T-Mobile launches discount VoIP service with a few big downsides

Posted by Joe on June 30th, 2008

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At just $10 per month for unlimited nationwide calls, T-Mobile’s recently launched HotSpot@Home VoIP service seems like a great deal for most consumers on the surface. However, there are a handful of limitations and requirements that may cause potential subscribers, especially those that are not already using T-Mobile for their wireless service, to pass on the new service.

First, HotSpot@Home is only available to existing T-Mobile customers with qualifying wireless plans. In this case, qualifying means that you must be spending at least $40 per month on your wireless service. Existing T-Mobile subscribers who have opted for the lower priced cell phone service plans would need to upgrade in order to purchase VoIP service. Those consumers that are not existing T-Mobile subscribers would have to purchase a new T-Mobile wireless service in order to qualify.

Those T-Mobile subscribers that do qualify to purchase HotSpot@Home service will also have at least a two year service contract with the company. The multi-year commitment is a fairly common practices in the cell phone industry, so it is not necessarily surprising that T-Mobile would include a long term contract for new VoIP subscribers. However, these types of commitments are far less common with VoIP providers, many of which offer competitively priced month-to-month plans and even no risk free trials. We think the two year lock in period is what make HotSpot@Home far less competitive, even for existing T-Mobile subscribers, than it otherwise could be.

In all fairness, T-Mobile isn’t really trying to compete with more established VoIP providers, like Vonage, with the launch of HotSpot@Home. Their main target audience are existing T-Mobile subscribers that want to convenience of managing all of their calls, whether through their cell phone or home VoIP line, on a single bill. HotSpot@Home also has the added bonus of allowing subscribers to receive calls at either a home or mobile location from a single phone number.

HotSpot@Home may not be for you even if you are an existing T-Mobile subscriber. The additional contract commitment means getting locked into pricing for both your wireless and VoIP service. Since these are two very competitive markets with constantly decreasing price points and a better deal around every corner we would suggest no locking yourself in.

Most consumers would probably be better off considering a VoIP service like Vonage, which is a true land line replacement solution with very high call quality and advanced features only available on VoIP. You can learn more about Vonage or other VoIP providers by visiting our guide to VoIP service providers.

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How to read, analyze and dispute your Equifax credit report

Posted by Caitlin on June 30th, 2008

Equifax is one of the three major credit reporting bureaus in the United States.

In this guide we are going to walk through a sample version of Equifax’s online credit report with FICO score. If you don’t already have your Equifax credit report you can get instant online access to an Equifax or three bureau credit report and FICO score at Equifax.com. This service will provide you with a free Equifax credit report, a free FICO credit score and a free trial of a credit monitoring service that will help you keep an eye on any changes to your credit file. Since Equifax offers a 30 day free trial, you can sign up without any risk.

You are also entitled to one free credit report per year from annualcreditreport.com. Keep in mind that credit reports ordered through annualcreditreport.com do not include a FICO score, which is a good indicator of your overall credit health. If you choose to order your Equifax credit report through annualcreditreport.com or purchase a credit report without a FICO score, however, this guide will still be applicable, after the first section.

We will explain how to read each section of the report and how to spot potential errors that may be lowering your credit score and costing you money or impacting your financial life in other ways. Like most of the other credit report and monitoring services, Equifax offers consumers the option to purchase what is known as a “3-in-1″ or “three bureau” credit report which includes information from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Keep in mind that if you purchase a three bureau credit report from Equifax, which we strongly suggest since it will give you insight into how lenders view you across all three bureaus, the information from the Experian and TransUnion sections of the report will have been provided by the respective bureaus.

So, even though you will be able to view the information side by side, any disputes on non-Equifax information will need to be taken up directly with the appropriate credit bureau. The first installment of our “How to read, analyze and dispute credit reports” series explains how to review information from Experian, and a future installment will explain how to review information from TransUnion.

With that said, let’s dive right into your Equifax credit report.

Section #1: Credit Score

This section tells you your FICO credit score, explains what factors are affecting your score, what your score means, and how you can improve it.

The score summary section gives you your FICO score, which is a number between 300 and 850, and tells you whether your score falls in comparison to other consumers. It also breaks down the major factors affecting your score.

The section titled “Understanding Your Score” breaks down the reasoning behind your FICO score in more depth, and lists the specific factors that are both hurting and helping your score. This section also offers suggestions on how to mitigate any of the detrimental factors.

The next section explains what your FICO score means to lenders, and how it will impact their perception of your loan risk.

The FICO Simulator is a useful tool that predicts how your score might change over time. The first three tabs let you play with different scenarios to see what actions could raise or lower your score, and the fourth tab advises you on the best strategy for improving your score.

Section #2: Credit Summary

The purpose of this section is to provide a quick snapshot of your current and prior credit history by showing the total number of open and closed credit accounts in your name, your outstanding balances for different types of credit accounts in your name and your history of delinquent accounts.

This section lists a variety of information all of your credit accounts. The types of accounts in this section include:

• Mortgage - this section includes accounts related to real estate that you have purchased.
• Installment - this section includes fixed amount credit accounts such as auto loans. Installment accounts are typically for a fixed amount and are paid off over time.
• Revolving - this section includes revolving credit accounts such as credit cards. They are called revolving accounts because although they may have an upper limit on what can be borrowed at any given time you can use as much credit as you have available.
• Other - this section includes additional accounts that don’t fit into any of the other category types.

For each type of credit account listed above this section will list the following information:

• Total Number - the total number of credit accounts by type that have been reported to Equifax throughout your recorded credit history. This number will include both open and closed accounts. For example, if the count for your installment accounts is ‘2? then it would mean that Equifax has data about two different installment accounts in your name, even if some of those accounts have been closed by you or the creditor.
• Balance - the outstanding balance of all accounts of a particular type. This is what you owe to all the creditors of this particular credit account type according to information reported to Equifax and will be listed as an actual dollar amount.
• Available - the unutilized credit remaining on each account.
• Credit Limit - the maximum amount of allowed credit for each account.
• Debt to Credit Ratio - the percentage of your available credit that you are currently using.
• Monthly Payment Amount - the amount that you pay each month.
• Accounts with a Balance - the number of accounts of each type that carry an outstanding balance.

Here are some important things to look for in this section:

• Make sure that the number of accounts of a specific type, total accounts or total balances don’t seem higher than they should be.

If you see any inaccuracies in any area of the credit summary section you should move immediately to the account history of your credit report which will have more detailed information on an account by account basis. This will help you further investigate whether or not your credit report contains errors.

Section #3: Accounts

The purpose of this section is to provide detailed information on all credit accounts that you have ever opened that have been reported to Equifax.

For each account listed in this section, there will be specific information about the type of account, the current status, dates and payment amounts, and any negative information associated with

This section also includes an 81 month payment history of each account listed that gives potential creditors insight into how you have kept up on your existing accounts. This information is represented graphically to show your account performance in each month.

The information that is reported in account payment history includes:

• * - This account is paid on time and in full.
• 30/60/90/120/150/180 - The number of days the account has been past due.
• CA - This account is outstanding and has been sent to a third party for collection.
• CO - This account is outstanding and the creditor is no longer attempting to collect payment.
• F - Property related to this account has been foreclosed.
• VS - Property related to this account has been voluntarily surrendered.
• R - Property related to this account has been repossessed.
• NR - No data is available for a particular month. This is usually because either the account was not open or the creditor has not reported information to Equifax in a given month.

Here are some important things to look for in this section:

• Make sure that the information in this section is accurate. Pay especially close attention to any information related to delinquency, collections or past due accounts either in the account details area or in the 81 month payment history, as all of these things negatively impact your credit report and credit score.
• Make sure all of your accounts in good standing are represented. Not all creditors report account data to all credit bureaus, so Equifax may not have access to information on all of your positive account information (of course, this means that they may not have access to negative account information as well). If you don’t see an account that you believe to be in good standing listed in your Equifax credit report then contact your creditor and ask them if they report your account information to Equifax.
• Make sure you recognize all of the creditors and accounts listed in this section. Any unrecognized accounts could mean that your financial information may have been compromised and that identity thieves may have opened accounts in your name.

Keep in mind that different creditors report information to Equifax in different cycles so some information, such as the balance listed on your account, may not be totally up-to-date. This is fine as long as you have verified that it is an account that you recognize and that the information listed was accurate at some point in the recent past. If you don’t see this type of information update over time it is a good idea to contact your creditor to see if there are any problems with your account or ask how frequently they report your account information to Equifax.

Section #4: Inquiries

The purpose of this section is to show what companies have requested your credit report from Equifax. This includes inquiries that may impact your credit rating, and inquiries that do not. Equifax treats these two types of inquiries very differently.

Inquiries that may impact your credit rating (hard inquiries):

• Are generated as a result of action taken by you such as completing a credit, insurance, mortgage or other loan application or due to the transfer of an account by the creditor to collections.
• Remain on your Equifax credit report for up to two years.
• Are viewable by creditors when they review your credit report.

Inquiries that do not impact your credit rating (soft inquiries):

• Are generated when a company pulls your credit report to evaluate you for an offer of credit that you have not requested. Pre-approved offers from credit card companies that you receive in the mail are typically generated as a result of a soft inquiry by the creditor who sent the offer to you, for example.
• Have no impact on your credit report or credit score.
• Are not viewable by anyone other than you.

For each inquiry, whether it is a hard or soft inquiry, the following information will be listed:

• The name of the company that requested the inquiry.
• The type of business that company operates. For example, if you filled out a credit card application with your bank the resulting inquiry would be listed as ‘Banks & S&Ls’.
• The date the inquiry was requested.

Here are some important things to look for in this section:

• Make sure that all of the hard inquiries are accurate. If you don’t recognize the name of a company listed in this section then research it to find out whether or not you had actually initiated a credit inquiry with them. Keep in mind that some organizations have consumer brand names that are different than their actual corporate names, so you may not recognize the name listed in the report even if it is a valid inquiry. Searching for the company name in an Internet search engine such as Google or Yahoo is a good way to find out who they are.
• Make sure to take note of the total number of hard inquiries and their dates. Since hard inquires stay on your credit report for up to two years and have some negative impact on your credit report and credit score it is good to be aware of the number and age of hard inquiries that have been reported to Equifax.

If you find hard inquiries that don’t appear to be accurate it is best to contact the company that made the inquiry first. The creditor will be able to research the purpose of the inquiry and assist you with getting it removed from your credit report if it was mistakenly reported to Equifax.

While soft inquiries won’t impact your credit report or credit score in any way, as they are only viewable by you, there are ways to eliminate or at least limit the number of soft inquiries you receive. The fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows consumers to opt-out of receiving pre-screened offers of credit by calling 888-567-8688 or by visiting optoutprescreen.com.

Section #5: Negative Information

The purpose of this section is to document any information that could hurt your credit score. This includes negative accounts, accounts that have been turned over to a collection agency, and public record information. Public record information includes federal district bankruptcy records, state and county court records, tax liens and monetary judgments that have been levied against you. In some states overdue child support is also reported in this section. Public record items typically will stay on your credit report for 7 to 10 years.

The negative accounts section will list any ‘past due’ accounts that have been reported to Equifax in your name. These include both open and closed accounts. Creditors will typically report a delinquent account to Equifax if it has gone unpaid for at least 90 days, although it can technically be reported sooner.

The collections section will list any accounts that have been turned over to a collection agency by one of your creditors because they believe the account has not been paid as agreed.

The public records section will list information about any bankruptcies, judgments and tax liens.

Here are some important things to look for in this section:

• Make sure that the number and dollar amount of delinquent accounts for each type of credit looks accurate. This is an important area to focus on because errors by creditors or accounts fraudulently opened in your name by identity thieves are likely to become delinquent accounts before they are sent to collections. By catching delinquent accounts early you can prevent them from being sent to collections, which can have a significant negative impact and, often, a higher cost to you.
• Make sure that the number of collections accounts looks accurate. Once an account has been sent to collections it will begin to have a significant negative impact on your credit score. Whether you simply have not been able to pay your bills, the creditor has made a reporting error or you have fallen victim to identity thieves, the collections section should be carefully scanned for accuracy.
• Make sure that any public record items are accurate.

Section #5: Personal Information

The purpose of this section of your credit report is to document your personal information such as name(s), age, address and work history.

The specific information listed in this section includes:

• Full legal name
• Any alternative names you may currently or have previously used to obtain credit
• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Current and previous addresses
• Current and previous employers
• Any alerts that have been placed on your credit file

Here are some important things to look for in this section:

• Make sure that your name is correctly displayed and that any alternative names or alias are accurate. If there are alternative names listed that you have never used then it could be a sign that Equifax has confused your credit file with that of another consumer with the same or a similar name.
• Make sure your year of birth is accurate. Again, an error in this section of your credit report could mean that you are being confused with another consumer.
• Make sure that there are no addresses where you have never lived or employers that you have never worked for listed in the respective sections. Keep in mind that it may take some time for these sections to update when you move to a new residence or take a new job. For this reason, it is fine if the information is outdated as long as it is still accurate. For example, it is not a problem if you have recently changed jobs and your credit report still lists a former employer as your current employer. However, if your credit report were to show that you currently or previously worked for an employer by whom you were never employed, then you may have a problem.

Section #6: Dispute File Information

If you find information that you believe is inaccurate on your credit report it is important to act quickly as these errors could not only be costing you money, but could also be early warning signs of possible identity theft. Luckily, Equifax makes it fairly simple to dispute any credit report item that you believe to be inaccurate.

From this section of your credit report, you can simply click the link that says, “Click here to begin an online investigation of information found in your file.” This will take you to an online dispute resolution form. Be ready with the confirmation number located at the top of your credit file. When submitting your dispute, provide an explanation as to why you believe that the particular item is inaccurate. You should be as descriptive as possible. Just saying “This is wrong” or something similar will not be sufficient. You should provide specific reasons as to why you believe the information on your Experian credit report is erroneous as well as any supporting evidence that you may have. Equifax will review your request and notify you within 30-45 days of their decision on the dispute. If the dispute is resolved in your favor, Equifax will remove or correct information that is inaccurate or cannot be verified during their investigation.

If you would like to receive the results of your dispute through mail as opposed to email, you should submit your dispute by mail or by phone.

In addition to disputing inaccurate information with Equifax, we strongly suggest that you contact the company that reported the account information to them in the first place. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) both the credit bureau and the company that reported the information are responsible for the accuracy of account information on your credit report. If you believe that one of your creditors has reported inaccurate information then you should contact them directly. Each company has a different dispute resolution process but it is a good idea to contact their customer service department as a first step, as they will likely be able to provide you with the appropriate steps to take.

Conclusion

Your credit report is like your resume for potential lenders. It gives insight into the positive and negative elements of your credit history based off of information reported by your previous creditors. It is important to not only limit the number of negative items on your report by practicing healthy credit usage habits, but to make sure you have insight into any potential erroneous or inaccurate information as those errors may be costing your thousands of dollars or more.

We invite you to check out our online credit report monitoring service comparison guide where you can learn more about credit reports and monitoring from a variety of service providers.

We hope this guide has been a helpful tool in enabling you to better understand the information on your Equifax credit report and, just as importantly, get a better idea as to how potential lenders may view you. Stay tuned for our next installment where we will cover the specifics of reviewing your TransUnion credit report.

In the meantime, let us know if you have any feedback on this guide or if there are any additional questions you may have about your Equifax credit report by leaving us a note in the comments.

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Vonage vs. Magic Jack - one reader’s opinion

Posted by Joe on June 30th, 2008

A recent commenter on our blog provided an excellent comparison of Vonage and Magic Jack, two popular VoIP services. We thought we would call out the comment in a separate post since we receive frequent inquiries from our readers about our opinion on Magic Jack.

I have Magic Jack and I agree it does a very good job, and it’s $19.95 per year, but the quality is not as good as Vonage, and Vonage offers more for the $24.99 a month. I have used Vonage for over 2 years and it is just the BEST PHONE Service I have ever used and I’m 58 year old.

I use my Magic Jack when the kids come home with the grand[kids] they use the Vonage phone to call all the friends around the USA, so Magic Jack is my GREAT BACK-UP. The other problem is Magic Jack does not have my area code as of yet so people wishing to call my on [Magic Jack] have to pay long distance, a bummer to be sure.

In this readers head-to-head comparison, it appears that Magic Jack offers a decent, low cost option but it is lacking in call quality and features. Vonage, on the other hand, is a true landline phone replacement option and offers many features, such as Internet based voice mail, that are only available with higher end VoIP services.

Between the two, we would suggest Vonage for most consumers that are looking for a high quality, feature rich and reliable Internet based phone service.

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Reader Question: How do I set a fraud alert on my credit report?

Posted by Joe on June 29th, 2008

Q: I recently lost my wallet which contained my driver’s license, Social Security card and credit cards. How do I go about putting a fraud alert on my credit report?

A: A fraud alert is an annotation on your credit report which lets potential lenders know that you have been, or believe you may have been, victimized by identity theft. They can be an effective tool in preventing identity thieves from opening new financial accounts using your personal information. You can learn more about fraud alerts, their purpose and how to set them by reading our Fraud Alert and Credit Freeze Guide.

Losing a wallet or purse doesn’t just represent and identity theft risk. It also means the hassle of replacing all of the contents such as your driver’s license, Social Security card and credit cards. One of the reasons we recommend LifeLock’s identity theft protection service is because they offer a unique feature called WalletLock. Subscribers that lose their wallet or purse simply have to contact LifeLock and a recovery specialist will work on their behalf to replace all the important documents that were lost or stolen. Just about the only things that WalletLock can’t replace are cash and personal effects, such as family photos.

To learn more bout LifeLock or other identity theft protection service visit our guide to identity theft protection services.

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Reader Question: What should I do if I think I have been a victim of identity theft?

Posted by Joe on June 29th, 2008

Q: I received a $400 bill in my name from a company I have never done business with. I think I may have been the victim of identity theft. What should I do?

A: Receiving financial statements, bills or other correspondence in your name from companies you don’t recognize is a potential sign that you may have been victimized by an identity thief. Here are the steps we suggest you take to remedy the situation:

• Contact the company that sent you the bill. While it could be a sign of identity theft, it may also be a simple mistake by the company. Additionally, contacting the company will alert them to the fact that you are not responsible for the charges.
• Call your local police on their non-emergency number and make arrangements to file a police report. Provide a copy of this police report to the company that sent you the bill as well as to the Federal Trade Commission (se below).
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. You can file a complaint using this online form.
• Contact each of the three credit bureaus and have them set fraud alerts on your credit report. Fraud alerts are an annotation on your credit file that let potential lenders know that you may have been victimized by identity theft. They can be an effective tool in helping to prevent criminals from using your personal information to secure financial accounts in your name. Technically, you only need to contact one credit bureau and ask them to set a fraud alert and they will coordinate with the other two bureaus on your behalf. We still suggest that you contact all three bureaus because it is relatively simple to do and ensures that there are no administrative issues that may delay or your fraud alerts from being set. Here is the contact information for the three major credit bureaus:

  Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

  Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

  TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

  Fraud alerts expire every ninety days and do not automatically renew. You will need to reset fraud alerts every ninety days by contacting each of the credit bureaus directly. Alternatively, identity theft protection services such as LifeLock and Trusted ID will set fraud alerts on your credit report on your behalf and will ensure that they don’t lapse by renewing them every ninety days.

Identity theft protection services like LifeLock and Trusted ID can also assist you in ensuring that you are not victimized by identity thieves in the future. Many of them also offer services for consumers that have already been victimized by identity thieves. Learn more about identity theft protection services by visiting our guide to identity theft protection services.

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Reader Question: Does signing up for LifeLock cover my spouse?

Posted by Joe on June 29th, 2008

Q: Does signing up for LifeLock cover my spouse? If not, does LifeLock offer a special discount for married couples?

A: Each LifeLock membership only covers the named subscriber, so your spouse would not be covered by LifeLock’s identity theft protection service unless you both subscriber. There are no special discounts offered to married couples, but NextAdvisor.com has negotiated a special discount and free trial exclusively for our readers.

If you and your spouse sign up for LifeLock through this link you will receive a special 11% discount and a free 30 day trial of the service. LifeLock makes it easy for couples and families to sign up together. You can sign up your significant other and even children for the LifeLock service on one single application form on their website.

To sign up for LifeLock, simply click here or visit our review of LifeLock to learn more about the identity theft protection service.

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Kroll Identity Theft Shield identity theft protection service review

Posted by Joe on June 27th, 2008

We recently posted a brief comparison between Kroll and Prepaid Legal’s Identity Theft Shield, LifeLock and Identity Guard. Today we posted a formal review of the service on our main identity theft protection service comparison.

Identity Theft Shield offers single or three bureau credit monitoring (depending on the level of service that is purchased) and fairly extensive identity theft victim recovery services. The major downside to the service is that it provides no proactive identity theft prevention for subscribers. The service is definitely worth a look although we wouldn’t recommend it to most consumers.

You can learn more by reading our full review of Kroll Identity Theft Shield or by visiting our identity theft protection service guide.

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ID Watchdog identity theft protection service review

Posted by Joe on June 27th, 2008

Today we are launching a new review of ID Watchdog, a detection based identity theft protection service that takes a unique approach to monitoring subscriber identities and has the best recovery guarantee we have seen to date.

Many services use credit report data to detect potential identity theft or other fraud perpetrated against subscribers. ID Watchdog uses patent pending technology to monitor the Social Security Administration, DMV records, court filings and dozens of other public records databases. This allows ID Watchdog to catch multiple types of identity theft that are not effectively monitored by some competitive services.

If an ID Watchdog subscriber is victimized then the 100% recovery guarantee kicks in. This is the most straightforward guarantee we have seen in the industry. ID Watchdog guarantees that they will continue to work until the subscriber’s identity is restored no matter what that takes. There are no limits on the amount of time or money that ID Watchdog will spend to recoup a stolen subscriber identity although this guarantee does not cover restitution of stolen funds or lost wages (none of the services we have reviewed cover these items). ID Watchdog claims a 100% success rate in recovering stolen subscriber identities.

The two biggest downsides of ID Watchdog are the price which, at $19.95 per month, is nearly two times the monthly cost of other services we have reviewed and the fact that there is no credit report data included for subscribers.

Overall, ID Watchdog offers a very powerful monitoring and recovery service and we highly recommend it to most consumers. You can learn more by reading our full review of ID Watchdog or by visiting our guide to identity theft protection services.

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The scale isn’t so scary with Mary Lou’s Weigh

Posted by Caitlin on June 26th, 2008

Olympic Gold Medalist Mary Lou Retton and inventor Ron Hunt recently announced the launch of the Mary Lou’s Weigh platform. This re-invention of the simple bathroom scale never reveals the user’s actual weight. Instead, it lets users know how many pounds they have gained or lost since their first time stepping on to the scale. With simple daily goals, Mary Lou’s Weigh helps motivate and guide the user toward a 10-pound weight loss goal. Mary Lou’s Weigh is an excellent complement to any diet and exercise program. To learn more about different online diet and exercise programs, visit our diet program reviews and comparison.

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New legislation gives all VoIP subscribers access to standard 911 services

Posted by Joe on June 25th, 2008

VoIP subscribers will now have the same level of access to the country’s 911 emergency calling system as standard landlines thanks to new legislation sponsored by United States Representative Bart Gordon. The bill, H.R. 3403, the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008, was passed earlier this week and is expected to be signed into law by President George Bush by the end of the month.

There is currently a two class system when it comes to access to the nations 911 infrastructure. Standard telephone services and wireless providers typically have full access to traditional 911 systems that route calls to the nearest geographic emergency services call center. VoIP providers have traditionally been kept outside of that system. A call to 911 on a VoIP line will typically be routed first to a call center operated by the VoIP provider who will then route it to emergency services operators located nearest to the location of the caller.

The bill will eliminate this two class system and give all Americans, whether they are on a VoIP line, standard telephone line or wireless connection, the same access to emergency services. According to Gordon:

“When Americans dial 911 in an emergency, they expect the call will go through, regardless of what phone they use. That’s why Congress acted to ensure all Americans had access to 911 services on their wireless phones, and it’s why we’re acting now to ensure that all Americans have access to lifesaving 911 services on their VOIP phones and other new technologies.”

Gordon’s legislation makes provisions to afford the same level of access to all future forms of communication that may be mandated to grant users with emergency services access as well as existing enhanced service used by the elderly and disabled.

“This ensures consumers don’t compromise their safety when they use new technologies like car-based 911 services and video and text services used by people with disabilities,” said Gordon.

The New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008 also opens the door for vast improvements in the existing 911 system which would be based on the same technology that enables VoIP calling.

“Our 911 system uses 30-year-old technology and is simply outdated,” said Gordon. “National emergencies like September 11 and Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed the 911 system and highlight why a strong IP-based system must be a priority.”

Learn more about VoIP services by visiting our VoIP service provider reviews and comparison.

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