999 Services

999 Emergency Access

aql® are a proactive provider of IP telephony services and a member of ITSPA, operating over 42 million UK telephone numbers on behalf of the IP telephony industry.
Following an OFCOM requirement to allow 999 calling from any IP telephone device, aql® has been working closely with the Regulator and BT wholesale to ensure that a compliant solution be provided to the UK Internet Telephony Service Provider/Operator Community.

Access Emergency Services (999 or 112) via your aql® VoIP Service

aql® provides access to public emergency call services to all customers within England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
When you dial either 999 or 112, your call is routed from the aql® network to national emergency operators who will handle your call. The emergency operator will ask for specific information to correctly transfer your call. You will need to state clearly and promptly the nature of your emergency, your location and phone number, and any other requested information. The emergency operator will then route your call to the appropriate emergency agency, such as:

• Police
• Fire Brigade
• Ambulance
• Coastguard
• Mountain Rescue

However, if you use your aql® Service outside of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, you will not be able to call emergency services in the country where you are located.

999 Access By Default

When a 999 call is routed in the UK, the Emergency Services operators have access to an emergency database. "Traditionally" this is populated with the name and address of the "line subscriber".
Because IP telephony users could, by design, be nomadic, It is possible that they may not be at the location in the emergency services database. By default, because aql® have no visibility of the end subscriber, aql® do not apply any location data to 999 calls. This means that in all instances, the emergency caller will be prompted for address information.

Power & Service Outages Can Prevent Access to 999 / 112 Emergency Services

• 999 / 112 Emergency Services and your aql® Service WILL NOT function during an electrical power or broadband provider outage, nor if your aql® account has been suspended or terminated.
• It is highly recommend that you ensure that you have an alternative means of contacting the Emergency Services such as a mobile phone or a traditional, wired phone plugged into the PSTN.

N.B. It should also be remembered that in the case of a power failure, an ordinary DECT or wireless phone will similarly fail to work.

Please refer to the 999 / 112 Emergency Services sections of our Terms and Conditions for important information regarding access to Emergency Services.

Emergency Location Database

aql® are working with BT and OFCOM to enable a "best practice" solution for providing location data to the emergency services. Our rollout of this service will be conducted in full consultation and will address:

• An expiry time on data and/or a
• Location validity period
• An option for the declaration of nomadic users

aql® are in constant proactive discussion with OFCOM regarding this issue and all aql® customers who have expressed a preference to receiving our mailouts will be kept informed as a matter of course. If you have any specific or urgent questions regarding this important topic, please don't hesitate to contact us.