Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone systems have made it relatively easy and affordable to tie multiple business offices together into one seamless phone system. The significant advantages range from reduced telecommunications costs to huge savings in overhead.

Sharing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) circuits is one typical area of saving money. By combining all the telephone lines from several offices into one shared pool of circuits (typically a PRI), companies may save hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars each month. However, these benefits may come with work force safety and corporate liability exposure.

For 911 services to function properly, each office must minimally have its own unique telephone number that is transmitted to the PSTN when 911 is dialed. That unique number must be associated with the address of the office dialing 911 and the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) must be able to route the call to the appropriate 911 center. All these pieces are more than likely NOT in place. Frequently, it is an issue of the LEC not being able to match unique addresses to multiple DID numbers on the same circuit and connect the calls to the appropriate 911 center for each address.

Unsuccessful 911 calls may cause many problems for an employer. First responders may go to the wrong address which could jeopardize life and property damage. Health issues, amplified by slow response, may place the employer in legal peril. Employees may feel unsafe or expendable, damaging employee goodwill.

Fortunately, SIP trunks from Hosted PBX and other Hosted VoIP providers solve this problem. SIP trunks can be the primary connection to the PSTN for a telephone system. They can also serve as back-up trunks or remote office 911-only service.

Ideally, the telephone system should have an alternate outbound Caller Identification for each extension should it dial 911. The CID number matches to the physical address for that extension. Hosted PBX and Hosted VoIP providers will route the call to the appropriate 911 center for the address. First responders can act efficiently and quickly when the call reaches the 911 center with the correct address which may minimize damage to life and property while reducing corporate liability.