Ofcom rules that VOIP companies must connect to emergency numbers

Ofcom has ruled that companies which allow calls to be routed over the internet must be able to connect customers to emergency numbers.

The ruling follows Ofcom’s announcement last March, which said that VOIP service providers had to be upfront about what services they did and didn’t offer. For example some companies only allow customers to call contacts who are using the same service while others allow them to call any national number.

The watchdog’s research shows that 78 percent of customers assumed that emergency calls were already possible on these kinds of services and the thought that there might be a problem connecting to 999 or 112, had never even crossed their mind.

Ofcom feels it is important that people be able to send for help as soon as is physically possible and has given companies until September 2008 to make the change.