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History
A few short years ago, Congress passed legislation that would forever change the landscape of how hotels & motels manage their phone systems. While many hospitality providers are still working to become compliant, it should be noted that the FCC does not require old or legacy systems to become compliant. This is largely because these systems are no longer receiving updates from their manufacturer and have fallen out of warranty.
New phone systems and cloud VoIP Providers that are replacing these old copper-based PBX systems are required to fully comply with the law and for good reason.
Kari’s Law was passed in order to ensure that people are able to contact emergency services from any phone in the event of an emergency in response to the untimely passing of a woman by the same name.
Kari Hunt was a victim of domestic violence leading up to her murder in a hotel. Kari’s young daughter tried several times to dial 911 using the hotel’s phone system. However, she was not aware that the system required callers to dial “9” to access an outside line.
As unimaginable as this scenario seems,
This event changed how multi-line telephone services are regulated. It birthed Kari’s law which requires phone systems to notify the front desk, security office, or other designated authoritative personnel when someone has placed a 911 call from a facility.
Kari’s Law requires all multi-line phone systems (MLTS systems) in the United States to provide extra safety features that make calling 911 more intuitive and to provide facility staff and emergency responders with necessary information such as location etc.
Based on the provisions of this law, 911 calls must go through without the input of additional trunk prefixes, or digits that callers must dial to route the call correctly.
Requirements Of The Kari’s Law
Kari’s Law requires that 911 calls placed over any multi-line phone system will go through, even if the user does not dial the correct prefix. Yes, even without the correct prefix, the call will go through
Another requirement of Kari’s Law is that phone systems must, aside from calling 911, also notify the office, school, or hotel that the individual is making the call. The notifications must occur at the time the person places the call and can include screen popups with audible alarms for security desks, SMS notifications for phones, or emails for administrators. The idea is that when a first-response team arrives at the facility, they will be able to locate the caller at a good time. Time is of the essence you know.
Are Jaxcom phones Kari Law compliant?
Yes, our phone systems are Kari Law compliant. Normally, you will be able to assign your notifications to any email address of your choice. In cases of emergencies, soon as 911 is dialed on the phone, the email addresses in question get notified of the event.
We support dispatchable locations. This feature is available to businesses that have employees who work at different locations, such as remote workers, separate offices, or other scenarios similar to that. Under such conditions, we configure dispatchable locations for the client and assign such workers to those extensions. Why This Law is Critical for Hospitality Providers.
