VOIP kills babies

Wed, 2008-07-30 14:32

Agent 204

OK, a sort of inflammatory title perhaps, but [url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080730.wr91130/Emai... far from the truth[/url]:

quote:

A federal investigation into a 911 call that sent ambulances to a home in Ontario while the family of a dying baby waited in vain three provinces away in Calgary has placed the blame on the Internet telephone company Comwave.
A series of documents, which Comwave fought for the past three months to keep confidential, have been obtained by The Globe and Mail. They say that federal regulators believe the company's call-takers didn't follow proper emergency procedures.
The botched response to the 911 call led to an ambulance being dispatched to the family's former address in Mississauga.
Letters exchanged between Comwave and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission since the incident in April show that the regulator believes the company should be held accountable. However, Comwave disputed those claims yesterday, denying that it broke any federal rules.
Comwave sought to have the documents kept private, saying in a letter to the CRTC that it [b]would "cause material and financial loss" if the information was made public.[/b]

My emphasis. No kidding; hearing this story doesn't exactly make me want to use VOIP. Not that I was likely to before; I called one of the providers' toll-free number once and was astounded by the poor sound quality. "Ah", I thought, "so that's what VOIP sounds like".

Wed, 2008-07-30 17:32

#3

Maritimesea

Just read about this. I know a local company that sells/sets up VOIP to businesses. It's a new technology and may well become a booming industry, but I certainly would be hesitant to rely on it in an emergency.

Fri, 2008-08-01 05:40

#4

scooter

quote:

Originally posted by Agent 204:
[b]OK, a sort of inflammatory title perhaps, but...[/b]

It is inflammatory and hurts the quality of discussion.

quote:

Originally posted by Agent 204:
[b]astounded by the poor sound quality[/b]

I and many of my friends use VOIP for long distance calls. The amount of money we've saved is astounding. The sound quality is good. Depending upon the country called VOIP is higher quality than using a land line.

Too bad you're judging the technology on your first impression. Didn't your mother teach you not to trust your first impression? [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img]

That said, I am keeping my land line since during an emergency there is no guarantee that your cell phone or VOIP will work. Plus I like showing up on our local white pages.

Fri, 2008-08-01 07:26

#5

Fidel

quote:

[url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/05/05/rethinking-voip.html]P... 911 limitations using VoIP[/url]
- Call may be patched to the wrong 911 centre or a non-emergency line causing a response delay.
- If a caller is unable to speak, or if the call is disconnected, the operator may not have automatic location information.
- Power failure or disrupted internet connection can disconnect access to 911 service. VoIP services do not have to enlist the use of interpretation services that exist in cities like Calgary, Toronto or Vancouver.
Source: City of Toronto

Ever notice that during a general power outage your landline phone still works?

Fri, 2008-08-01 08:52

#6

Pride for Red D...

I have videotron for my phone and the qulity is just fine. The modem it plugs into has battery pack in case of a power out.

Fri, 2008-08-01 10:26

#7

Fidel

But you won't be [url=http://www.videotron.com/services/en/service_clientele/8_3.jsp]holding them liable[/url] in the event that it doesn't.

Fri, 2008-08-08 06:05

#8

scooter

You realize that your cell phone isn't guaranteed to work during a power outage.

Fri, 2008-08-08 09:24

#9

Fidel

Yes, landline phones do work during a power outage. Power to generate dial tones and ring tones, call management, set up voice connections etc are central office switching capabilities for landline service and independent of local power generation and distribution.

Fri, 2008-08-08 10:37

#10

alisea

A caveat: As many of us here in Halifax found out after Hurricane Juan a few years ago, land line phones may or may not work during a power outage, depending on who is your provider. Bell/Aliant worked just fine, but we have cheaper landline service provided by Eastlink. Eastlink -- and I would suspect other land line resellers - uses powered switch boxes to connect to the main Bell backbone. No power, no land line.