$100.00 (one Hundred Dollars) To Dial 9-1-1!

[bolco]

Check this shit out! I thought it was a typo, but **NO** they really want $100 for 9-1-1 calls! All payphones and cell phones in the United States MUST provide every caller with FREE 9-1-1 service..even cell phones that were deactivated years ago must provide FREE 9-1-1 service. How can anyone possibly continue to fork over money to this half rate company?

BroadVoice: Calling Features, 911 and Enhanced 911

Dear BroadVoice Customer,

This communication is to inform you that BroadVoice now
offers Basic and Enhanced 911 dialing to all U.S customers*.
BroadVoice's main concern is customer safety and satisfaction.
For this reason, BroadVoice has made Basic 911** service
available to all U.S Customers.

However, in order for customers to be eligible for
Enhanced 911 (E911) service to work, customers must register
their 911 service address through the BroadVoice account portal.
Customers should go to BroadVoice Internet Phone Service - VoIP Phone Service, Broadband Telephone, WiFi Telephone, SIP and Softphone Service and login to their
account portal. Through the 911 tab, please register your
911 service address. With a valid, registered 911 service
address all 911 calls will be free of charge to U.S. Customers.

In order to properly and quickly receive assistance, all
U.S. Customers are encouraged to submit their 911 service
address through the account portal. Please note, BroadVoice
emergency 911 dialing is similar to traditional 911 but
there are some important differences:

- BroadVoice 911 service will not work during a power outage.
- BroadVoice 911 service will not work during an outage from
your Cable, DSL, or Internet provider.
- A 911 service dispatcher will only know a customer's
address should they register a 911 service address and
receive validation from BroadVoice.

- ANY change of location of your telephone adapter, soft-
phone, Wi-Fi phone or other device used in conjunction
with BroadVoice VoIP Service does not change the 911
service address. It is the customer's responsibility
to change 911 service address for any change of location.
If the 911 service address is not changed, emergency
personnel will be sent to the registered address.

* BroadVioce 911 service is only available to customers
within the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii.
Any customer residing outside of the United States will
be charged $100.00 per call.

** Basic 911 service is available for all U.S. customers.
Customers who have basic 911 service will receive one (1)
free 911 emergency call per year. Any subsequent calls within
a year will have a fee of $100.00 per call.

Thank you for being a valued BroadVoice customer,

BroadVoice Customer Care

[Cybertoy]

I am a broadvoice customer and registered my proper address with them. Recently I had to dial 911 for an emergency and was properly routed to the right emergency center (although I have an out of state area code). I was not charged $100 though. It was a regular free call.

I think they only charge $100 if you don't register your address and still dial 911 (and use Basic 911 instead of E911) or if you dial 911 for no reason or you're outside the US and dial 911.

[TheWizard]

The bit about charging $100 if you dial 911 from outside the US is just common sense. I don't even know what would technically happen in that instance, but no one outside the US should be dialing 911 anyway. 911 can't help you in that situation.

The part about being allowed one free 911 call and each subsequent call being charged $100 is excessive. I think the main reason why they instituted this policy is so that users don't abuse the service. And believe me, people do abuse 911. Although, maybe each call to 911 actually costs BV to route the connection. In that case, I can see why they don't want too many people dialing 911 from their lines.

There are alternatives to dialing 911 from BV, some have already been given in this thread. Using a pay phone or cell phone is free. Also, even if you don't have your landline turned on, chances are if you plug a phone into the jack, you can still dial 911.

[Cybertoy]

again... they only charge $100 for Basic 911 after the second time. Not for E911. You have E911 if you have your number registered. I guess they want to avoid people that don't register the number to dial 911 and get routed to Basic 911.