We are more or less familiar with VoIP emergency service or E911. A similar type of service is 999 in UK. And Ofcom, the regulator for communication in UK has ruled that the VoIP service providers must ensure this service to the customers by the early 2008.
The regulatory body is pitching for VoIP emergency service following its study which claimed that nearly 78 percent of the VoIP customers who cannot use their service to call 999 thought they could, or did not know whether they could.
VoIP has shown rapid growth in UK registering nearly 2.4 million customers by end of last year. The subscribers’ base was 1.2 million a year before. The growth is mainly due to various advantages of VoIP service such as cheap international calls, unified messaging and easy way of call handling.
Although some leading giants such as BT and Vonage are offering emergency services to their customers, the overall 999 picture is quite discouraging.
Ofcom has expressed its concern that the VoIP users may not be forced to locate an ordinary landline or mobile phone, leading to an unintentionally impediment in accessing emergency services.
