In a number of areas, the public switched telephone network (PSTN) has
been configured to recognize an explicitly specified number (commonly
one that is short and easily memorized) as a call for emergency
services. These numbers (e.g. 911, 112) relate to an emergency
service context and depend on a broad, regional configuration of
service contact methods and a geographically-constrained context of
service delivery. These calls are intended to be delivered to special
call centers equipped to manage emergency response. Successful
delivery of an emergency service call within those systems requires
both an association of the physical location of the originator with an
appropriate emergency service center and call routing to deliver the
call to the center.
Calls placed using Internet technologies do not use the same systems
to achieve those goals, and the common use of overlay networks and
tunnels (either as VPNs or for mobility) makes meeting them more
challenging. There are, however, Internet technologies available to
describe location and to manage call routing. This working group will
describe when these may be appropriate and how they may be used.
Explicitly outside the scope of this group is the question of
pre-emption or prioritization of emergency services traffic. This
group is considering emergency services calls which might be made by
any user of the Internet, as opposed to government or military
services that may impose very different authentication and routing
requirements.
The group will show how the availability of location data and call
routing information at different steps in session setup would enable
communication between a user and a relevant emergency response
center. Though the term "call routing" is used in this document, it
should be understood that some of the mechanisms which will be
described might be used to enable other types of media streams. Video
and text messaging, for example, might be used to request emergency
services.
While this group anticipates a close working relationship with groups
such as NENA and ETSI EMTEL, any solution presented must be useful
regardless of jurisdiction, and it must be possible to use without a
single, central authority. Further, it must be possible for multiple
delegations within a jurisdiction to be handled independently, as call
routing for specific emergency types may be independent.
This working group cares about privacy and security concerns, and will
address them within its documents.
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