Kari's Law notifications and E911 Geolocation additional information

[AaronJ]

3CX v20 now includes the option of adding location data for the purposes of dynamic e911 with Geolocation. I set up a test user with location information and was able to confirm the SIP geolocation header includes the dispatchable location information as expected.

However, in my test the notifications to company staff that an emergency number was dialed (both via instant message to manager and email) did not contain the additional location information. Official US federal government guidance regarding Kari’s Law, published on the 911.gov website, states that the notification to a central location shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

• The fact that a 911 call has been made
• A valid callback number
• The information about the caller's location that the MLTS conveys to the PSAP with the caller to 911; provided, however, that the notification does not have to include a callback number or location information if it is technically infeasible to provide this information. (47 CFR § 9.3.)

The first two bullet points seemed to be included in the notifications, but not the third. If this additional location information is specified for a user in 3CX, can it be included in the email and instant message templates?

 

[KyriacosS_3CX]

Hello,

Can you elaborate on what you would expect this notification to be/include?

 

[AaronJ]

To satisfy the location requirement of Kari's Law, I think it should include the information in the user's Options tab under "E911 Geolocation"... both the "Location" and "Additional information". This would allow the recipient of the notification to direct first responders to the correct location/room. Perhaps it could be something like the following:
<EMERGENCYRULENAME> (<EMERGENCYNUMBER>) was dialed from <CALLFROM> <CALLERNAME> located at <LOCATION> <ADDITIONALINFO>

 

[VoIPTools]

In our 3CX Emergency Notifier tool, you set up "locations" (full address typically including floor) and assign a default location to each extension. Each extension's location can be further refined with additional information like pillar and cubicle number.

If a user picks up their phone, or laptop (in the case of the web client), we track the device's location by IP address. You configure our location service by setting up IP addresses/subnets, so as a user moves around we can move that user from location to location. How precise the location depends on how carefully you subnet your network, but my expectation would be at least the correct building and floor.

This location is then presented to both internal responders as well as the PSAP. Notifications include a phone call, email, SMS, and desktop popup. In my view, the more channels of notification, the more likely the correct people will receive the notification.


Note: The diagram above was generated by ChatGPT. I'm not sure whether it makes any sense to anyone other than me.

Further, you have granular control an control over who is notified based on the location of the person that dialed the emergency number. This is important because it is not typically helpful to notify a responder at the high school when someone at the grade school dials an emergency number. Finally, we support multiple emergency numbers that you can designate as internal-only numbers, or emergency numbers that also notify the PSAP. This is helpful if you need to let people know about an unruly student, or a chemical spill, but it does not necessitate notifying the PSAP.

As you noted, ensuring responders go directly to the precise location is very important. We can ensure the right notifications go to the correct people, with the detail they need.

We will be releasing a totally new modernized UI in the next 2 weeks with even more capabilities, but if you do not see the feature you need, let us know. We are adding new features as quickly as we can!

If you would like to take a look at what we can do, book a web demo at https://booking.voiptools.com