Phone System

Kari’s Law & Ray Baum’s Act Compliance and
What it Means for Your Business

Compliance is required by February 16th, 2020

What is Kari’s Law?

Named after Kari Hunt Dunn, whose 9-year-old daughter was unable to call 911 because she did not know a “9” was required to access an outside line from their motel room. The Personal Story Behind Kari’s Law

Kari’s Law applies to multi-line telephone systems (MLTS), which are telephone systems that serve consumers in environments such as office buildings, campuses, and hotels. Kari’s Law requires MLTS systems in the United States to enable users to dial 911 directly, without having to dial a prefix to reach an outside line, and to provide for notification (e.g., to a front desk or security office) when a 911 call is made. FCC FACT SHEET

When Does Kari’s Law Take Effect?

February 16, 2020

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See Also: Ray Baum’s Act

Who Does Kari’s Law Affect?

Kari’s Law applies to any “person engaged in the business of installing, managing, or operating” MLTS. Such persons “may not install, manage, or operate for use in the United States such a system, unless such system is configured such that a user may directly initiate a call to 9-1-1 from any station equipped with dialing facilities, without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk-access code such as the digit ‘9’, regardless of whether the user is required to dial such a digit, code, prefix, or post-fix for other calls.”

Bottom line: If you install, own or operate a multi-line telephone system in the United States, then Kari’s Law affects you.

Two Parts of Kari’s Law That Affects Businesses with Multi-line Telephone Systems

Eliminate Dialing “9” for 911 Calls

Kari’s Law will require that any MLTS will allow callers to reach emergency services via 911 without the need to dial a prefix for an outside number first. All organizations using a multi-line phone system will need to update their phone configurations accordingly.

Notifications to On-site Personnel

Kari’s Law also requires MLTS organizations to implement notifications to on-site personnel that 911 has been dialed and from where it was dialed. These notifications can be via email, SMS/Text, messenger service or phone call. This will allow on-site personnel to know there is an emergency as well as direct emergency personnel to where they are needed.

What is the Ray Baum Act?

Dispatchable Location

The Ray Baum Act is named after a close friend of US Congressman Greg Walden, previous Chairman of the Congressional Telecommunications Subcommittee.

Section 506 of the RAY BAUM’S Act requires that a “dispatchable location” is conveyed with 911 calls so that 911 call centers will receive the caller’s location automatically and can dispatch responders more quickly. “Dispatchable location” is defined as “the street address of the calling party, and additional information such as room number, floor number, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.” A Dispatchable location provided from the emergency responders’ point of view.

In short, if you dial 911, the emergency responders know EXACTLY where to go.

Compliance Deadlines and Penalties

Organizations with MLTS must comply with the mandates of Kari’s Law by February 16, 2020 and the deadline for Ray Baum’s Act compliance (for both on-premise and off-premise 911 calls) is two years from the affective date of rules adopted by this order.

Any business or agency who does not comply with Kari’s Law could face a fine of up to $10,000 in addition to other penalties, including a daily fine of up to $500 each day they are found not in compliance.

Source: BB&K Attorneys at Law

We’re Here to Help with Compliance

We know this all sounds like a lot, so we’re here to help make your enterprise comply with Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act. We make compliance easy with our E911 solutions.

Reach out to one of our specialists to find out how we can support your business’s 911 calling needs. Network Command 918’s solutions are well positioned to provide your business with the location and notification functionality you need.

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How Can Network Command 918 Assist My Business in Complying with Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act?

Requiring a prefix when calling 911 is prohibited

Locations with MLTS must remove any requirements to dial ‘9’, ‘8’, or any other prefix to reach 911 and should send the caller location to the nearest PSAP.

Network Command 918 Solution:

· Configuring your FreePBX based phone system not to require a prefix can be configured automatically with our Network Command 918 Trunking Module for FreePBX.

· Not using FreePBX? Our service can work with just about any SIP-enabled phone system on the market. When using the Network Command 918 Trunking module to configure your FreePBX based system, we automatically generate outbound routes for calling 911 without requiring a prefix.

911 calls are to be transmitted to the appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP) with a “dispatchable location”

Information defined as “the street address of the calling party, and additional information such as room number, floor number, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.” In a typical office environment, this could include building, floor, wing, office, cubicle, or other location information allowing first responders and in-building security personnel to know the exact location of the person calling 911. So, in short, the address sent must be provided from the emergency responders’ point of view.

Network Command 918 Solution:

· Our SIP Trunking platform allows you to quickly and economically configure multiple Emergency Call-Back Profiles and Emergency Endpoints on your phone system.

· If you are utilizing FreePBX, our “Clearly Trunking FreePBX Module” easily configures your services and maps your endpoint locations and emergency call back numbers. When your users place emergency calls, the specific dispatchable location is sent to the proper Public-Safety Answering Point (PSAP)

· Each Network Command 918 trunking location with at least one Unlimited SIP Trunk includes (1) Emergency Call-Back Profile and (1) Dispatchable location.

· Additional e911 address locations and e911 endpoints are easily added online, without the need to contact us.

· We also offer plans that allow you to utilize our e911 services without the Unlimited Voice Subscription, and only pay for your e911 addresses and endpoint locations.

Emergency notifications must be sent to personnel alerting them to the emergency

Notification can take the form of phone calls, visual alerts, audible alarms, text messages, or emails. The notification provision mandates that all such MLTS systems must provide a notification to a central location, locally or to another person or organization offsite, such as a front desk or security office, when placing a 911 call.

Network Command 918 Solution – Emergency Notification Destination Points

· Network Command 918 SIP Trunking enables our users to define Emergency Notification Destination Points directly on the phone system.

· Notifications sent will include, (1) The fact a 911 call was placed. (2) A valid call-back number (3) Dispatchable Location of the caller sent to PSAP available notification options include:

· SMS Message – Sent from the phone system to the Emergency Notification Destination Point

· Email to Administrator – Sent from the phone system to the Emergency Notification Destination Point

· Audible Page Group Notification – Configured within the phone system to notify the Emergency Notification Destination Point defined paging group.

· These Notification Destinations are configured directly within the Network Command 918 Trunking module in the FreePBX GUI.