Up VoIP Creek Have an emergency plan while VoIP providers work on 911 shortcomings.

VoIP's lack of landline-class emergency services didn'tseem that big a deal initially--tall phone-bill savingsovershadowed the problem. Then a couple of Vonage customers dialed911 and didn't get an emergency response.

Within days, state attorneys general had filedconsumer-protection lawsuits against Vonage, and Congressintroduced new bills to tax VoIP. The FCC told internet phonecompanies to have landline-grade emergency services byNovember.

Most broadband phone companies already have 911 services of asort. But unlike a traditional phone number, a VoIP phone numberisn't tied to a street address, so customers have to registertheir locations. Some calls get routed through administrativeoffices instead of directly to emergency responders--often withoutlocation and callback numbers. That all needs fixing by November,warns the FCC.