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Basic 911 Limitations

IMPORTANT 911 Information when using PeopleLine VoIP

PeopleLine’s VoIP or Basic 9-1-1 service has limitations as compared to Enhanced or E911 services offered by traditional telephone companies.

Traditional Phone Companies’ 9-1-1 and E911 Services

With traditional phone companies’ 9-1-1 and E911 services, your 9-1-1 call is sent directly to the nearest Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) or emergency response centre. In addition, with E911 service, your call back number and physical address are visible to the PSAP or Emergency response centre operator

Unlike traditional phone companies’ phone services, VoIP services are nomadic in that it is possible to connect a VoIP phone device at different locations where Highspeed Internet service is available. The VoIP call back number and location displayed to the operator cannot, therefore, be assumed to be correct.

People Line VoIP Basic 9-1-1 Service – How it works

Since the location visible through VoIP services cannot be assumed to be correct, People Line VoIP basic 9-1-1 calls are first directed to a national emergency call centre where your location is verified. The call centre’s operator will confirm your location information, city and province, before transferring your call to the proper local PSAP or emergency response centre nearest to your location. The PSAP operator will then speak with you to determine the nature of your emergency and any other necessary details before dispatching emergency services (Police, Fire, Ambulance) to your location. This is an important extra step in the event of an emergency and is a key difference to traditional phone companies’ 9-1-1 service.

Furthermore, in case you are unable to speak during a 9-1-1 call, the operator will dispatch emergency services to your last registered address. For this reason, it is very important that you keep this registry up to date. People Line will provide your address information to the 9-1-1 database overseer, and update this information when necessary. It is your responsibility to immediately inform People Line of any address changes.

Because of these important differences, please be aware of the following limitations regarding PeopleLine’s Basic 9-1-1 service.

VoIP or Basic 911 Services Limitations

  • You must always provide the address where you intend to use the PeopleLine VoIP service when you register for service.
  • You must update your registered address with Peopleline if you move or relocate.
  • When you add a line, change your number or cancel a number transfer / portability request, you must reconfirm address information to enable basic 9-1-1.
  • When calling 9-1-1, you must be prepared to confirm your location address and callback number with the operator who answers the 9-1-1 call.
  • All 9-1-1 calls will be routed to our national call centre, which will then route the call to the local 9-1-1 PSAP centre servicing the location, based on the address provided by you.
  • Do not hang up until told to do so by the operator who answers your 9-1-1 call, and call back if you are disconnected.
  • It is your responsibility to inform all potential users of the VoIP phone at your location of the limitations of basic 9-1-1 service.

VoIP or Basic 9-1-1 services will work only if all of these conditions have been met:

  • You have registered your service address with Peopleline and such address has been provided to Peopleline’s provider Allstream for data entry and 9-1-1-service provisioning.
  • Your VoIP phone service, including 9-1-1 dialling, will not operate when your Internet connection is down, and/or your power is out.

Tips when using VoIP or Basic 9-1-1 services:

  • Make sure you understand the limitations of VoIP basic 9-1-1 services as compared to traditional phone line 9-1-1 services.
  • Make sure that you have registered your current address with People Line for each phone number that you use from People Line.
  • Understand that your VoIP phone service, including 9-1-1 dialling, will not operate when your Internet connection is down, and/or your power is out. We recommend having a backup UPS power supply for power outages and having a cellular phone on-hand for these types of situations.
  • When calling 9-1-1, you must be prepared to identify your location and call-back number to the operator since the operator may not have this information, and also remain on the line with the operator, unless directed by the operator to hang up. If disconnected, you will need to call back 9-1-1.
  • Make sure that you inform anyone, family and guests, other than yourself, using your VoIP phone service is aware of the limitations of the VoIP basic 9-1-1 service.
  • Please append the 911 warning sticker onto your VoIP phone equipment so it is clearly visible. Please also append the 9-1-1 warning sticker onto the telephone set connected to the VoIP equipment.
  • For questions related to People Line’s VoIP basic 9-1-1 services, please contact 604-639-2550 or info@peopleline.net.

For information on limitations of basic 9-1-1 services, please visit www.peopleline.net/pstelco/tos.htm

911 Limitation of Liability:

You acknowledge that Peopleline shall not be liable for any delay or failure to provide the Service, including 9-1-1 dialing, at any time or from time to time, or any interruption or degradation of voice quality that is caused by any of the following:

1.) act or omission of an underlying carrier, service provider, vendor or other third party;

2.) equipment, network or facility failure;

3.) equipment, network or facility upgrade or modification;

4.) force majeure events such as (but not limited to) acts of god; strikes; fire; war; riot; government actions;

5.) equipment, network or facility shortage;

6.) equipment or facility relocation;

7.) scheduled network or equipment maintenance;

8.) service, equipment, network or facility failure caused by the loss of power to you;

9.) outage of your ISP or broadband service provider;

10.) failure of local network equipment such as Internet modems, routers, phones, computers, phone adapters, software/firewalls, or cables;

11.) act or omission of you or any person using the Service or Device provided to you; or

12.) slow or congested network on your local network

13.) slow or congested network of your Internet Service Provider or the Public Internet

14.) any other cause that is beyond Peopleline’s control, including without limitation a failure of or defect in any VoIP Device or phone, the failure of an incoming or outgoing communication, the inability of communications (including without limitation 911 dialing) to be connected or completed, or degradation of voice quality.

PeopleLine’s aggregate liability for (i) any failure or mistake; (ii) any claim with respect to PeopleLine’s performance or non-performance hereunder or (iii) any Peopleline act or omission in connection with the subject matter hereof shall in no event exceed PeopleLine’s Service charges with respect to the affected time period.

No Consequential Damages:

In no event shall Peopleline, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates or agents or any other service provider who furnishes services to you in connection with the Service be liable for any incidental, indirect, special, punitive, exemplary or consequential damages, or for any damages, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of revenue or profits, or arising out of or in connection with the use or inability to use the Service, including inability to be able to dial 9-1-1 or to access emergency service personnel through the Service. The limitations set forth herein apply to claims founded in breach of contract, breach of warranty, products liability, tort and any and all other theories of liability and apply whether or not PeopleLine was informed of the likelihood of any particular type of damages.

Contact Us
People Line Telecom
201 - 2780 Granville St. Vancouver, BC
T: 604-639-2550
F: 604-630-3100