Vonage Gets 911 Services from Verizon

Internet telephony company Vonage, which has been under fire in recent weeks for its handling of 911 calls, announced a deal with Verizon that will allow it to use Verizon's landline and wireless enhanced 911 services to provide its customers with better handling of emergency calls.

Calls placed within Verizon's territory on Vonage phones will now be able to provide responders with caller location and a call back number, which in some situations has proven to help save lives and allow for a quicker response to emergencies. The deal marks the first time a traditional phone company has worked with a VoIP provider to offer such a service.

Company executives had kind words for the nation's biggest phone company. "Verizon is a responsible steward of the E9-1-1 public trust, through their foresight Vonage is able to implement an E9-1-1 solution that will serve all customers," said Jeffrey A. Citron, Vonage's CEO.

Vonage, meanwhile, has been sued by the state of Connecticut for alledegly misleading customers over its 911 capabilities. Today's deal could signal that the VoIP company is serious about fixing the issues that could prevent first responders from getting to Vonage customers in a timely manner.

Texas has already sued the company, and the state of Michigan may also file suit against Vonage shortly.

Verizon says it is continuing to look into ways to bring other VoIP services into the E911 service without compromising reliability for traditional phone users.