What you need to know about Kari’s Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM’S Act.

Mitel has released some important information regarding new FCC requirements that affects your Multi-Line Telephone System. As you may know, in August 2019, the Commission adopted new rules implementing two federal laws that strengthen emergency calling:  Kari’s Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM’S Act. It is critical that you and your legal team review this information and ensure that your organization is compliant prior to the deadline.

 Here is the link to FCC's official publication which list's requirements for both Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act, Sec.506.

Kari’s Law includes direct dial to 911 services and notification of designated personnel when an emergency call is made (Compliance date of 02/16/2020). The Ray Baum’s Act, Section 506 requires the identification of “dispatchable locations” when 911 is called from inside your organization. Ray Baum’s Act has a compliance date of January 6, 2021, for on-premises fixed telephony devices and January 6, 2022 for non-fixed telephony devices.

For Kari's Law, TIG has employed the practice of including both “911” and “9911* calling for quite some time.  This is easily verified by requesting confirmation from TIG’s Technical Assistance Center at (630) 616-4200 or dialing the numbers yourself.  Check with your local jurisdiction for any 911 testing prior to doing it.

Ray BAUM’S Act, Section 506 requires fixed devices send a dispatchable location on 911 calls by the January 6, 2021 deadline. The deadline for non-fixed devices is January 6, 2022 which includes VoIP Telephones and Wi-Fi enabled calling devices. This bulletin will be updated as more information becomes available.  Illinois E-911 law requires “phones” send a location to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).  We have accomplished this by mapping the Mitel CESID number to the MAC address of the data Switch port.  This solution requires a subscription to an E-911 database either from a carrier or a third party provider.  Some customers have done this and others have not.   FCC has listed the requirements for Dispatchable Location here.

In Mitel’s view, all Multi-line telephone systems (MLTSs), regardless of deployment date must be configured to provide dispatchable location for fixed devices. Corded IP phones can be addressed through mapping to switch ports or locking the switch ports down.  Wireless phones are the issue yet to be addressed, Click here's to review FFC's latest report to congress.

Mitel has provided enhancements in notification through the Mitel Revolution product and the MiVoice Business Software Release 9.1 Emergency DID Routing feature.  Do not hesitate to contact TIG’s Technical Assistance Center for help determining what capabilities you have today.  As always, TIG remains committed to providing you expert service for all your communication needs. Be sure to click the link below to review Mitel's Regulatory Bulletin regarding Kari's Act and The Ray Baum's Act, Sec 506.