The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) has approved the Interim VoIP Archicture for Enhanced 911 Services (also known as i2), a standard for the interface of VoIP technology and E911 service. The document outlines cooperation between VoIP service providers, acting through the Voice on the Net (VON) Coalition with NENA to meet several objectives, among them the delivery of 911 calls to the proper PSAP (Public Safety Awareness Point), providing a callback number for the PSAP, and providing a location for the caller.

The standard addresses the current concern over the FCC´s call to VoIP providers to enable users to fully utilize E911 service. As of the November 29, 2005 deadline, several providers had not suceeded in providing a means through which user´s location and call back number could be made accesible to the PSAP.

In December of 2003 NENA and the VON coalition rolled out i1, the first stage of VoIP/E911 system inteface, which called for VoIP providers to route 911 calls to 10 digit PSAP administrative numbers. Later NENA was accused of a position reversal when it declared that routing to a 10 digit administrative number was “unacceptable” after a highly publicized incident in which a Vonage client could not call 911 in an extreme emergency situation.

The i2 document, that can be accessed at NENA’s website, www.nena.org, seeks to provide a practicable solution to those VoIP equipment and service providers who wish to adhere to its recommendations. It is intended as an interim solution preceding the projected NG 9-1-1 approach (or i3), up for public revision in 2006.

VON coalition Executive Director Jim Kohlenberger states, “this is a critical next step in ensuring that VoIP emergency services can be deployed in a coordinated and standardized manner. The Interim Solution Standard is an important announcement toward this end and we look forward to continued work with NENA in the progression toward an IP enabled Next-Generation NG 9-1-1 solution.”