9-1-1 Emergency Calling Limitations Using Digitcom’s Phone Service:
Description: VoIP services allow you to make or receive telephone calls over the Internet to or from the public switched telephone network. The nature of VoIP telephone calls, while appearing similar to traditional telephone calling services, create unique limitations and circumstances, and you acknowledge and agree that differences exist between traditional telephone service and VoIP telephone services, including the lack of traditional 9-1-1 emergency services.
9-1-1 service: Because of the unique nature of VoIP telephone calls, emergency calls to 9-1-1 through your VoIP service will be handled differently than traditional phone service. The following provisions describe the differences and limitations of 9-1-1 emergency calls, and you hereby acknowledge and understand the differences between traditional 9-1-1 service and VoIP calls with respect to 9-1-1 calls placed to emergency services from your account as described below.
When you make a 9-1-1 emergency call, the VoIP service will attempt to automatically route your 9-1-1 call through a third-party service provider to the Public Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”) corresponding to your address of record on your account. Due to the limitations of the VoIP telephone services, your 9-1-1 call will be routed to a different location than that which would be used for traditional 9-1-1 dialling. Your call will be answered by a third-party specialized call centre that handles emergency calls. This call centre is different from the PSAP that would answer a traditional 9-1-1 call which has automatically generated your address information, and consequently, you should be prepared to provide your name, address, and telephone number to the call centre.
9-1-1 calls made from locations outside of Canada cannot be completed by the 9-1-1 operator. The caller will be told to use an alternate service to dial 9-1-1;
The VoIP service will attempt to automatically provide the 9-1-1 operator with the name, address and telephone number associated with your account. However, for technical reasons, the 9-1-1 operator receiving the call may not be able to capture or retain your name, phone number or physical location. Therefore, when making a 9-1-1 emergency call, you must immediately inform the 9-1-1 operator of your location (or the location of the emergency, if different). If you are unable to speak, the dispatcher may not be able to locate you if your location information is not up to date.
*If you are using a main office number with an extension, 911 assistance will default to your office location unless you can inform the 911 operator verbally to dispatch to your home address. If you wish 911 to automatically dispatch to your home address, you will require a DID (direct phone number) assigned to your VOIP phone. Please contact us if you want a DID at sales@digitcom.ca or by phone at (416) 783-7890 and select Option 1.
You are responsible for providing, maintaining, and updating correct contact information (including name, address and telephone number) with your account. If you do not correctly identify the actual location where you are located, or if your account information has recently changed or has otherwise not been updated, 9-1-1 calls may be misdirected to an incorrect emergency response site. You may update your contact information through Digitcom’s website or by clicking here.
You must not disconnect the 9-1-1 emergency call until told to do so by the dispatcher, as the dispatcher may not have your number or contact information. If you are inadvertently disconnected, you must call back immediately.
For technical reasons, including network congestion, it is possible that a 9-1-1 emergency call will produce a busy signal or will take longer to connect when compared with traditional 9-1-1 calls.
For technical reasons, the functionality of 9-1-1 VoIP emergency calls may cease or be curtailed in various circumstances, including but not limited to:
if your system access equipment fails or is not configured correctly, or if your VoIP service is not functioning correctly for any reason, including power outages, VoIP service outage, suspension or disconnection of your service due to billing issues, network or Internet congestion, or network or Internet outage in the event of a power, network or Internet outage; you may need to reset or reconfigure the system access equipment before being able to use the VoIP service, including for 9-1-1 emergency calls; and changing locations – if you move your system access equipment to a location other than that described in your account information or otherwise on record with Digitcom.
If you are not comfortable with the limitations of 9-1-1 emergency calls, Digitcom recommends that you terminate the VoIP services or consider an alternate means for accessing traditional 9-1-1 emergency services.
Customer Responsibilities: You agree to
- Ensure your contact and address information on file with Digitcom is always accurate and kept up to date;
- To notify any user or potential users of your VoIP services of the nature and limitations of 9-1-1 emergency calls on the VoIP services as described herein; and,
- To display the current address and telephone number in a manner that will enable any user or potential users of your VoIP services to communicate the information during a 9-1-1 call.
Liability: You are advised to review the Terms of Service with respect to Digitcom’s limitations of liability.
Change of Address, Web Portal: To log into the web portal to change your address please click below
*If you experience any issues with using the portal, please contact us by phone at (416) 783 – 7890 and select Option 2.