Questions & answers.

If your organization currently uses a MLTS (Multi-Line Telephone System) or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), the short answer is yes. The FCC requires all organizations who utilize those phone systems to comply with Kari’s Law and The Ray Baum’s Act.

The most important effect caused by organizations that are not in compliance is that they are endangering their employees and customers. Other effects include civil liabilities if a tragedy were to occur along with various fines and litigation, such as a $10,000 fine along with $500 each day the organization is not in compliance.

Kari’s Law has three components and went into effect February 17, 2020: (1) Your phone system must allow a user to dial 911 without any prefix or access codes. (2) A notification must be sent when 911 is called, including information about the caller, where they are, and a phone number to reach them. (3) A valid callback number must be provided when 911 is called to reconnect the dispatcher with the caller if a disconnect occurs.

Ray Baum’s Act requires a “dispatchable location” to be included when 911 is called. A dispatchable location begins with the building’s street address plus additional information such as room number, floor number, and other relevant information to help first responders find the caller. This law took effect for on-premises phones on January 6, 2021. Remote workers must be covered beginning January 6, 2022.

A dispatchable location begins with the building’s street address plus additional information such as room number, floor number, and other relevant information to help first responders find the caller.

Cisco Emergency Responder alone does not achieve Ray Baum’s Act compliance since it does not send a dispatchable location on its own.

Mapped locations are only a part of the process of complying with Kari’s Law and The Ray Baum’s Act. Other information such as being able to provide a dispatchable location is required as well.

The Cisco Jabber or Webex Teams dialer will recognize the emergency number, and the call will handoff to the native phone app. This is preferred as there is often beneficial information transmitted to the PSAP via your cellular phone network that is not available otherwise.

Yes. Running an SQL query on CER will show the location of off-premises users. You can also run a query to see all locations in the system for all users, whether they are associated or not. Contact our support team for the specific query syntax.

An error may appear in CUCM’s E911Proxy service related to “cerprovider: Host of origin may not be blank.” We’ve seen this with varying steps. CSCwa51071 is a related bug. Steps to resolve: (1) Verify AXL credentials and permissions/role assignments. (2) Verify the application server in CUCM has the correct AXL user assigned. (3) Delete and re-add the application server. (4) Restart the E911Proxy Service. (5) Restart CER. (6) Restart CUCM(s).