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(06-12-07) - Ofcom has announced that internet telephony providers must connect 99 calls to the emergency services - though not until September 2008.
As VoIP services have improved in quality in recent months, uptake has also increased - doubling to 10 per cent of all UK homes in the past year.
However, the last time that Ofcom addressed the issue, it found that 36 per cent of homes with a VoIP connection could not connect 999 calls. And because many people make VoIP calls using a normal phone, simply connected to their broadband, many did not realise that they couldn’t make emergency calls.
Not all VoIP providers will be bound by the new regulations when they kick in next year. Those providers that connect calls via a website won’t be required to connect emergency calls, but all providers offering calls from a “traditional” handset will have to comply.
Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “While I welcome Ofcom’s decision on this issue, the fact that people are unaware that they cannot make 999 calls is the biggest problem here.
“If providers do not have to comply until September next year, more needs to be done in the meantime to ensure that customers know whether or not they can call emergency services from their VoIP phones,” he said.
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