Enhanced 911 (E911) with Sonus SBC 1000 Session Border Controller and Sonus SBC 2000 Session Border Controller Highlights:
- Microsoft Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program (UCOIP) qualified E911 solution
- Correctly route 911 emergency calls to the nearest public safety answering point (PSAP)
- Deliver accurate location information to the emergency responders
- Meet necessary state and local E911 legislations
- PSAP call-back support for dropped calls
- High availability and survivability on WAN connectivity failure
Microsoft Lync 2010 and E911
Enhanced 911 is an improvement over the basic 911 that makes service faster and more reliable by requiring 911 systems to automatically display a caller’s information, such as name and location, to the emergency responder. In order to be compliant with E911 regulations, enterprises need to provide accurate location information to 911 service providers to enable them to route the call to the nearest public safety answering point and in turn, facilitate quick and effective handling of the emergency.
Microsoft Lync 2010 is replacing phone systems in enterprises around the world. Being an IP telephony system, Lync clients inherit the mobility of those systems and hence may not have a permanent physical location. Lync uses the services of a location information server (LIS) to gather location information for Lync clients. When an emergency call is made from the Lync client, it automatically makes the location information available in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) payload in form of presence information data format – location object (PIDF-LO). This location information helps with E911.
Pass-through Location Information to E911 Service Provider via SIP Trunks
For enterprises that prefer not to attach a SIP trunk directly to a mediation server or for those that don't wish to deploy a separate mediation server for 911 services, an enterprise session border controller (SBC) Sonus SBC 1000 or Sonus SBC 2000 can be used to connect to the 911 service provider. The SBC 1000 and SBC 2000 not only eliminate the need for a separate mediation server to be linked directly to the SIP trunk but also keep the SIP trunks separate from enterprise network. The SBC 1000 and SBC 2000 can pass the location information (PIDF-LO) from the Lync client through to the SIP trunking service provider while still keeping the enterprise network safe.
Emergency Location Identification Number Solution for Lync E911
Though each state in the United States has its own legislation for E911 compliance, most require delivery of a 911 call with at least an emergency location identification number (ELIN) designating an emergency response location (ERL) within the enterprise. Service providers that cannot handle the Lync relayed information for E911 or cannot comply with the E911 requirements need enterprises to deploy an ELIN solution to deliver the necessary location information to the emergency responder. An ELIN solution for Lync 2010, the SBC 1000 and SBC 2000 will translate the location information from Lync to an ELIN that identifies an ERL that can be granular to a building, a floor or a cubicle level.
