Are You Prepared?

Another issue is emergency service. Since it’s not possible for emergency 911 operators to determine where a VOIP call is coming from, many—but not all—VOIP carriers offer E-911 services (now required by the Federal Communication Commission) that allow mobile users to have their 911 calls routed to the correct answering point.

In fact, VOIP itself can be used as an emergency backup plan. Should a building’s traditional phone connections be destroyed or rendered unusable by a flood or tornado, for example, workers might be equipped with VOIP “softphones” on their laptop computers to continue making phone calls from home, branch office, or other locations.

Whether the cause is a wayward backhoe operator, natural disaster, power outage, or even terrorist incident, it’s clear the threat to telecommunications networks is real. Taking steps now to plan for disruptions will ensure you’re back up and running with minimal impact on your bottom line or your reputation with customers.