911 on a PRI

[Creed Bratton]

Hi Everyone,
I was hoping to get y'alls experience with 911 setup using a PRI. Currently I have several remote locations tied back to my central location for trunk access and I've got POTs lines configured for 911 access at each remote site. However, this hasn't been working very well. I've been told that the best method for 911 when you have a PRI is through a third party vendor. Is this true? Does anyone have a particular setup that has worked well for them? Thanks for any input.

[Crewdawg]

We just use the local POTS lines for 911. Our provider also knows the address for our DID blocks as well, though that is a last resort.

[Jlorenz]

Shoretels Best Practice book for 911 as stated by previous posts encourages stand alone analogs for each site for 911 only.

There is in the PIG appednix a very good read on 911 deployment.

If your users are remote and they do not have any SG or Analog, then you will need to configure a IP Address Map under IP phones and put the remotes Caller's Emergency Service Identification (CESID) that will identify that site if someone dials 911

This also depends on your state/city and county laws regarding 911, you may have to put a line out there.

Hope it helps

[Rob Bush]

I'm working on this exact issue right now with AT&T. We have two PRI lines that go to two different buildings within about 1/8 mile of each other. It is all the same LAN. Outbound calls will pick up either PRI randomly.

Anyway, I tried to configure the CESID so that the correct information would be burst to 911, but it didn't work. AT&T has this locked down so only the BTN number of the PRI is bursted to 911. I understand the issue, they don't want an e911 database that has every possible DID number for our users as that would be an Admin nightmare. That being said, all I was looking for was maybe four numbers that I could send out via CESID so that 911 didn't show up at the wrong building and waste precious minutes. After all, I know where the call came from, so why can't I tell them the correct street address?

Long story short, we pestered and pestered AT&T about this, and they said they had no other solution. We kept pestering, they kept saying no solution. All of the sudden we got an email saying they offer a "9-1-1 Locator ID Lite" service. We have not implemented it yet, but I'm hoping to go in this direction. Here's the sales guys exact words on this...

AT&T Sales Person:
"I did some research with several support folks and it seems we have this new service that we can leverage to accomplish exactly what you are trying to do. So not only do you have the options we discuss yesterday but we can use this 911 Locator Lite product. There is a description below for the product....The cost is a one time set up fee of $475 for the first number and $125 for every additional line there after.....

9-1-1 Locator ID Lite
9-1-1 Locator ID Lite is a low cost, easy to implement application that allows private switch (PBX) customers the ability to add station number (ANI) and location information (ALI) into the AT&T E9-1-1 database. Locator ID Lite displays specific station location information at a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) when someone dials 9-1-1 from a PBX. Locator ID Lite makes available specific station and location information, unlike a typical PBX that provides only the billing number and main building address in the AT&T E9-1-1 database.

Locator ID Lite offers less functionality than our 9-1-1 Locator ID solution, but does assist smaller companies that, for instance, must meet the minimum compliance requirements of 50 Ill Comp. Stat. 750/15.6. This mandates in most instances a distinct station location identification for each 40,000 square feet of work space that share a common street address.

Locator ID Lite helps PBX customers provide station location information for every station in a multi-premises environment. With precise information, a dispatched emergency response unit can quickly locate a caller.

Locator ID Lite works well if your PBX switch can generate seven- or ten-digit ANI and can perform the necessary programming to ensure that specific stations use specific outbound business lines when 9-1-1 is dialed.
For Locator ID Lite to work properly your PBX must perform the requisite programming required to recognize and route 9-1-1 generated calls to a specific outbound line.

Locator ID Lite allows you to identify a specific station and its associated location information for entry into the AT&T E9-1-1 database. You will provide the required data to the AT&T family of companies on a Customer Profile Form. We will enter your information into the E9-1-1 database using an internal data entry system from AT&T. This system will format and validate your information. When complete, the data will be downloaded to the E9-1-1 database. You will receive written confirmation that the data has been entered into the system.

9-1-1 Locator ID Lite gives you these features:
Accurate information storage—allows you to provide valuable location information in the E9-1-1 database maintained by AT&T.
Caller-specific information—saves emergency response unit time because they have specific station and location information to quickly locate a caller
Save costs—costs less than Locator ID and helps small-to-medium PBX customers meet minimum compliance requirements."

Hope this helps! I'm hoping it will solve my problem.