Get Ready… Laws Requiring Direct 911 Access from Your Office Phones Go into Effect February 2020

Last year, the President signed into law two statutes intended to improve emergency calling – Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act. Both take effect February 16, 2020 and are intended to protect employees and others with improved access to 911 emergency services.

• Kari’s Law applies to newly-installed multi-line telephone systems. The law requires that users be able to directly call emergency services by dialing 911 without having to dial a prefix to reach an outside line.
• Ray Baum’s Act requires that the FCC adopt regulations that would give 911 emergency operators a specific location for the calling party so that appropriate assistance can be dispatched to that location.

FCC Regulations

FCC rules require implementation of the Kari’s Law requirements for telephone systems manufactured, purchased, or installed after February 16, 2020. The FCC‘s dispatch location rules required by Ray Baum’s Act have not yet been finalized. But businesses planning new telephone systems should be aware of these requirements and ensure that their technology providers’ offerings are in compliance.

Compliance Challenges

Businesses seeking to comply with the new 911 rules must consider several factors, including the technology used in their IT environments, network topology and the geographic scope of their phone system deployment. Also, many states have already adopted their own 911 regulations, which could be a source of compliance confusion.

If compliance with these new 911 mandates presents a challenge for your business, TCI experts can help. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.