October 14, 2021

Comply with 911 Calls; Kari’s Law & Ray Baum’s Act

In 2013, Kari Hunt perished because her daughter could not dial 911 from a hotel room. The daughter was not aware that she had to dial 9 first (9-911) to get through. Help was too late to save her mother. “Kari’s Law” (Since February 16, 2020) stipulates that on a Multi-Line Telephone System (MTLS) – used by hotels and school districts – when dialing 911 (only) from any extension, you are assured successful access to a 911 call center.

With the huge increase in IP phones (not cellular phones), that physically can be on a network with access to the internet, anywhere; Ray Baum’s Act (Since January 6, 2021, but not enforced), mandates the transmission of an Automated Dispatchable Location (ADL) for all 911 calls made from any static phone, anywhere, including: address, extension, floor, and suite. The act, was named after Ray Baum, an Oregon lawyer, for significant work in telecommunications. Every organization must comply with the Ray Baum Act for the safety of people occupying its organization’s facilities!

Who is responsible for compliance with the Kari’s Law & Ray Baum’s Act mandates? YOU ARE! You must show concern by asking your PBX vendor and carrier the hard questions, as well as making sure (through periodic testing), that they (the vendors) are doing what they must do. When your PBX is VoIP based, Kari’s mandate may be easier (for the carriers) to comply with.

But what if your PBX is a legacy, analog, PBX? Replacing the phone system should not be your only option. On a legacy PBX, the Kari’s Law mandate should be possible to accomplish by your PBX vendor, and may be costly on a large system. Ray Baum’s Act mandate, however, cannot be accomplished! When the lack of compliance leads to the loss of human lives, the legal consequences will be dire.

Here is an idea to consider:

MetComm’s Smart & Brainy Alert Appliance intersects with your legacy PBX, and without affecting its original configuration, will ensure (for your organization), compliance with both, Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act at a reasonable cost. With our appliance we also deliver, at no additional cost to you, a full set of customizable features, such as:

Alerting security personnel and logging emergency calls.
Time-based alert delivery.
Alert channels: Email, SMS and phone calls can be used.
Trackable acknowledgement of alerts.
Integration with active voice system vendors and carriers.
Backup SIP trunk will failover to your emergency calls if your PBX fails.

By January 6, 2022, organizations with a Multi-Line Telephone System (MTLS) must comply with Kari’s Law & Ray Baum’s Act! We can help accomplish this in an efficient and cost effective manner.