1) A large corporation was upgrading their voice infrastructure to Microsoft Skype for Business and needed an E9-1-1 solution to support it.
2) They chose West's Emergency Routing Service (ERS) which directly connects Skype for Business locations to multiple Public Safety Answering Points across the US.
3) The ERS was able to validate locations, route 911 calls from Skype for Business to the correct PSAPs, and the client had their first location configured within a week.
1. west.com | 877.262.3775
S A F E T Y S E R V I C E S
C A S E S T U D Y
Large Corporate Client
Finding time to address E9-1-1 for your unified communications network can
be challenging. Often, organizations take the opportunity to evaluate their
E9-1-1 status and solution options when upgrading or replacing their existing
communications infrastructure. Our client, a large corporation, was in precisely this
situation when they came to us looking for an E9-1-1 solution.
E9-1-1 CHALLENGES
With an aging voice infrastructure, the client was implementing Microsoft’s Skype
for Business solution to take advantage of the rich UC feature set it delivers.
However, the current E9-1-1 solution in place servicing their existing deployment
was unable to support Skype for Business’ next-generation, location-aware
endpoints. The client was looking for an E9-1-1 solution that could address three
primary requirements:
• The ability to support Skype for Business’ location-aware endpoints.
• Easy-to-use, reliable, and instantaneous location validation.
• Direct connectivity to multiple Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) across
the US, without requiring local trunks and gateways at each location or the
intervention of an intermediary call center for on-premises users.
2. E9-1-1 SOLUTION
Having attempted to implement an alternative E9-1-1 solution from their existing
E9-1-1 vendor, the client turned to West. West’s Emergency Routing Service (ERS)
is one of the first E9-1-1 services qualified for Microsoft Lync/Skype for Business
under the Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program (UCOIP); in
fact, our ERS solution for Skype for Business was developed in conjunction with
Microsoft. With a large roster of current customers of all types and sizes having
deployed our ERS for Skype for Business, the client was confident that West and its
service-focused deployment team could implement a fully functional E9-1-1 solution
to keep their users safe.
The ERS met the client’s primary requirements head-on:
Support for Skype for Business’ Location-Aware Endpoints
Microsoft Skype for Business is unique in that its endpoints are location-aware.
This means that the caller’s location is included in the SIP header when 9-1-1 is
dialed. West’s ERS extracts the location data from the PIDF-LO included in the
SIP signalling, and uses it to determine the appropriate PSAP for call routing.
There is no need to modify different fields in the SIP signalling to enable this
capability; the ERS interoperates with Skype for Business’ standard signalling.
This interoperability – based on documented standards – enabled the client to
establish operational E9-1-1 call routing within a matter of hours as compared to
weeks and months of trial and error.
SPOTLIGHT ON
DEPLOYMENT SERVICES
Critical to the success of each and every
one of our customer implementations
is West’s Integration and Deployment
team. Chad Taylor is one of West’s most
experienced team members, and worked
with our client to get their E9-1-1 service
up and running in the span of a week.
Beyond simply implementing the service,
Chad makes sure that his counterparts
in every organization he works with finish
their E9-1-1 deployment with the tools
and confidence they need to successfully
manage their new solution. “When
customers start rolling out our Emergency
Routing Service, they might feel like they
have a big job ahead. I try to make the
experience feel more manageable so
by the end of the deployment, they’re
amazed at how much they got
accomplished so quickly.”
Having personally implemented E9-1-1
service for numerous organizations,
Chad understands the myriad challenges
his customers face, and shares this
experience with them to facilitate a
smooth process for all involved parties.
Chad is also engaged with Microsoft
through its TechReady event program
to help support and train their engineers
when it comes to E9-1-1.
3. Location Validation
Location validation is the process by which a location is
compared to the Master Street Address Guide (MSAG),
and is confirmed to meet the necessary address standards.
MSAG validation is a critical component of any E9-1-1
solution, because it ensures that a 9-1-1 call will be routed
to the correct PSAP and that accurate, properly formatted
location information will appear on the PSAP dispatcher’s
screen. West’s ERS interoperates with Skype for Business’
Location Information Service (LIS) to pre-validate all of the
organization’s locations. This ensures that at the moment a
call is placed on the premises, the caller’s accurate, MSAG-
valid location can be embedded in the SIP header. Because
the ERS seamlessly integrates with the LIS, the client was
able to validate their locations immediately, and resolve any
addressing errors as soon as they occurred.
Direct Connectivity to PSAPs across the US
West’s ERS boasts the most complete E9-1-1 coverage
of any service provider on the market. With just a single
redundant SIP trunk to our ERS, the client was able to
harness this coverage for their own network. Additionally,
because of its MSAG validation process, the ERS can
provide direct connectivity to the PSAP when a user places
a call from an on-site location. An off-site user who places a
9-1-1 call is first routed to a call center to confirm their self-
provisioned location, and then connected to the appropriate
PSAP. This ensures that their call is not delivered to an
incorrect PSAP due to an error in the self-provisioned
address.
4. How it Works
Emergency
Routing Service
9-1-1
Public Safety
Selective
Routers
SIP
Mediation
Server Pool
Front End Server
Pool with LIS DB
Skype for
Business Users
1 2 3 4
1. An endpoint makes a 9-1-1 call. The caller’s location, in PIDF-LO location format, is included in
the SIP invite.
2. The Front End Server applies the applicable call routing policies. It then forwards the call and
PIDF-LO location to the Mediation Server.
3. The Mediation Server routes the 9-1-1 call and PIDF-LO location to the ERS over the Internet,
using SIP. The ERS extracts the location from the PIDF-LO location included in the SIP
signaling to determine the appropriate PSAP for call routing.
4. The ERS delivers the call and the caller’s location information directly to the appropriate PSAP.
RESULTS
Upon selecting West’s ERS as their E9-1-1 solution for Skype for Business, the client secured
E9-1-1 support for their first location within a week. Since that deployment was successful,
additional sites have been added with more planned as they continue to roll out Skype for
Business across their enterprise.
