[Asterisk-Users] E911 Testing !

[Joe Greco]

> 911 Testing is a very complicated issue. For a clec it typically 
> involves scheduling with them so they will expect your call. Also we 
> frequently use false addresses (that are MSAG resolvable) and some very 
> sophisticated PSAPs even have fake addresses that MSAG resolve to a 
> "testing" ESN. Translated in english:
> 
> 1. I put in a "special address" mapped to a phone number into the 911 
> location database. This is in the ALI database. The primary source of 
> data that the 911 centers map phone number to address.
> 2. MSAG (The master street address guide) maps actual street addresses 
> to "ESNs" an ESN is an "Emergency Service Number" (or something like 
> that, feel free to correct me). It is basically a specific collection of 
> Police, Fire and EMS. For example, Your house might use Police "A", Fire 
> "B" and EMS "B", but the people on the other side of the street might 
> use Police "C", Fire "B", EMS "B" (maybe it's jurisdictionally a 
> "different town"). The PSAPs make up a fake address like 1234 Network 
> Testing Blvd and they make it resolve to ESN 555 which will route to a 
> testing center ("joe") who only recieves test calls.
> 
> Ok.. so too much information.. right?

Definitely.  Unless you happen to be doing a CLEC's office, none of it has
any bearing on the original question.  :-)

> here's the short answer. Please don't call 911 unless you have an 
> emergency. 

False.  Local policies vary widely.  Our 911 service here in Milwaukee is
the preferred method for reporting debris on the freeway to the Sheriff's
Department, for example - a dispatcher once scolded me for *not* calling
911, though admittedly this was only a few years after a truck dropped
some debris on I-94 that ultimately punctured the gas tank of a minivan
containing a large family and lots of people died, so people have been
more sensitive to debris on the highway.

In fact, around here, it's fairly common for installers to test 911 
service, because there's a danger in 911 *not* working as advertised 
under ordinary conditions (someone forgot this or that, not too hard 
on a PRI).

> Find out who your local PSAP is and call the administative 
> number for it and talk to them. Sometimes it is hard to find this 
> number, but it's out there. Look for Emergency services in "ACME town" 
> or "ACME Town 911 Dispatch" etc,etc. Some very small towns actually have 
> their administrative lines forward to the 911 centers for those areas.

Call the police department's non-emergency number and they can help track
down who to contact, if all else fails.

> Also be aware that if you are a carrier, you are required by law to have 
> a signed contract with the 911 agency. This is typically so they can 
> collect on the federally mandated 911 end user line fees.

Most offices aren't phone carriers.  Even most offices for carriers won't
have an installer putting in phones that knows anything about some contract
locked up half a dozen states away in the Legal Department vault at LEC
Headquarters.  So that's not too useful to the guy who just wants to verify
correct operation of 911 services for an office install.

The short form:  *ASK* your local 911 center what they prefer you to do.
In general, they *want* 911 to work right, and there will be some way to
get you what you need.

... JG
-- 
Joe Greco - sol.net Network Services - Milwaukee, WI - http://www.sol.net
"We call it the 'one bite at the apple' rule. Give me one chance [and] then I
won't contact you again." - Direct Marketing Ass'n position on e-mail spam(CNN)
With 24 million small businesses in the US alone, that's way too many apples.