If you haven’t heard the news yet, then you need to pay close attention. Kari’s Law was passed into law back in February of 2018 and requires all multi-line telephony solutions (both VoIP, cloud, and on-premise) to be configured in a way that the caller will not have to dial 9, or any other prefix, to reach 911. You can find a more in-depth post on what Kari’s Law is and requires of your business and MLTS provider here, but providers and businesses alike have less than 30 days to put Kari’s Law into effect.
While the law requires that by the date of February 16, 2020, all new MLTS implementations must be pre-configured to enable users to dial 911 without any prefix, this does not relieve the burden on current MLTS solutions. This includes CENTREX, cloud-based or on-premise VoIP solutions, hybrid solutions, and key telephone systems currently in use, regardless of if the entity is a private corporation or public service.
This means that the onus of ensuring compliance does not just fall on the shoulders of the manufacturer or provider of the system, but also on the business entity itself to ensure compliance. JDSupra states that “Any public agency or business that controls or is otherwise responsible for configuring its MLTS should assume it is the “operator” or “manager,” and therefore responsible for complying with Kari’s Law.“
How can I tell if my solution is compliant?
We go into greater detail in our blog, but we can help you assess the current status of your network and solution leading up to the compliance deadline by:
- Request our free step-by-step instructions to evaluate your current dial-plan.
- In the event you find that your current dialplan is not in compliance and needs to be changed, give us a call at 863-500-5102! We can help you determine what steps need to be taken.
- Are you unsure? Click here for a free 30-minute appointment with a member of our certified telephony specialists.
FCC Adds Additional Regulations to Kari’s Law
Since the initial passage of the law in 2018, the FCC has further clarified the requirements of compliance, including the further definition of a multi-line telephone solution as “legacy MLTS and Internet Protocol-based systems, including cloud-based services, that support the communications needs of hotels, businesses, campuses, and other enterprises. “ Additional clarifications include more details of the contents of the notification calls that are required to be sent to the manager on-site in the event of a 911 call and exceptions to this requirement in the case where providing such information would be technically unfeasible.
MIX Networks hosted PBX, and Unified Communications solution is fully compliant with Kari’s Law as well as Ray BAUM’s Act, and we can help your business verify you are as well. Don’t wait. Ensure your compliance today.