Vonage Falls Down on 911
Ben Smith writes in Slate about a problem he had when he dialed 911 on his Vonage phone.
What’s surprising here, though, is that Vonage makes a big deal about its 911 service. When I got my Vonage phone, the company had me register my address. You’ll find information about 911 at the Vonage site.
Smith claims that Vonage uses the registered address to search a database and find the phone number in the database that is closest to your house. I have trouble believing this, because that would send the police to somebody else’s house, not to your house.
Smith could be right, but he doesn’t quote anybody at Vonage to back up his claims about how their system works.
There is a discussion of other Vonage 911 problems at Broadband Reports.
I’ll drop a note to Vonage and find out what’s really going on.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build
“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”
ChatGPT is going to change education, not destroy it
The narrative around cheating students doesn’t tell the whole story. Meet the teachers who think generative AI could actually make learning better.
Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives
The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.
Learning to code isn’t enough
Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.