911/Power outage and keeping Fongo home phone alive

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911/Power outage and keeping Fongo home phone alive

Postby Fred514 » 07/10/2022

At home my old father doesn't speak english. Since we live in Quebec this is not a problem if he would have to call 911.
With Fongo home phone the call to 911 would be first dispatch by a 3rd party (where people would probably speak english).
If I always keep my address up to date in my Fongo account, would a call to 911 would be automaticaly dispatch to the emergency services of my locality, without the requirement to talk to the first dispatcher.
Thanks
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Re: 911 for non english speaker

Postby Liptonbrisk » 07/11/2022

Fred514 wrote:At home my old father doesn't speak english. Since we live in Quebec this is not a problem if he would have to call 911.
With Fongo home phone the call to 911 would be first dispatch by a 3rd party (where people would probably speak english).


Fongo uses Northern 911 (based on FONGO_kris’s post at viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1198#p6158).

https://www.northern911.com/about-us/our-team/

“Translation Services

Language should not be a barrier when an emergency arises. As Northern911 serves clients around the world, we are required to converse with many different languages. While our in-house operators are bilingual in French and English, we do not have internal language capabilities in all languages. For this reason, Northern911 subscribes to a simultaneous translation service. Through this facility we can communicate in over 170+ languages!

When we receive an emergency call, we quickly determine if it is in a language available internally. If not, we immediately call the translation service and are connected to a translator. With the translator’s assistance, we can respond to the caller’s needs.”


If I always keep my address up to date in my Fongo account, would a call to 911 would be automaticaly dispatch to the emergency services of my locality, without the requirement to talk to the first dispatcher.


No. Dialing 911 always reaches Northern 911 first.

Refer to https://www.fongo.com/about-fongo/legal/terms/ and https://www.fongo.com/about-fongo/legal/fongo-911/.
Please do not send me emails; I do not work for nor represent Freephoneline or Fongo. Post questions on the forums so that others may learn from responses or assist you. Thank you. If you have an issue with your account or have a billing issue, submit a ticket here: https://support.fongo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. Visit http://status.fongo.com/ to check FPL/Fongo service status. Freephoneline setup guides can be found at viewforum.php?f=15.
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Power outage and keeping Fongo home phone alive

Postby Fred514 » 07/30/2022

Anybody have a setting to keep his home phone functioning during power outage ?
I know that we have to provide power to the modem, the router and the ATA.
(Of course the ISP should not be affected by the outage)
Does a good UPS battery backup system provide enough power to keep the phone working for some hours ?
Thanks
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Re: Power outage and keeping Fongo home phone alive

Postby Jake » 07/30/2022

I picked up a smallish UPS from Staples quite few years back.
On that I have:-
1. One of my modems
2. Router
3. PAP2T VOIP ATA
4. A base station for my phones
5. TP-Link EAP-245 Access Point
6. A small Switch

This runs for an hour or so easily. I'm sure the battery is not in the best of shape, but it gives me plenty of time to at least check HydroOne's site for the status of the outage and make any calls I need to.
I generally then just let the battery run out and enjoy the silence of no power :)

Should it extend for any amount of time, I then run an extension from a generator down there, which I can also do before the battery dies of course.

The bigger the battery will allow things to run longer of course, but we just wanted something that would allow us to check on things and not rush in getting the generator out.
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Re: Power outage and keeping Fongo home phone alive

Postby Liptonbrisk » 07/30/2022

Fred514 wrote:Anybody have a setting to keep his home phone functioning during power outage ?
I know that we have to provide power to the modem, the router and the ATA.


And, as Jake mentioned, a phone base if one is used (or if a phone requires electricity)

(Of course the ISP should not be affected by the outage)


It should be noted that no ISP has 100% up time.
No SIP service I'm aware of does either.

I suggest reading pages 46 to 48 from download/file.php?id=2195 ("I've heard scary stuff about VoIP 911. Isn't it unreliable?").
With the exception of the $35 fee discussed using FPL and the OBiBT Bluetooth adapter, everything else applies.


Does a good UPS battery backup system provide enough power to keep the phone working for some hours ?


APC BR1500G attached to APC BR24BPG external battery should last at least 8 (likely closer to 9) hours, depending on the modem, router, ATA, and phone being used.

I think context is important. If you're worried about your father, I would consider a cellphone for a backup for 911. Suddenly, requiring a UPS is less important than having external batteries for a cellphone, particularly if your father already has cellular service.

Even if he doesn't, it may still be possible for a deactivated cellphone to call 911.

Read https://www.cwta.ca/for-consumers/e911/.

"Can I still call 9-1-1 from a deactivated cell phone?

Possibly. In some cases, a call to 9-1-1 from a deactivated cell phone will reach a 9-1-1 operator. However, because that phone is not associated with any particular wireless service provider, the 9-1-1 operator will not be supplied with a dialable phone number. In the event of a call disruption, the call taker would not be able to call back. The operator may receive information about the cell site or cell tower that is transmitting the call, but they will not be provided with longitude and latitude coordinates."



Theoretically, 911 calls from deactivated cellphones are supposed to work in Canada. If you pop a sim card out, the cellphone is supposed search for a signal when dialing 911. I can't say I've tested dialing 911 with a deactivated cellphone. I can't guarantee a 911 call from a deactivated cellphone will work, but it should work provided you're in an area that has cellular signal coverage that the cellphone can connect to.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton ... -1.6100946

https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2017 ... n-call-911
Please do not send me emails; I do not work for nor represent Freephoneline or Fongo. Post questions on the forums so that others may learn from responses or assist you. Thank you. If you have an issue with your account or have a billing issue, submit a ticket here: https://support.fongo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. Visit http://status.fongo.com/ to check FPL/Fongo service status. Freephoneline setup guides can be found at viewforum.php?f=15.
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