VoIP 911 Call Goes Astray

A Calgary (Alb.) family is mourning the loss of their 18 month-old boy after their 911 call using a VoIP voice line went to a national call center instead of the local public safety comm center. Officials said that when the couple called, they say no one answered, so they hung up. They received a call back from the call center operated by VoIP provider Comwave. However, the location records were outdated, so the call center operator sent EMS units to a former address. After 30 minutes a neighbor dialed 911 from a standard wired telephone and EMS arrived shortly after, but the infant could not be revived. There are questions about the regulation of VoIP providers and 911 within Canada. Read more about the situation here.