Voice-Over-IP Can Complicate Schools' Enhanced 911 Systems

Apr 6, 2007 2:46 PM

           

Schools should have accurate, location-specific enhanced 911 (E911) systems on campus. Regardless of any legal liability or regulatory reasons that may compel these systems, safety concerns are more than enough to justify them.

Now, with the availability of IP-enabled telephone networks, education institutions are on the cusp of a revolution in the way campus E911 programs are managed, according to an article in the February 2007 issue of American School & University, a sister publication.

Colleges and universities, with sprawling campuses and many on- and off-campus buildings networked back through the primary PBX switch, present particular challenges for 911 systems. Often, the remote sites need to route to a public safety answering point (PSAP) other than the main PSAP, compounding the difficulty of determining the exact location of an emergency caller.

Network administrators know that IP-enabled voice systems have brought many converged network benefits to colleges and universities. However, they have added another level of complexity for campuses that are managing or planning a holistic E911 program for campus phones.

The evolution of IP telephony can make campus E911 programs much more dynamic and accurate. But at the same time, the programs require additional knowledge and management capabilities, especially if station information being compiled is coming from a traditional multi-line PBX system and an IP call manager.

The configuration of the environment will determine the design and installation of an E911 solution.

For example, is the configuration a fully enclosed VoIP environment, or is it a hybrid environment using both VoIP and traditional telephones? Communications professionals will need to determine, for instance, how discovery and management of the hard/soft phone and its location within the enterprise are mapped and reported within the system.

Procedures need to be established for the private switch/automatic location identification (PS/ALI) database upload to regional E911 data services centers. Assurances of proper call routing of a 911 call are needed, with callback capability to the desktop.

Some of these capabilities are built into VoIP PBX platforms, but others are lacking. One platform may create subnets for clusters of telephone devices, and another may detect location identity to the desktop. All IP-enabled issues are in addition to the traditional challenges associated with running a campus E911 program.

One problem with traditional enterprise phone systems is that location information typically is entered manually. The information is only as reliable as what was typed into the station-management software.

Without special systems in place, there often is no dynamic or automatic updating of the station-management software even when moves, adds or changes are performed in the field. Because almost all information is entered manually, it changes only when a system administrator edits the fields specifically.

Most modern PS/ALI systems that interface with IP networks provide system managers the opportunity to dynamically update and maintain the data in their enterprise communications system and ultimately in the PSAP's regional database.

For the complete article as published in American School & University magazine, Click here

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

SUBSCRIBE

Select an Issue April 1, 2008 March 1, 2008 February 1, 2008 January 1, 2008 December 1, 2007 November 1, 2007 October 1, 2007 September 1, 2007 August 1, 2007 July 1, 2007 June 1, 2007 IP Security Supplement May 1, 2007 April 1, 2007 March 1, 2007 February 1, 2007 January 1, 2007 School Security December 1, 2006 November 1, 2006 October 1, 2006 September 1, 2006 August 1, 2006 July 1, 2006 June 1, 2006 May 1, 2006 April 1, 2006 March 1, 2006 February 1, 2006 January 1, 2006 December 1, 2005 November 1, 2005 October 1, 2005 September 1, 2005 August 1, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 1, 2005 May 1, 2005 April 1, 2005 March 1, 2005 February 1, 2005 January 1, 2005 December 1, 2004 November 1, 2004 October 1, 2004 September 1, 2004 August 1, 2004 July 1, 2004 July 1, 2004 June 1, 2004 May 1, 2004 April 1, 2004 March 1, 2004 February 1, 2004 January 1, 2004 December 1, 2003 November 1, 2003 October 1, 2003 September 1, 2003 August 1, 2003 July 1, 2003 June 1, 2003 May 1, 2003 April 1, 2003 March 1, 2003 February 1, 2003 January 1, 2003 December 1, 2002 November 1, 2002 October 1, 2002 September 1, 2002 August 1, 2002 July 1, 2002 June 1, 2002 May 1, 2002 April 1, 2002 March 1, 2002 February 1, 2002 January 1, 2002 December 1, 2001 November 1, 2001 October 1, 2001 September 1, 2001 August 1, 2001 July 1, 2001 June 1, 2001 May 1, 2001 April 1, 2001 March 1, 2001 February 1, 2001 January 1, 2001 December 1, 2000 November 1, 2000 October 1, 2000 September 1, 2000 August 1, 2000 July 1, 2000 June 1, 2000 May 1, 2000 April 1, 2000 March 1, 2000 February 1, 2000 January 1, 2000 December 1, 1999 November 1, 1999 October 1, 1999 September 1, 1999 August 1, 1999 July 1, 1999 June 1, 1999 May 1, 1999 April 1, 1999 March 1, 1999 February 1, 1999 January 1, 1999 December 1, 1998 November 1, 1998 October 1, 1998 September 1, 1998 August 1, 1998 July 1, 1998 June 1, 1998 May 1, 1998 April 1, 1998 March 1, 1998 February 1, 1998 January 1, 1998 December 1, 1997 November 1, 1997 October 1, 1997 September 1, 1997 August 1, 1997 July 1, 1997 June 1, 1997 May 1, 1997 April 1, 1997 March 1, 1997 February 1, 1997 January 1, 1997

This month in Access Control

• Opening Up About Door Closers
• An Enterprise Approach
• The Framework For Open Systems
• On A Higher Plane
• More from April's issue