What you need to know about the New 911 Requirements
Recently, the communications news and headlines have been filled with information regarding Kari’s Law implementation and the upcoming implementation of Ray Baum’s Act, both of which are federal regulations regarding the handling of emergency calls.
NEC’s latest Telephone Systems are entirely compliant with Kari’s Law. They fully support a completely flexible dial plan and the ability to provide notification to central locations, in real-time when an emergency call is placed. This means all currently supported NEC communications platforms are programmable to be compliant with Kari’s Law without any need for software or hardware upgrades.
What Is Kari’s Law?
On February 16, 2018, the legislation for Kari’s Law was signed into Federal Law. Named for Kari Hunt Dunn, the law was championed by her family after she was stabbed by her estranged husband and her 9-year-old daughter was unable to reach emergency services because she didn’t know she had to dial “9” to reach an outside line before calling 911 at the hotel where they were staying.
What does Kari’s Law Require?
- Kari’s Law states all outbound dialing must provide direct access to 911 service without the caller having to dial an initial number digit, prefix or another access number before dialing 911.
- That a central location on the customer’s site must receive real-time notification of an in-progress emergency call.
- Additionally, emergency calls must be able to go directly to the Publish Safety Answering Point (PSAP).
Kari’s Law compliance deadline has already passed, as the law officially took effect on February 16, 2020.
Ray Baum’s Act
Ray Baum’s Act requires that emergency calls must include “Dispatchable Location” information when the call is sent to the public-safety answering point (PSAP). Dispatchable location information is defined as the street address of the calling party as well as additional information such as room number, floor number and other similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.
Ray Baum’s Acts goes into effect on January 6, 2021 for fixed VoIP Terminals and on January 6, 2022 for mobile or remote VoIP Terminals.
For further clarification for the Ray Baum Act or Kari’s law in 2020, feel free to call Voicecom Plus, Inc. at 201-512-3900.
Kari’s Law Link – https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/582/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22kari%27s+law%22%5D%7D&r=20&s=3
Ray Baum’s Act Link – https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/582/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22kari%27s+law%22%5D%7D&r=20&s=3