HBF/911 Services and Northern911 Join Forces to Provide Free Service for the 9-1-1 Community

HBF/911 Services, a leading provider of E9-1-1 database systems and services for the telecommunications and VoIP industries and Northern911, one of North America's largest 9-1-1 Emergency Response Centers, are partnering to provide a unique VoIP E9-1-1 service to the public safety community, at no charge.

Austin, TX (PRWEB) December 8, 2007 -- HBF/911 Services, a leading provider of E9-1-1 database systems and services for the telecommunications and VoIP industries and Northern911, one of North America's largest 9-1-1 Emergency Response Centers, are partnering to provide a unique VoIP E9-1-1 service to the public safety community, at no charge. Called "PSAP Safety Net", this solution will provide a toll free number that the public safety answering points (PSAP) can utilize to transfer a misrouted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) emergency call directly to Northern911's Emergency Response Center, where their trained call takers will determine the proper routing and transfer the call to the correct PSAP for the caller's stated location. "PSAP Safety Net" provides a solution to a major VoIP 9-1-1 issue currently plaguing PSAPs. "The PSAP Safety Net" provides a safeguard against potential issues associated with a nomadic VoIP user (one who doesn't always have a "fixed" address associated with their VoIP phone).

Because nomadic users typically travel and thus can plug into any high speed internet connection and use their phone, there can be situations where the caller has not updated their location information. This results in an emergency call going to the wrong PSAP based on the caller's last registered location, which could be in a different city or state. To complicate matters, 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers don't always have the ability to transfer an emergency call from one PSAP to another. Safety Net allows the PSAP to transfer the 9-1-1 call at no charge, to Northern911's Emergency Response Center where it is transferred to the correct PSAP for the subscriber's current location.

PSAPs can sign up for this free service by going to www.hbfgroup.com and selecting "PSAPs: Sign up for VoIP Safety Net".

"We believe that the PSAP Safety Net is a great service that will advance the success and safety of VoIP. The PSAPs serve as the backbone of our country's 9-1-1 service and deserve assistance with these problematic calls," states Jim Shepard, Executive Vice President, HBF.

About HBF
HBF Group, Inc. is the 9-1-1 technology leader providing cutting edge solutions to the 9-1-1 industry. HBF deployed the first state-wide 9-1-1 deployment in the United States as well as the first province-wide deployment in Canada. HBF offers a full line of wireline, wireless, and VoIP 9-1-1 products and services for all of North America and serves world-class carriers including Embarq, Verizon, MTS, Aliant, Vonage Canada and many other top-tier VoIP Service Providers. HBF is active in 9-1-1 industry associations such as the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), The Emergency Services Interconnection Forum (ATIS/ESIF), and Canada's CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) to help set standards and drive technology for the future of all 9-1-1 service. For more information on HBF, visit www.hbfgroup.com.

About Northern911
The Northern911 Emergency Response Center is staffed by APCO certified call takers and has the ability to transfer a 9-1-1 call to any PSAP in the US or Canada. Currently, Northern911 handles VoIP calls for HBF in areas where enhanced 9-1-1 has not been deployed or in instances where there is no address information for a caller. Additionally, Northern911 serves as a primary wireline PSAP for several jurisdictions in Canada and is the VoIP 9-1-1 Emergency Response Center for a number of the VoIP Positioning Centers and VoIP Service Providers in the U.S. For more information on Northern911, visit www.northern911.com or
call (800) 461-3317.

Media Contact:
HBF / 911 Services
512.481.0911
info@hbfgroup.com

Media Contact
Northern911
Mike Shantz
(800) 461-3317
info@northern911.com

# # #