and charge us 100.00 per call that they have to route?

I would take this solution in a heartbeat. If the customer makes a bogus 911 call, they get a bill - but in the interest of public safety I would not care about paying 100 bucks for a single 911 call to be routed properly and quickly.

I welcome everyone's thoughts and possible interest in this scenario. I could get it up and running in as little as 2 or 3 weeks from what I am being told.

Jason