You may have heard of Kari’s Law*, signed in 2018 to require users of multi-line phone systems in commercial facilities to be able to dial 9-1-1 directly without having to dial a prefix to reach an outside line. Dialing 9-1-1 must also alert any front desk or security office maintained by the facility. Another new statute, Ray Baum’s Act, requires that emergency calls include a detailed “dispatchable location” for responders. This means that an emergency responder will know the exact location of the caller in a multi-floor office building, large campus, warehouse, etc.

The result of these rulings is NG911, a nationwide, standards-based, all-IP emergency communications infrastructure enabling voice and multimedia communications between a 9-1-1 caller and a 911 center, and to responders in the field.

WHO DOES IT AFFECT?

It’s important to note that this does not affect existing phone systems already in place. The law applies only to multi-line telephone systems manufactured, purchased or installed after February 16, 2020. It is unlikely that Congress would seek to address the problems of direct dialing and notification for MLTS only with respect to traditional, non-IP based MLTS technologies, which represent a declining share of the MLTS market.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOU?

As your trusted advisor, we work with all phone system manufacturers to ensure any system you purchase will be FCC Compliant going forward.

Read the FCC Fact Sheet here.

*Kari’s Law was signed into effect in 2018 after Kari Hunt Dunn was murdered by her estranged husband in a hotel room. Her young daughter tried to call 9-1-1 but was unable to reach help because she didn’t know that the hotel’s phone system required guests do dial “9” to reach an outside line.

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