Multi-line Telephone Systems – Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’S Act 911 Direct Dialing, Notification, and Dispatchable Location Requirements
Read the full text at FCC Website.
New FCC Requirements
On August 1st, 2019, the FCC released its report and order regarding E911. In it the FCC has decided to establish minimum rules for all MLTS platforms. That means every single business in the United States is now required to offer the following:
Kari’s Law – Direct Dialing and Notification for MLTS
Feb. 17, 2020:*
Dial 911 without a prefix
Notify a central location when 911 is dialed
RAY BAUM’S Act – Dispatchable Location for MLTS
ACCURATE DISPATCHABLE LOCATIONS
Address
Floor
Room
Under Section 506 of RAY BAUM’S Act, the Commission has adopted rules to ensure that “dispatchable location” is conveyed with 911 calls to dispatch centers, regardless of the technological platform used, including 911 calls from MLTS. Dispatchable location means a location delivered to the PSAP with a 911 call that consists of the validated street address of the calling party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party. (47 CFR § 9.3.) For further information on dispatchable location requirements applicable to non-MLTS, including compliance timelines, see the sort by Dispatchable Location web page.
Fixed Phones: Hardphones that are static in an environment. These phones must meet these requirements January 6th, 2021.
Non-Fixed: Softphones or Hardphones that move in the environment. These phones must meet these requirements by January 6th, 2022
Remote: Off-premise 911 calls such as remote workers or people working from home. These phones must meet requirements by January 6th, 2022.
Sidenote
It is unclear how a remote user on VPN will be subject to this requirement at this time. People travel and it is not feasible to know if they are at a hotel or a restaurant if using a soft phone on a network outside of corporate control.
Solutions
Kari’s law can be solved with Singlewire Emergency Notification Dial Aware and verifying you can dial 911 without a prefix like 9,911.
Ray Baum’s law will require Cisco Emergency Responder or another location based service along with working with your carrier to verify DIDs are associated with locations. Remote workers dialing through a central location will present a unique challenge but that date is set for Jan 2022.
This document is not legal advice and may change after publication.