Driven largely by the efforts of Kari Dunn’s father following the murder of his daughter, Kari’s Law for 911 service was signed into law on February 16, 2018, and goes into effect this month on February 16, 2020.
Kari’s Law Requirements
- To allow 911 to be dialed without any pre or post digits. This means users need to be able to dial 911 as 3 digits, without the need to dial 9 first, or something on the back-end to place the call.
- Notification that 911 was dialed from your system must be sent to designated personnel in your office (e.g. to a front deck or security office).
- Your phone system vendor needs to program the internal designated party who will be notified if someone dials 911 from any phone that’s connected to your phone system (onsite or remote). This assumes that your phone system is capable of accommodating this change. Older systems that have been discontinued by the manufacturer may not be capable of complying.
- You as the company and owner of the phone system need to direct first responders to the emergency location. This means you need to maintain an accurate list and/or map depending on your company’s landscape – including address, building, floor, and/or room for each extension. This includes staff that work virtual, from home, and from satellite offices.
Xtel’s Hosted PBX service is fully compliant with this new law and will continue to be moving forward.
Kari’s Law applies to new multi-line telephone systems (“MLTS”) manufactured, imported, offered for sale or lease, or installed after the compliance date of February 16, 2020. Noncompliance with the law could lead to a fine of up to $10,000 and additional penalties of up to $500 per day of noncompliance.
You may review the full FCC Notice here.
