AOL’s Total Talk VOIP, if you haven’t tried it - ROCKS. Well, that was until today. I dialed the phone this morning to find that it was suspended due to inability to comply with E911 regulations. What? That’s the solution, cut the plug on my Total Talk without any notification whatsoever?

Well, I’m going to get to the bottom of this as soon as Customer Service gets their ass into the office. But there is currently no one available to take calls. WHEN THEY CUT OFF SERVICE?

Today the stories are already swirling, TelecomWeb’s summary tells us

Today is the day carriers must comply with the Federal Communications Commission’s mandate that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers handle basic and enhanced 911 emergency calling functions.

Under the FCC rules first outlined by a unanimous decision last June, VoIP providers interconnected with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) can continue to provide services to existing customers where 911 capabilities are limited, but they are not supposed to market services to new customers in those areas.

The FCC has set up a series of waiver procedures if VoIP companies encounter possible technical problems in meeting the deadline or other types of last-minute challenges, and it may receive many such requests. Also, today is supposed to be the deadline for carriers to inform the FCC that 100 percent of their subscribers have acknowledged company notifications on VoIP service 911 limitations and capabilities; here again, the FCC has pushed back past deadlines for compliance, and it may be necessary to do so again or it may get waiver requests on that aspect of the order.

Source: TelecomWeb

Check out some of these messages, it’s CRAZY!

PS: I talked to AOL. They didn’t even know. They said they didn’t get any calls. Freaking liars. I did choose the setting that shows that I am currently out of the United States calling from an international location, and I can make calls again. However, not if I TELL them that I am in the US. How stupid!