FCC ponders mandating VoIP 911 services

FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin wants to accelerate this whole
VoIP 911 issue by mandating that internet telephony providers offer their customers emergency 911 dialing services. Things are already moving in that direction,
with Vonage having recently scored agreements with
Verizon and
Qwest to open their emergency networks to VoIP customers,
and high-level talks with SBC also in progress. Hopefully this will actually precipitate an acceleration of the process and not a proliferation of even more red tape — but it's hard to say because Martin doesn't seem to actually have a plan yet. But hey, he wants to make a plan, and that's, well... something. Probably.