Some thoughts on the E911 deadline
Jeff Pulver threw me on the Top VoIP Bloggers list. Always nice to be noticed by such a big name. I suppose I should write something about VoIP now. 
Apparently the E911 has come for VoIP providers. In short, and in theory, VoIP providers interconnected with the PSTN either have to be fully E911 compliant to sign up new customers or get some sort of forebearance from the FCC. I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you to know that I think that this is a crock of, well, what’s in the cat box.
There are places where E911 doesn’t work on landlines, and we’ve had a century to get that worked out. Cell phones have been around a bit longer than VoIP providers and don’t have E911 either. The FCC has pushed the deadlines for the mobile carriers ad-infinitum. So now VoIP carriers have to do it in, oh, just a few months? What drugs were the FCC Commissioners on? Oh yeah, they were probably high on all the “pork” the conventional telcos gave them. Or something. (Cue the song from Eric Idle about The FCC)
Meanwhile, some carriers aren’t accepting sign-ups while they work on educating the FCC on the error of their ways or praying that Santa Claus gives the FCC Commissioners a clue. Others are simply ignoring the order and signing up people anyway. I dunno, both courses of action are dangerous if you ask me. But then again, the FCC has kind of made this a no-win situation. Kind of makes me wish that the FCC Commissioners were elected instead of appointed officials so I could vote the buggers out of office.
