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9-1-1 on a VoIP phone system
Emergency calls from a cloud phone system work differently from a traditional landline. The difference comes down to one thing: the address attached to your service. This page explains the limitations every Canadian VoIP customer should know, and what 3CTel does with you to manage them.
- Service address confirmed with you at setup
- Per-user and per-site addresses for multi-location teams
- Update from the admin portal when someone moves
On a VoIP phone system, 9-1-1 calls are routed using the service address registered for the line, not the physical location of the device. Canadian VoIP providers must provide 9-1-1 service and tell customers about its limitations. 3CTel confirms the service address for each user and site at setup, shows you how to update it, and tests emergency call routing with you before go-live.
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What is different about 9-1-1 on VoIP
A traditional landline is physically tied to an address, so an emergency call from it can be sent to the right emergency communications centre automatically. A VoIP line is not tied to a place. The same account can ring a desk phone in the office, a laptop at home and a cell phone on the road.
Because of that, Canadian VoIP providers are required to provide 9-1-1 service and to inform customers of its limitations. In neutral terms, those limitations are:
- The address on file for the line must be registered and kept current. That address is what determines which emergency centre receives the call and what location is passed along.
- A call made from a device used away from its registered address may reach the wrong emergency centre, or reach it with the wrong location. The caller should be ready to state where they are.
- During a power outage or an internet outage, VoIP devices at the affected location cannot place calls, including 9-1-1 calls. A charged cell phone is the fallback.
This is a plain-language description of general practice, not legal advice. Your agreement with 3CTel contains the formal 9-1-1 notice.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
Phone calls carried over an internet connection instead of a dedicated phone line.
Learn more: VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)VoIP vs landline
What changes when business calls move to the internet, and when they should not.
Learn more: VoIP vs landlineService continuity
What happens to calls during an internet or power outage, and how failover is planned with you.
Learn more: Service continuityWhat 3CTel does with you at setup
Confirm the service address for every line
During planning, a specialist records the street address for each site and, where users work elsewhere, for each user. Nothing goes live until you have confirmed those addresses in writing.
Set addresses per user and per site
A multi-location organization has one address per site, and a remote worker has their own. A desk phone at the Halifax branch and a laptop in a home office do not share an address record.
Explain what a mobile user should expect
Someone who answers business calls from the mobile app while travelling is told plainly that the app's registered address may not be where they are, and that their cell phone's own dialler is the right tool for an emergency call away from base.
Test before go-live
As part of testing on the temporary number, 3CTel walks you through how emergency routing is configured for each device and confirms the address record matches. Test calls to 9-1-1 itself are not placed.
Multi-Location Business
A local number per site, one system behind all of them.
Learn more: Multi-Location BusinessRemote work
Business calls on personal devices, without handing out anyone's cell number.
Learn more: Remote workDevices
Phones and headsets that arrive ready to plug in.
Learn more: DevicesKeeping the address current
The most common way 9-1-1 on VoIP goes wrong is not at setup. It is six months later, when a desk phone is carried to a new office, or an employee moves house and keeps using the desktop app. The address record still points to the old place.
3CTel gives customer administrators the ability to update the registered address for any user or site from the admin portal, and a specialist can make the change on request. We recommend three habits:
- Make an address check part of onboarding a new employee and of any office move.
- Review every address record once a year, or whenever a lease changes.
- Tell staff who work from more than one place that the address on their line matters, and how to ask for it to be changed.
Questions customers ask about emergency calling
Can I still dial 9-1-1 from my business phone system?
Yes. Emergency calling is provided on the service, and calls are routed using the service address registered for the line. The important step is confirming that address at setup and keeping it current when a device or a person moves, so the call reaches the right emergency centre with the right location.
What happens if I dial 9-1-1 from the mobile app while travelling?
The call may be routed using the address registered for your line rather than your current location, so it may reach an emergency centre in the wrong area. For an emergency away from your registered address, use the phone's own dialler on the cellular network, and be ready to state where you are.
Does each of our locations need its own registered address?
Yes. Every site should have its own service address record, and users who work from home or another fixed place should have their own as well. 3CTel records these per site and per user during planning, and administrators can change them from the portal when someone moves.
What this page does not claim
This page does not claim compliance with any specific regulation, quote legal text, or describe the internal routing arrangements between carriers and emergency centres. It describes the customer-facing limitations of 9-1-1 on VoIP in general terms and what 3CTel does with you to manage them. Your agreement contains the formal notice, and a specialist will explain it before activation.
Related pages.
Trust Centre
What 3CTel commits to on 9-1-1, privacy, recording, porting and continuity, and what to ask any provider.
Learn more: Trust CentreService continuity
What happens to calls during an internet or power outage, and how failover is planned with you.
Learn more: Service continuityBusiness Phone
Reliable calling with routing your team will actually use.
Learn more: Business PhoneDevices
Phones and headsets that arrive ready to plug in.
Learn more: DevicesMulti-Location Business
A local number per site, one system behind all of them.
Learn more: Multi-Location BusinessVoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
Phone calls carried over an internet connection instead of a dedicated phone line.
Learn more: VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)Frequently asked questions.
Yes. Desk phones and internet equipment without backup power stop working during an outage, and so does emergency calling from them. A charged cell phone is the fallback at every location.
The customer administrator, using the admin portal or by asking 3CTel support. The address is confirmed at setup, and we recommend re-checking it after any move or new hire.
We confirm the configuration and address records with you as part of go-live testing. Live test calls to 9-1-1 are not placed, as emergency centres ask that lines be kept free for real emergencies.
It is included in your service agreement and explained by a specialist before activation. This page is a plain-language summary and is not a substitute for that notice.
Get the addresses right before go-live.
A specialist confirms the service address for every user and site as part of planning, and shows your administrator how to keep them current.