Here's how Vonage-Verizon E-911 will work

As was expected, Vonage and Verizon have announced an agreement that will allow Vonage customers to access Verizon's Enhanced 911 network.

When the system is in place by the end of this year, it does not appear at the outset that it will solve all the problems of E-911 access experienced by customers who contact these services when they are at a different location from their address of record. It will, however, ensure that some of these calls can be identified by originating address - making the handoff smoother for Vonage customers who have an address on record that is within Verizon's service area.

 Here's how the process will work:

1. A Vonage customer dials 9-1-1.
2. The call is routed to Vonage's server, using SIP (Session Initiation Protocol).
3. The Vonage server then queries special servers maintained by Intrado, a company with data management and server solutions that handle much of the existing emergency call infrastructure in the United States.
4. Intrado server routers direct the call from their media gateway connection to a dedicated physical circuit connected directly to Verizon's router that serves the nearest Public Safety Answering Point.
5. At the same time,the Intrado server routes the customer's telephone number and address into the Automatic Location Information Database used for E 911 calls in the U.S.
6. The signal containing this routed information contains a special key unique to the call. The key allows the Public Safety Answering Point operator to pull the the customer's address and phone number directly from the database.

Is this solution a major step toward E-911 interoperability, or just a baby step? TalkBack and letus know what you think.