Modify outbound caller ID when calling 911

[digital17]

Howdy, we sell hosted VoIP phones using 3CX and are looking to reduce some of our SIP costs.

The provider charges us 3$ a month for numbers that have 911 enabled and only $1 per month for regular numbers. Currently each number has 911 enabled on it so that the clients can call 911 from any phone. We'd like to only enable 911 on the client's main line, and have the outbound caller ID modified to show as the main number when calling 911. Any guidance or suggestions in general here?

 

[leejor]

You can modify the outbound caller ID based on the settings per extension, or the whole trunk group. I know that this subject has come up in the past as some users wanted one CID to display when calling some numbers ( particular area) and another to show when calling a different area.

About the only thing you could do is to route 911 calls on a different trunk (group) that was set to only show the main billing number/address. It may be worthwhile subscribing to a single VoIP trunk that was only used for 911, with an overflow to the other trunk group, just in case. If it was a service based on minute usage, the cost would be kept quite low.

 

[craigreilly]

I would check with the provider for a "Sub Account".
Register the subaccount and use it for 911 calls only.
In the Trunk setup, modify the outbound caller id to CUSTOM and set to 911.

Some VoIP Providers will allow you to set an outbound caller id for 911 calls - and they will rewrite it appropriately when that number is dialed.