RAY BAUM’s Act for the enterprise: 10 key questions answered

The first deadline for the new 911 "dispatchable location" requirements under RAY BAUM's Act has arrived, with fixed VoIP devices needing to deliver dispatchable location by January 6th, 2021. Enterprises are expected to be mostly non-compliant and must prepare for more complex requirements for nomadic VoIP devices and services coming into effect in 2022. The RAY BAUM's Act rules require the delivery of dispatchable location with the 911 call, including floor, suite, or room-level data. Complying with these rules involves provisioning the location of fixed VoIP devices with an underlying 911 service provider like Bandwidth. For services that utilize extensions, PBX systems need to have intelligent 911 calling features such as Emergency Location Identification Number and Emergency Response Location (ELIN/ERL). The rules apply to both on-premise telephone systems and cloud services.