how is vonage 911 different from regular 911?
89603
Vonage 9-1-1 is a service that you have to "activate" prior to using it.  If you do not activate the 9-1-1 feature, and you dial 9-1-1, you will receive a recorded message that tells you that 9-1-1 is not available from the phone you are using.\n\nAlso, Vonage 9-1-1 does not automatically "know" where you are calling from.  You must "tell" Vonage where your phone is located using either their special 9-1-1 website or by calling a special 800 number.  This is required due to the fact that you can plug your phone into any internet connection around the world and still use Vonage.\n\nVonage will connect you to the 9-1-1 center that is responsible for the address you have given them.  The difference is that your call will most likely NOT go through the 9-1-1 phone system.  Rather, your call will be transferred to a 7-digit telephone number (typically the emergency line for your local police or sheriff's department).  The dispatcher that answers your call may or may not have your address or telephone information available to them (depending on what area you are in).  The dispatcher may not know that you are calling from a VoIP telephone, and may not even know that they are answering a 9-1-1 call (since it will ring in on their regular 7-digit phone line).\n\nIf you forget to update your address when you change your VoIP phone's location, you will be connected to the incorrect 9-1-1 center.  So, for example, if you move from San Francisco to New York and forget to update your address, when you dial 9-1-1 from New York, you will ring through to a San Franisco PD dispatcher who will need to figure out where you are and where you need to be transferred.  Tracking down the emergency phone number for a police department that is 3,000 miles away can take several minutes (dispatchers do not have ready access to a list of every police/sheriff's department in the entire country).\n\nAdditionally, your VoIP phone will not work AT ALL (including for 9-1-1 calls) if your internet connection is not working, or if you have no power.\n\nOne important thing to keep in mind is that almost every state requires that your local phone company provide 9-1-1 service to you, even if you disconnect service with them.  What this means is if you have a working telephone and you plug it into a regular phone jack - even if you don't have phone service - if you dial 9-1-1, your call will very often go through (check with your local phone company to be sure).  The same goes for most cell phones.  Even if you deactivate service on your cell phone - as long as your phone's battery is charged and you are able to get a signal, 9-1-1 calls should still go through.
254331
i'm not sure about yahoo,but i've had vonage and sunrocket and they both stink.yes you can call land lines,but ask the voip provider if 911 is accessable.
552588
It requires electricity. If there's a storm or blackout, VOIP  phone can't not be used.\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VOIP
765507
99% probabilty of another 911. No one knows from where and how and with what it will strike. They are taking things beyond imagination, may be from movies. The real world is converting into real movie world. In movies every thing is possible and know in real is becoming possible.
292926
No.  Well, that's not entirely true.  In some of the new cell phones there are GPS units so that they can track you, but the average 911 communications centre doesn't have the ability to access this.  The most they can do is get your cell phone provider (if they can figure out who that is) to tell them the general area you're located in based on the cell tower(s) that you're using.\n\nThe downside to this is that if you're lost or in serious danger and unable to tell the 911 operator where you are, you're pretty much s.o.l.
369683
Hello !\n\n"The number 911 was chosen by borrowing the 9 from the British number and choosing 11 because it was similar to the numbers in 2-1-1 (long distance), 4-1-1 (information, later called "directory assistance"), and 6-1-1 (repair service), which had already been in use by AT&T since 1966."\n\n\n© ßogdan @ CyE CORP.
238220
With Vonage, you connect your telephone to your high-speed Internet connection using the Vonage phone adapter that we send you. Pick up the phone, and use it just like you do today. You can be up and running within minutes of receiving your Vonage phone adapter.\nWhen you pick up the phone, the Vonage phone adapter converts your voice into data and sends it through the Internet like an email. Our network sends the call where you want it and translates it back into voice. When the person you're calling picks up the phone, it sounds just the same as any other call. When someone calls you, they dial your number, your phone rings, and all you have to do is pick up and answer it. \nOnce you're connected, pick up your phone and use it just like you do today. The person you're calling doesn't need to have Vonage or an Internet connection on their side. They just need a phone. And your phone rings when someone calls you as it always did. You use your same touch-tone phone. You're just connecting it to Vonage instead of your old phone company. Also, using Vonage doesn't affect your computer usage. Continue to surf the web or send and receive email with no problem!
776506
In short, no.\n\nWhen a person dials 911 on a traditional phone, computers at the phone company route the call the the proper center based upon the number you are calling from if it is a landline.  \n\nIf you dial 911 using a cell phone the call is often routed by the phoen company's computers based upon the location of the cell tower, which might not be the right call center for the jurisdiction of the incident.  Your call must then be transferred to the correct center for processing.\n\nIn either case, the routing of the call is happening at the phone company's computers.\n\nBut with VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) phone calls, the call is routed differently.  If you are calling another VOIP user on the same network  (one skype user calls another) the call is never handled by the phone company (unless it is also the ISP).  If you use a VOIP account to call a landline phone, the call does not enter the phoen company's switching system until it is near the recipient of the call, possibly in another state or country!  \n\nThe limitations of VOIP calls means that it is difficult to determine where the call originates from.  That information is needed to determine which call center should receive the call for a 911 call.\n\nThe only way to use a VOIP account to dial emergency services is to learn an administrative phone number for the emergecny communications center in your area.  Still this could be a problem based upon how calls are sometimes transferred for further processing prior to dispatch.\n\n911 centers are continuing to look at emerging technologies.  In the future it may be possible cal 911 by SMS text message, instant message, or VOIP.  For now, a landline phone or cell phone is still the way to go.
394972
Unfortunately, you could only do this if you used an internal numbering system such as extensions. You would still need a live phone line offered by either a standard phone company or a VoIP system to obtain an incoming phone line that people could dial into. However, once you have that, you could assign a different extension to each phone in the house, assuming you have phones that can differentiate between the extensions and accept calls accordingly.
937792
I use Vonage here I went to the website and whenever I see free* written like that usually means read carefully all the small print. I also looked at their pricing structure and you need a collage degree to understand what are the charges
32140
There are several.  Packet8 is good.  However, SunRocket is the cheapest if you sign up for a year of service and they give you a free phone system.  Vonage is overpriced.
7967
call vonage & ask them if they can do it for a biz and/ or who else sells this service.  Also ask them if there is another name for this service and then look it up on the computer.  I'm sure you can call all the phone companies, explain it and ask them for the type of service.
765152
If you already have a VoIP device setup, then there will be no extra charge.  When you place a call with the VoIP device it would be like placing a call from your home.  Anyone will be able to call your normal number and be able to reach you.  One thing to make sure is that VoIP is not blocked in the country you are going to.
563874
there like a thing u have to get so when u call it goes to different call towers and they wouldn't know where you  are ..I SEEN THAT FROM LAW AND ORDER
453682
When your home phone is disconnected there is no service-period. There is no legislation that requires them to give you access to 911 services.
1048181
I have Vonage - love the service (phone works great) but if you ever have to call them there is a good chance you will struggle to communicate with the person who answers the phone.  \n\nI have called them a half dozen times or so and my best experience was a guy who's accent was mild enough for me to understand him and he understood me!  Only happened once though, the rest of the time we were both repeating ourselves over and over, it has been very frustrating!!\n\nNever dealt with ANC.
120887
Well I don't have Vonage but I have Net2Phone. It's cheaper if you don't talk a lot anyway. It's .02 cents a minute nationwide (US). I really like it. The only thing I dislike about it is that it has a slight delay and sometimes you can hear a faint echo of yourself (using headset/phones). Also you can not make out what someone else is saying if you are already speaking. Reminds me of old cell phone services, but, I have never lost a call and you can purchase minutes in increments of $25. Which works well for our household. We have managed to stretch our minutes out for almost 3 months.