 qdemn7Smurf in My LoopPremium
join:2003-09-16
Fort Worth, TX | Don't Get Too Uppity Before everyone gets too self-righteous about lawsuits, this isn't Bubba Joe Dipwad suing Vonage nor any other VOIP. It's the frigging AG of each state. The State's Lawyer, get it??? You think they might just know a wee bit more about the legal end of things than BBR people?
I'm usually one of the first ones to scream about lawsuit abuse and Tort Reform when the average ambulance chaser tries to sue someone over a frivolous deal, but THIS time I've changed my tune, and here's why.
My company (which shall remain nameless) just switched from LL phone service to VOIP less than a week ago, and guess what happens last night? You guessed it, major intranet outage (bad router). No phones, no computers, no nothing for 2 1/2 hours. I have to go to my car and get MY OWN GODDAMN CELL PHONE to contact network support, my boss, his boss, and just in case I might need a little something like Emergency help. Otherwise who knows WTF might have happened.
I can just see the future. Everyone switches to VOIP 'cause it's so much cheaper, then some hackers attack the net, and crash large portions of it, and guess what?? No damn phone service, no emergency service, all the cell phone circuits are busy cause everyone and his dog is trying to use his cell phone.
I was thinking of trying VOIP before this, but you know what, I wouldn't touch it now with a goddamn 10 foot pole.
--
Don't get me wrong, I love America, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. But America often reminds of "Wackyland" in that old Porky Pig cartoon when he was looking for the Dodo. Wackyland's motto was "It can happen here." |
|
bobny1
join:2004-09-10
Bronx, NY | Well!. Maybe if larch number of people go without service politicians would make presure on TELCO to drop unspecified fees and charges so people comback to them... It could be cicle. |
|
markla
join:2002-08-21
Round Rock, TX | Re: wrong target .. IF the states are SO CONCERNED over 911 and EXPECT everyone who has anything that looks like "phone service" must also have working, "real" 911, then they need to target the LECs and make it a requirement for THEM to leave 911 on unused lines OR (at a minimum) just require they have a 911-only service offering for $2-$4 per month: no inbound calls, no outbound calls, except for 911. I'll keep the copper around for that. Afterall, they ALREADY have the infrastructure in place AND they are already taxing for funding it.
Then, it remains MY choice to keep "real" 911 if I want it (and pay for it) OR, NOT have it (and not "accidentally" accept something that says 911 but "isn't"). 
... but THEN the states would be biting the hand that is feeding them $$$ (AND the same hand that is tipping them off in regards to these lawsuits in the first place), eh? 
++Mark |
|
| Just to let you know, even if your phone is disconnected, you CAN dial 911 from it. So keep a regular phone connected to the outside wiring. Don't believe me? dial 611 from the same disconnected line and you will get repair. (you can even dial 311 in some areas and get non-emergency personnel) I found this out too late.
see »911petition.com
The problem is that congress took away the states' rights back in Minnesota vs Vonage, claiming exclusive federal jurisdiction. Then the FCC went ahead and accepted Vonage's application for exempt telecommunications status. Vonage doesn't deliver any calls to 911. So those of you that were talking about 'being too stupid to read', try reading para 2.8 in their terms of service. Vonage delivers calls to numbers that were DISCONTINUED for 911 use back in 1999, but they are still advertising their service as 911. Scary?
Scariest part is that you are actually taking the time to read the documentation, set up the service correctly, and then it STILL doesn't work. Why? Because it is 'Alternative Emergency Dialing'. It is not the 911 that the American people have become accustomed to since 1968. Ask a 5 year old who to call for emergency help? I'll bet you he'd say 911.
I dialed 911, I reached NO ONE, my daughter died. My service was set up according to Vonage's instructions. Yes I can read. Yes Vonage lied. And YES I am asking you to read WHY and make an Informed decision about telecommunications in your home. »911petition.com |
|
| Very sorry to hear about your daughter Julia... that alone should say it all!!!
If everyone is now paying attention... you may have noticed Cell Phones have GPS locaters in every phone, specifically for locating 911 calls. You can disable GPS for everything but 911.
I think the FCC should require the same GPS in VOIP equipment making it possible to track and locate the origin of a 911 call. |
|
| I called 911 a few days ago in the Bay Area, Ca. and got the police records department voicemail tree, telling me that if it was an emergency call for me to hang up and call 911. |
|
