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Community Broadband 911
Emergency Dialing
Community Broadband provides Emergency Dialing services because
your safety is important! Please note that there are important differences
between Community Broadband's Emergency Dialing services and "traditional"
landline 911 service. We urge you to review the Quick Link
documents (in the left column) and to completely read the following
FAQs regarding these significant differences:
Emergency Dialing FAQs
- How do I use Community Broadband Emergency
Dialing services?
- How does "traditional" landline
911 work?
- What is E911?
- What is 911 Dialing?
- How can I check if E911 is available
in my area?
- How does Community Broadband Emergency
Dialing work?
- How can I activate my Emergency Dialing
service?
- Why do I have to give you my physical
address?
- What happens if I temporarily move
my equipment?
- How do I change my Emergency Dialing
service physical service address?
- How long does it take for my Emergency
Dialing service to be activated or changed?
- Will Emergency Dialing work if I
change my telephone number or add new numbers to my account?
- Are there any limitations to dialing
911 from a VoIP phone?
- Can I dial 911 from a VoIP phone
during a power outage or broadband service outage?
- Will Community Broadband VoIP service
support home security systems, medical monitoring equipment, or
other phone-based safety/security systems?
- Does Community Broadband provide
warning labels for my phones?
- What can I do to improve the effectiveness
of my Emergency Dialing services?
- Do I need to make a test call to
911?
- What else should I know about Emergency
Dialing with Community Broadband?
1. How do I use Community Broadband Emergency
Dialing services?
Simply dial 911 in the case of an emergency and your call will be
connected to an emergency response center.
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2. How does "traditional" landline
911 work?
"911" is the telephone number used to request emergency
assistance in the United States and Canada. Controlled by various
state and local agencies, it provides fast and easy access to local
emergency response centers, where 911 calls are received by operators
and then routed to the proper emergency services (fire, police,
EMS). Dialing 911 is not the only way of reaching the police, fire
or EMS agencies by phone; emergency services have local direct telephone
numbers as well.
Enhanced 911 ("E911") was developed more than 20 years
ago to improve landline 911 services by automatically providing
emergency response operators with the caller's phone number and
physical address. This enabled emergency services personnel to be
dispatched to the scene even if the caller was unable to speak or
if the call was suddenly disconnected. Today approximately 90% of
the United States is serviced by emergency response centers that
support E911.
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3. What is E911?
Enhanced 911 ("E911") service automatically provides emergency
response operators with the caller's phone number and physical address.
This enables emergency services personnel to be dispatched to the
scene even if the caller is unable to speak or if the call is suddenly
disconnected.
Community Broadband E911 service is currently not available in
all areas, although we expect availability to increase throughout
the region in upcoming months. Where E911 is not already available,
we offer a limited emergency calling service known as 911 Dialing.
While Enhanced 911 is the most advanced form of Emergency Dialing
Service available, there are some limitations when it is provided
by a Voice over IP provider such as Community Broadband. We urge
you to fully review this page and to read the Community Broadband
911 Emergency Dialing Policy and Terms
of Service for important information regarding these significant
differences.
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4. What is 911 Dialing?
911 Dialing is a limited emergency calling service that Community
Broadband provides wherever E911 is not yet available. 911 Dialing
uses the address you provide to determine the nearest emergency
response center and then sends your call to a general number at
that center. When the center receives your call, the operator will
not have your address and may or may not have your phone number,
thus you must provide information in order to get help. You will
need to clearly state:
- The nature of your emergency
- Your location
- Your telephone number
Some local emergency response centers may decide not to have their
general numbers answered by live operators 24 hours a day. If we
learn that this is the case, we will send your call instead to a
national emergency calling center and a trained agent will assist
you in contacting local emergency services.
Community Broadband 911 Dialing is available only on Community
Broadband-certified Devices or Equipment. 911 Dialing may not work
at all when used in conjunction with a Soft Phone, Virtual Numbers
or subscriber provided Customer Premise Equipment. Contact customer
service if you need assistance determining if your equipment is
compatible with 911 Dialing.
Please note that there are important differences between Community
Broadband 911 Dialing, E911 and traditional landline 911 service.
We urge you to fully review this page and to read the Community
Broadband 911 Emergency Dialing Policy
and Terms of Service for important information
regarding these significant differences.
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5. How can I check if E911 is available
in my area?
We've made it easy to check if you already have E911 service in
your area. Simply dial 933 from your Community Broadband Phone for
location-specific E911 availability.
Community Broadband E911 service is currently not available in
all areas, although we expect availability to increase throughout
the region in upcoming months. Where E911 is not already available,
we offer a limited emergency calling service known as 911 Dialing.
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6. How does Community Broadband Emergency
Dialing work?
When you sign up for Community Broadband Voice over IP phone service,
Community Broadband will register your service address in a 911
database. Your service address will be used to determine the nearest
emergency response center.
Community Broadband E911 service: If your service address
is in a location where E911 is available, when you dial 911 Community
Broadband will route your call to the emergency response center
that supports your address. The operator will automatically receive
your name, address, and phone number so you will not need to provide
this information verbally. The operator will help you to quickly
access the proper emergency services (fire, police, EMS).
Community Broadband E911 service is currently not available in
all areas, although we expect availability to increase throughout
the region in upcoming months. Where E911 is not already available,
we offer a limited emergency calling service known as 911 Dialing.
Community Broadband 911 Dialing service: This limited emergency
calling service uses the address of your registered location to
determine the nearest emergency response center and then forwards
your call to a general number at that center. When the center receives
your call, the operator will not have your address on hand, thus
you will need to promptly and clearly state the nature of your emergency,
your location and possibly your telephone number. Some local emergency
response centers may not have live operators 24 hours a day. In
the event Community Broadband is unable to send your call to a live
operator at your local emergency response center, Community Broadband
will send your call to a national emergency calling center and a
trained agent will help you to access local emergency services.
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7. How do I activate my Emergency Dialing
service?
Emergency Dialing is automatically enabled for you as part of the
service. You do not need to request the service. All we need is
your physical service address, which you will provide to us when
you complete the Subscriber Agreement at signup. We will register
your address in the 911 database. It may take up to three business
days for new (or revised) address information to populate the 911
database.
If Community Broadband E911 service is not yet available at your
location, you will receive 911 Dialing service. When E911 does become
available, we will automatically upgrade your service; no additional
action from you is necessary.
It is your obligation is to notify us if you move your equipment
(temporarily or permanently) to a new service address -- or if you
add new phone numbers or change your phone number, you must provide
us with the service address for each added/changed phone number.
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8. Why do I have to give you my physical
address?
Unlike landline phone service, Community Broadband Voice over IP
phone service is portable. For example, you can have a California
number and receive calls in Oregon. Notifying us of your physical
address is the only way to locate the appropriate emergency response
center serving your area at your current and physical location.
It is imperative that you keep this information updated with Community
Broadband. Otherwise, if Community Broadband does not have your
correct address at all times, your 911 call could be routed to an
emergency response center not in your immediate area, thereby delaying
emergency services to your location.
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9. What happens if I temporarily move my
equipment?
Community Broadband needs to know the physical location of your
Community Broadband VoIP equipment and service as all times for
Emergency Dialing services to function. Otherwise emergency service
operators may not be able to dispatch emergency personnel to your
address when you dial 911. If you travel with your Community Broadband
equipment for an extended period (such as to a vacation home), you
should change your Emergency Dialing service address. You can do
this via the Phone Service Support form on the Contact
Us page or by calling Customer Service. This will ensure your
call is routed to the closest emergency response center.
You may only register one location at a time for each Community
Broadband phone line.
If you move your equipment and dial 911 without registering your
new service address, it is very important to inform the operator
of your exact location. If it has been less than three business
days since you registered your new service address, you should also
be careful to confirm your exact location with the operator.
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10. How do I change my Emergency Dialing service physical service
address?
You can do this via the Phone Service Support form on the Contact
Us page or by calling Customer Service.
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11. How long does it take for my Emergency
Dialing service to be activated or changed?
Once your phone service has been activated or you submit a change
regarding your physical service address, it may take up to three
business days for the change to take effect.
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12. Will Emergency Dialing work if I change my telephone number
or add new numbers to my account?
Revisions and updates to the 911 database are not automatic. Community
Broadband Emergency Dialing will not function properly if you change
your phone number or if you add or port new phone numbers to your
account, unless and until you successfully register your service
address for each changed, newly added or newly ported phone number.
You can do this via the Phone Service Support form on the Contact
Us page or by calling Customer Service.
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13. Are there any limitations to dialing
911 from a VoIP phone?
Even if Community Broadband provides E911 in your area, there are
still limitations to dialing 911 using VoIP service. Therefore,
we strongly advise you to always have alternative means of accessing
emergency services, such as a traditional landline phone or wireless
phone.
Emergency Dialing (E911 or 911 Dialing) from any VoIP provider
will NOT work in the following situations:
- If there is a power outage or disruption.
- If there is a broadband service outage.
- If your phone or broadband account is suspended or terminated
due to billing issues or other reasons.
- If your phone or equipment fails or is not configured correctly.
There are additional circumstances which may limit the effectiveness
of VoIP Emergency Dialing (E911 & 911 Dialing):
- During instances of broadband network congestion, you may get
a busy signal when dialing 911, or it may take longer for someone
to answer the call than it would with traditional landline service.
- In some instances the emergency response center receiving the
E911 call may not be configured to recognize E911. In this case,
regardless of whether you are calling from a traditional landline
or VoIP phone, the emergency operator will not be able to see
your phone number or address. Approximately 90% of the United
States is currently serviced by emergency response centers that
support E911.
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14. Can I dial 911 from a VoIP phone during
a power outage or broadband service outage?
No. Voice over IP phone service is different from traditional landline
service because it relies on your broadband connection and electronic
equipment (adapter, router, modem, etc.). Therefore, VoIP service,
including Emergency Dialing services, will not function properly
in the event of a loss of power or loss of your broadband connection.
In order for your VoIP service to work, you must have power and
an active Internet connection.
Community Broadband strongly recommends that you keep a landline
or wireless phone available as an alternative means of accessing
emergency services. However it is important to recognize that a
cordless phone connected to traditional landline phone service also
requires power and will not work during a power outage either.
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15. Will Community Broadband VoIP service
support home security systems, medical monitoring equipment, or
other phone-based safety/security systems?
Community Broadband VoIP service is currently not compatible with
out-dialing systems, including home security systems, medical monitoring
equipment, TTY equipment, and entertainment or satellite television
systems.
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16. Does Community Broadband provide warning
labels for my phones?
Yes. For your safety, Community Broadband provides stickers concerning
the potential non-availability of traditional 911 or E911 dialing
(the "911 Sticker") with each phone and device that you
purchase. It is your responsibility to write down your appropriate
local emergency services telephone numbers (fire, police, EMS) on
the stickers and place them on or near your phone and equipment.
Contact customer service if you would like additional 911 Stickers.
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17. What can I do to improve the effectiveness of my Emergency Dialing
services?
There are a few very important steps you can take:
Register your physical service address: When you sign up
for service, Community Broadband will register your service address
in the 911 database. However the 911 database will NOT update automatically
if you move your service (temporarily or permanently), change your
telephone number or add additional telephone numbers to your account.
You must provide current service location information for all of
your telephone numbers to Community Broadband for Emergency Dialing
services to function properly. If you are unsure whether Community
Broadband has your current, correct service location registered
for each of your telephone numbers, please contact Community Broadband
customer service to verify.
911 Stickers: It is your responsibility to write down your
appropriate local emergency services telephone numbers on the provided
911 Stickers and place them on the phones and equipment that you
use with your Community Broadband phone service. Contact customer
service if you would like additional 911 Stickers.
If your phone has a speed dialing feature, we strongly encourage
you to program your local emergency numbers into your phone for
fast dialing. You can also do this with your cell phone. Make sure
that everyone who uses the phone regularly is aware of how to operate
the speed dialing features.
Notify users of the phone service: It is your responsibility
to educate family members, employees, coworkers, guests and any
others who might use your Community Broadband phone service regarding:
- The non-availability of traditional landline 911 (and E911 --
if not supported at your current location)
- The important differences in and limitations of 911 Dialing
and VoIP E911 as compared with traditional 911
- How to use Community Broadband Emergency Dialing in the event
of an emergency.
Check the service: If you do not use your Community Broadband
phone regularly, check it from time to time to make sure it is working
correctly (outbound calling is functioning, all connections are
correct and secure, service has not been disconnected, etc.)
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18. Do I need to make a test call to 911?
No. We have done extensive testing to ensure that our Emergency
Dialing services operate correctly with your VoIP service. Please
note, placing a test call to 911 when there is not an emergency
can be punishable by law in some areas. If you do choose to test
911, you must immediately inform the operator it is not an emergency
and that you are testing your alternative emergency service to make
sure it's working properly.
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19. What else should I know about Emergency
Dialing with Community Broadband?
Please refer to the Community Broadband 911
Emergency Dialing Policy and Terms of
Service for other Emergency Dialing limitations and considerations.
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