The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) approved the FCC’s E-911 ...

OMB approval also triggers a Nov. 28 deadline for providers to offer full emergency calling capability. OMB approval was needed because the order triggered some information collection requirements. Meanwhile, Vonage told the FCC it has started informing new and existing customers of limitations in the company’s E-911 capability, as required by the Commission. In a July 8 letter, the company said it changed its customer subscription process to inform new customers that, although upgrades are underway, they don’t have access to fully enhanced 911 service. Existing customers are urged to visit their web accounts to read a similar notice about the E-911 limits. Both notices tell customers “Vonage is in the process of a nationwide rollout of Enhanced 911 service” but now offers only “a form of 911 that is similar to E-911 but has some important differences.” The notice says that among those differences is that calls go to a “general number” at the nearest emergency response center. “When the center receives your call, the call taker will not have your address and may not have your phone number on hand, thus you must provide that information in order to get help,” the notice explains. In some local emergency response centers, general numbers aren’t manned by live operators around the clock, the notice says: “If Vonage learns that this is the case, Vonage will send your call instead to a national emergency calling center and a trained agent will contact an emergency center near you to dispatch help.” Vonage said it began making the changes June 28 and plans to send customers additional material before the July 29 deadline for customer notification.