Choice Digital Voice FAQs
What is VOIP and Choice Digital Voice?
Choice Digital Voice is our Voice over Internet Protocol offering. Often called “VoIP”, the technology uses the internet to transmit voice signal instead of traditional phone systems. VoIP technology converts a voice signal from your telephone into a digital signal that can travel over the internet. If you call a traditional telephone number, the internet signal is converted back to an analogue phone signal. VoIP calls can be made from variety a devices: from a VoIP desk top phone to a soft client installed on a computer, smart phone or tablet. In some cases traditional phones are converted to VoIP through a so called “ATA-box”.
Choice Digital Voice is our Voice over Internet Protocol offering. Often called “VoIP”, the technology uses the internet to transmit voice signal instead of traditional phone systems. VoIP technology converts a voice signal from your telephone into a digital signal that can travel over the internet. If you call a traditional telephone number, the internet signal is converted back to an analogue phone signal. VoIP calls can be made from variety a devices: from a VoIP desk top phone to a soft client installed on a computer, smart phone or tablet. In some cases traditional phones are converted to VoIP through a so called “ATA-box”.
Can I dial 911 with my Choice Digital Voice phone?
Yes. All Choice Digital Voice phones come with 911 dialing capabilities.
Important! In the event of a power outage and/or internet outage, basic 911 or enhanced 911 (“e911”) will not be available to you. Further, if the registered physical address or GPS coordinates that you registered with us are incomplete, incorrect or rejected for any reason, your call will not get routed to the closest Public-Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”). Please read all sections of this 911 FAQ for more details.
If you have any questions, ask a Choice Digital Voice customer specialist.
Yes. All Choice Digital Voice phones come with 911 dialing capabilities.
Important! In the event of a power outage and/or internet outage, basic 911 or enhanced 911 (“e911”) will not be available to you. Further, if the registered physical address or GPS coordinates that you registered with us are incomplete, incorrect or rejected for any reason, your call will not get routed to the closest Public-Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”). Please read all sections of this 911 FAQ for more details.
If you have any questions, ask a Choice Digital Voice customer specialist.
What happens when I dial 911 from my Choice Digital Voice phone?
When you make a 911 call from your Choice Digital Voice phone, we will route your call through a third-party service provider to a Public Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”) corresponding to the Registered Location, provided that a PSAP is available based on your Registered Location. A PSAP is a special 911 call center belonging to the local police, fire, and ambulance services. Your Choice Digital Voice phone will route to the PSAP associated with your “Registered Location.”
Your Registered Location is the address you provide to us of where your Choice Digital Voice phone is located. When you activate your number, we require an address or coordinate location to be associated with that number (“Registered Location”). Choice validates every Registered Location to ensure that it is in the standard format utilized by emergency responders (for example, it refers to a street by a nickname versus the official name, omitting the directional, the street name has changed, etc.). It is your responsibility to keep your Registered Location up to date.
When you make a 911 call from your Choice Digital Voice phone, we will route your call through a third-party service provider to a Public Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”) corresponding to the Registered Location, provided that a PSAP is available based on your Registered Location. A PSAP is a special 911 call center belonging to the local police, fire, and ambulance services. Your Choice Digital Voice phone will route to the PSAP associated with your “Registered Location.”
Your Registered Location is the address you provide to us of where your Choice Digital Voice phone is located. When you activate your number, we require an address or coordinate location to be associated with that number (“Registered Location”). Choice validates every Registered Location to ensure that it is in the standard format utilized by emergency responders (for example, it refers to a street by a nickname versus the official name, omitting the directional, the street name has changed, etc.). It is your responsibility to keep your Registered Location up to date.
Why do I need to provide my address and what do I do if I move or have a change to my address?
For each of your phone lines with Choice Digital Voice service, you must provide us the Registered Location (the physical location where you will be using the VoIP service). In the event that you dial 911, the Registered Location will automatically transmit to the Public Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”) corresponding to the Registered Location (provided that a PSAP serves your Registered Location). If your Registered Location is incomplete or incorrect, emergency personnel may be unable to find your or may be dispatched to the wrong address.
If you move any Choice Digital Voice equipment (soft client, for instance when working remotely) to another location, you must update the Registered Location to ensure proper 911 dialing function. If you do not update the Registered Location, any 911 calls you make will be routed to a PSAP associated with your old address and may result in help being sent to the wrong location.
Important! It is critical that you keep your service address up to date so that emergency personnel will know your location in the event of an emergency. It is your responsibility to contact Choice Wireless online at Support or place a call: US: 719-626-0000 | Navajo Nation: 928-730-2273, in the event of a change or update to your location.
For each of your phone lines with Choice Digital Voice service, you must provide us the Registered Location (the physical location where you will be using the VoIP service). In the event that you dial 911, the Registered Location will automatically transmit to the Public Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”) corresponding to the Registered Location (provided that a PSAP serves your Registered Location). If your Registered Location is incomplete or incorrect, emergency personnel may be unable to find your or may be dispatched to the wrong address.
If you move any Choice Digital Voice equipment (soft client, for instance when working remotely) to another location, you must update the Registered Location to ensure proper 911 dialing function. If you do not update the Registered Location, any 911 calls you make will be routed to a PSAP associated with your old address and may result in help being sent to the wrong location.
Important! It is critical that you keep your service address up to date so that emergency personnel will know your location in the event of an emergency. It is your responsibility to contact Choice Wireless online at Support or place a call: US: 719-626-0000 | Navajo Nation: 928-730-2273, in the event of a change or update to your location.
Is there a way for me to confirm that my 911 address is active and correct?
To ensure rapid response times, addresses used for 911 dialing purposes are standardized so that they are accurate and unambiguous for the emergency response units. To best serve you, we validate every address back through a third party.
If the address cannot be validated, we will contact you to correct it. The validation process may take up to five business days. If VoIP equipment or Soft Clients are installed before a rejected address is resolved, general calls can be made, but 911 calls will NOT be routed to the PSAP serving your area, if any, and instead to a national call center.
Existing customers wanting to confirm the location registered with each line should contact Choice Wireless online at Support or place a call: US: 719-626-0000 | Navajo Nation: 928-730-2273, in the event of a change or update to your location.
To ensure rapid response times, addresses used for 911 dialing purposes are standardized so that they are accurate and unambiguous for the emergency response units. To best serve you, we validate every address back through a third party.
If the address cannot be validated, we will contact you to correct it. The validation process may take up to five business days. If VoIP equipment or Soft Clients are installed before a rejected address is resolved, general calls can be made, but 911 calls will NOT be routed to the PSAP serving your area, if any, and instead to a national call center.
Existing customers wanting to confirm the location registered with each line should contact Choice Wireless online at Support or place a call: US: 719-626-0000 | Navajo Nation: 928-730-2273, in the event of a change or update to your location.
Are there any limitations to calling 911 with Choice Digital Voice?
Dialing 911 from your Choice Digital Voice service is different from traditional 911 service in some important ways. The FCC requires us to advise you of the circumstances under which 911 emergency services may not be available or may be limited in some way as well as the nature of such limitations. Please be aware of the following:
It is important to keep in mind that 911 dialing from your Choice Digital Voice phone will not work unless you have both power and a working internet connection.
Dialing 911 from your Choice Digital Voice service is different from traditional 911 service in some important ways. The FCC requires us to advise you of the circumstances under which 911 emergency services may not be available or may be limited in some way as well as the nature of such limitations. Please be aware of the following:
- You must notify all users that dialing 911 from your Choice Digital Voice device is different than traditional 911 service. You should not be remove or obscure any notices intended to alert users of this. If you, or your users have any questions, please refer them to this webpage or a Choice customer specialist.
- Service outages or disruptions (such as power failures) may delay or disrupt 911 calls.
- Network congestion may lead to reduced speed for routing or answering a 911 call. Be aware that there may be a greater possibility of network congestion and/or reduced speed in the routing of a 911 call made utilizing Choice Digital Voice devices as compared to traditional 911 dialing over traditional public telephone networks.
- Changes to your address may delay or disrupt 911 Calls.
- 911 calls may not connect to the 911 call center serving your current location or may improperly ring to the administrative line of the 911 call center, which may not be staffed after hours or by trained 911 operators.
- 911 calls may correctly connect to the 911 call center but not automatically transmit the caller's phone number and/or location information.
- You need to provide location or other information to their VoIP providers, and update this information each time users change locations for their VoIP 911 service to function properly.
- VoIP service may not work during a power outage or when the internet connection fails or becomes overloaded.
- Certain customers may not have access to either basic 911 or enhanced (“E911”) 911 Service due to their location.
It is important to keep in mind that 911 dialing from your Choice Digital Voice phone will not work unless you have both power and a working internet connection.
How is 911 with Choice Digital Voice different from with a landline or cell phone?
When you dial 911 from a traditional landline or cellphone, your call is automatically routed to the appropriate local emergency responder for your location because your phone company knows where you are, but you may have to provide the telephone agent with your physical location (this is “Basic 911”). Even if you move, your call will be routed to the correct emergency responder because the phone company will know that you have moved. Some locations have enhanced 911 (or “E911”) service which means that your address and phone number are automatically transmitted to the emergency responder when you dial 911.
Like your cell phone, your Choice Digital Voice devices will also work anywhere you take as long as it has a connection to the Internet. Unlike your cell phone, however, Choice will not know if you have moved the equipment. This is why it is critically important that you inform us of your actual physical address and update that physical address any time the equipment is moved.
When you dial 911 from a traditional landline or cellphone, your call is automatically routed to the appropriate local emergency responder for your location because your phone company knows where you are, but you may have to provide the telephone agent with your physical location (this is “Basic 911”). Even if you move, your call will be routed to the correct emergency responder because the phone company will know that you have moved. Some locations have enhanced 911 (or “E911”) service which means that your address and phone number are automatically transmitted to the emergency responder when you dial 911.
Like your cell phone, your Choice Digital Voice devices will also work anywhere you take as long as it has a connection to the Internet. Unlike your cell phone, however, Choice will not know if you have moved the equipment. This is why it is critically important that you inform us of your actual physical address and update that physical address any time the equipment is moved.
If the power is out, can I still dial 911?
Dialing, including 911 dialing, from your Choice Digital Voice phone will not be operational in the event you lose power.
Dialing, including 911 dialing, from your Choice Digital Voice phone will not be operational in the event you lose power.
What location is reported to emergency services for Remote Office Users?
Each phone is set with a 911 call back number and associated location address (a Registered Location). This allows all users, including remote users, to be part of the company phone system while sending their actual office address and direct call back number to the 911 operator if they dial “911”.
Each phone is set with a 911 call back number and associated location address (a Registered Location). This allows all users, including remote users, to be part of the company phone system while sending their actual office address and direct call back number to the 911 operator if they dial “911”.
What happens when calling 911 from an anonymous line?
The caller ID number sent with outbound calls is set on each user. Users can send out the main company number, a specific user-assigned number, or not send out any caller ID.
Note that calls to 911 ignore the caller ID settings of the user and send the 911 call back number set on the device.
The caller ID number sent with outbound calls is set on each user. Users can send out the main company number, a specific user-assigned number, or not send out any caller ID.
Note that calls to 911 ignore the caller ID settings of the user and send the 911 call back number set on the device.