madams9
join:2001-11-18
East Brunswick, NJ
| [ATT CV] wierd thing with signing up for AT&T CV
I currently have vonage but I am going to jump to CV and I see something wierd when I sign up on the web.
If I request a new number they verify my address and tell me that my address doesn't have e911 yet so I can't purchase e911
If I request to transfer my number from verizon, they check my address but no warning about e911 this time.
I wonder if this is an oversite on their part or they don't really care about e911 as long as they are taking customers away from the competetion. |
|
ropeguru
Premium
join:2001-01-25
Bridgeport, WV
clubs: | Re: [ATT CV] wierd thing with signing up for AT&T
A quick guess might be that whoever is providing their numbers, if you do not port, does not have 911 available yet. But with a ported number it might be available.
--
FWD#: 223611 |
|
Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
 ·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| reply to madams9
Re: [ATT CV] wierd thing with signing up for AT&T CV
That is an interesting situation. I would consider calling an ATT sales rep at 1-866-816-3815 (phone number posted in ATT's website).
For giggles, I thought I'd see if I could reproduce your issue. ATT offers E911 service to my area, so I wouldn't be able to use my own address... I entered bogus info (name, phone#) into the system, and chose a street number on my street that does not exist (and therefore would not be in the 911 database). Whether I asked for a new number or asked to transfer a phone number, my order attempt failed due to the address not existing in the 911 database.
I presume you enter your address the exact same way both times.  It sounds as if ATT might use your local phone records to verify your address when you request a number port. Obviously, they don't have that option if you request a new number. Why your address wouldn't be in the 911 database for a new number request, though, is beyond me.
The other issue I've found is that if I enter a phone number in a different rate center than my home address, the 911 verification fails, even if I know the address is in the 911 database. That could also explain the problem you're having.
--
»www.voipboards.net |
|
randym435
join:2004-09-22
Pittsburg, CA
| reply to madams9
Re: [ATT CV] wierd thing with signing up for AT&T
I guess you guy haven't heard ATT is not excepting new customer if they don't have e911 in thier area... or some other type of 911 service... Guess when folk get smart and stop suing for crap they should have known before signing up for VOIP ..we stop having these stupid stop and starts with VOIP service..and the real VOIP explosion can happen.. |
|
madams9
join:2001-11-18
East Brunswick, NJ | That is the whole point of this thread. If I try to get a new number - they won't let me sign up because they say I won't get e911. If I transfer my number they will let me sign up. |
|
Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| If you're ambitious enough to call ATT and speak with a human (yes, they really are human over at ATT...  ) as opposed to dealing with the unforgiving website, I'd be interested to hear how it goes. It seems to me that if it will accept your address with a LNP, it would accept your address with a new number.
If you request a new number, make sure it's in the same rate center as your number. To check that out, go to this website: »members.dandy.net/~czg/lca_prefix.php
Type in your area code and exchange in the NPA and NXX boxes, respectively, then submit your entries. Click on the text under "Rate Center" (likely the name of your city, or some mutilated abbreviation thereof), and it will list all of the CO codes (NXX's) for your rate center. This list appears horizontally under your area code and above the text "See all [Local Prefixes]". If ATT can truly port your phone number, one of the prefixes in that list will match an option available from ATT. Clear as mud? I'm beginning to think so. 
Here are some suggestions specific to your situation, madams9  :
According to your public profile here on BBR, you're from East Brunswick, NJ. Using the phone# from a pizza place in East Brunswick, NJ and following the steps above, I see that your rate center is actually named South River. That would mean your area code is 732, and your NXX (middle 3 digits of your phone#) matches one of the patterns here: 210 228 234 238 251 254 257 304 307 353 360 387 390 416 432 503 518 538 613 651 698 723 955 967
If your current phone# (that you don't yet want to port) is in one of the above exchanges and you choose "Get a new number" during ATT's signup process, choose a South River phone# (353 exchange), and your address will likely be validated.
If you are still having difficulties or your phone number is not in one of the exchanges listed above, feel free to PM me or to post the first 6 digits of your phone# (NPA-NXX), and I'll see if I can help you out.
--
»www.voipboards.net |
|
Simmer911
Premium
join:2005-01-12
Chelsea, AL
| reply to madams9
ATT has taken a more cautious approach to the E911 controversy. If they cannot currently provide E911 services to you where you live then they do not want to give you service and risk litigation if your 911 service does not function correctly. Other VOIP companies are taken a different approach and do not see any reason to reject people based on the fact of thier E911 status. This is just the way one company chooses to do business in order to minimize legal action against them in the future.
--
TALKABOUTVOIP.COM VOIP Professional Help |
|
madams9
join:2001-11-18
East Brunswick, NJ
| reply to Fisamo
Fisamo - I did call them at first and that is how I found out that they aren't taking new customers without e911.
I was going to call them again but they have hours from 8 AM - 9 PM. I have been busy recently but I will plan on trying. I will post my results |
|
madams9
join:2001-11-18
East Brunswick, NJ
| Fisamo - I ran my number through. My NPA-NXX is 732-254. Going through the AT&T website I can't get a new number from them with that combination
So looking at the website you gave me I picked South River like you suggested using 732-353 and the AT&T website lets me go through. Does that mean I will have e911? How does the call routing work? I assume it also means if I just transfer my number, 732-254, I would have e911.
BTW, when I came up the "problem" that started this thread. I was using North Brunswick (732-509) which is not part of the same rate center |
|
nycityny
Premium
join:2005-08-09
New York, NY
·PHONE POWER
·VoicePulse
 ·RCN CABLE
·ViaTalk
| madams9 - I think the point of using the website was to put in your own NPA-NXX of 732-254 and see what other combinations are in your rate center. I did that and found the following prefixes in area code 732 that are in your rate center:
210 228 234 238 251 254 257 304 307 353 360 387 390 416 432 503 518 538 613 651 698 723 955 967
So if ATT CV offers any of those numbers the logic would be that E911 would be available since it is available at your own prefix of 732-254.
Is this what you meant Fisamo? |
|
Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| nycityny , that is exactly what I meant. 732-254 does come up as South River, NJ. So, if you (meaning madams9 ) attempt with your current address to sign up for a South River number (even though North Brunswick might be closer to you), you should be able to sign up for your service, and your service should have E911. (Since I don't work for ATT, I can't confirm that, beyond the fact that the signup is allowed to proceed.) I don't know how to answer your question about call routing, but I can explain my own situation, which may help answer your questions.
I live in Apex, NC, which is in the Raleigh metro area. I signed up for CV and had them port my number last December. When ATT first redesigned their website in compliance with the FCC E911 mandates, it indicated I had Alternative 911 service (not E911). A few months ago, my status changed to indicate that I have Alternative E911. I had obviously signed up and gotten my service well before the FCC E911 situation.
However, to see if I could understand and reproduce your problem, I started the signup process with CV for a bogus account (always stopping the process before entering any credit card info, of course). For this account, I entered my neighbor's address (in Apex) and selected an ATT-assigned Raleigh number. That combination caused the signup to fail due to ATT's claimed inability to provide E911 service. When I repeated the process but selected an Apex number, the system appeared to accept my entries (because it asked for credit card info, at which point I canceled the order).
I am interpreting these responses to mean that for ATT to verify that they can properly route E911 calls, your primary number has to be in the rate center assigned by your ILEC (POTS telco, in your case, Verizon). Therefore, I expect you will have E911 service if you sign up with a South River number, whether it's an ATT-assigned number or if it's your home number, ported from Verizon.
The interesting question that remains open is whether or not a 'foreign listing' number can still get E911. Meaning, I know I have E911 for an Apex, NC number in Apex, NC. If I were to sign up for a South River, NJ number (which appears to have E911 capability) with an Apex, NC address (which the website won't allow, even though E911 is available with an Apex number), could the call routing still work such that I'd get E911 routed to the Raleigh area PSAP showing my Apex address but NJ phone#? My head's spinning just thinking about it. I'll have to see if I can get a straight answer to that question (It won't be the exact South River, NJ/Apex, NC situation, though..  )
--
»www.voipboards.net |
|
madams9
join:2001-11-18
East Brunswick, NJ | Have you tested your 911? |
|
Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| Funny you should ask. I've been meaning to test the E911 feature ever since I noticed the upgrade on the website, but I never have.  I suppose I'd have more credibility in saying it will work if I've actually tested it... For what it's worth, though, I did test dial 911 (after getting assurance from my town's PD that it was OK) with the Alternative 911 (not E911) setup, and the call was routed to the correct location. Just no address info was on their screen, which is exactly how it was supposed to work at the time.
I won't test it tonight--I don't like the thought of testing it too late at night (more likelihood of someone needing to place a real call IMO). Maybe I'll try it over the weekend, and if I do, I'll post results.
--
»www.voipboards.net |
|
Fisamo
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Apex, NC
·VOIPo
·AT&T CallVantage
| reply to madams9
OK, so I did finally test the E911 dialing today. Keep in mind that I did get permission by calling the 911 center's administrative line first. (The dispatcher thought I was nuts to ask, but on that, YMMV, and it's best to get that permission first.) So, with permission given, I dialed 911.
There was a short (second or 2) pause while the call was connected and several clicks on the line as the call was connected. When the dispatcher answered (same one who gave me permission to place the test call, actually), I confirmed that my info was displayed on her screen. Everything was correct, so I disconnected the call.
As soon as I hung up, my phone rang--maybe the 911 center hadn't released my line yet. But when I answered, I got a reorder tone (fast busy). When I hung up again, no ring, and my line had dialtone. But when I placed a call from the CV line, I got a phone intercept "The person you are calling cannot be reached at this time. Announcement 11." (or something to that effect) I presume this recording is what someone dialing my line if I had a 911 call in process would get. In any case, after I disconnected from that intercept, I was able to place my normal outbound call.
Overall, I was impressed with the system, because it's clear that for ATT's system anyway, E911 is quite different from Alternative 911, in that your line is held captive by the PSAP (as POTS lines are). Given the text of the FCC's ruling, I suppose other VoIP providers' E911 systems work the same way, but I haven't tried any others.
--
»www.voipboards.net |
|
