This is part III of a series of posts on the differences in emergency call handling between various deployment scenarios. Part I covers SfB Server (aka on-premises deployments). This post covers CCE and DR implementations.

Cloud Connector Edition, aka CCE, allows you to access your on-prem PSTN (and PBX) resources when a user is homed in Skype for Business Online. Likewise, Direct Routing provides the same access for Teams users. While CCE and DR are different technologies, how they behave with respect to emergency calling is the same.

This scenario is my least favorite for emergency calling, because it’s the least developed solution. When a user in these scenarios calls an emergency number, the call is simply directed toward the on-premises infrastructure. There is no location information included with the call, so the on-premises information has no idea how to handle the call.

There are two ways to deal with this. First, you can subscribe to a service from RedSky or West that will accept the call, have an operator determine the location, and send the call on to the correct PSAP. You would need to provide default emergency location information to the 3rd party handling these calls.

The second option would be to deploy on-premises solutions from these 3rd parties that would provide location information automatically. The only way this can current be accomplished is through switch interrogation, as there is no concept of the LIS database or location policies with online users. Alternatively, users can enter their location manually via an app on their laptop – but this doesn’t address deskphones. This is not a straight forward scenario, and it may not provide the solution you’re looking for. This is something that I would want to see a proof-of-concept for before I’d roll it out to an entire organization.

Note that simply routing calls out to your PSTN connection isn’t a good idea. There’s no way to ensure the call gets to the correct PSAP, and sending a call to the wrong PSAP will only cause delays in emergency response. You can read up on anticipated news from Microsoft about improving this situation in my earlier post.

Next up, we’ll sort out what happens when you have a mixed environment, with users in multiple scenarios.

This is part II of a series of posts on the differences in emergency call handling between various deployment scenarios. Part I covers SfB Server (aka on-premises deployments).

If your user is homes in SfB Online or MS Teams and uses PSTN Calling, things are simpler but also have much less functionality. With PSTN Calling, Microsoft handles your emergency calls, based on static location information that you configure when you setup a user. When you place an emergency call, an operator answers and verifies your address, before directing the call to the appropriate PSAP. If you can’t speak, they will assume the address you’ve input is where you are at and forward the call to the PSAP for that location.

You can add emergency location information in the admin center.

This scenario is clearly less than ideal, in that it’s neither automatic nor dynamic. It does, however, meet all e911 legislative requirements for the time being – the call is routed to the appropriate PSAP, and the user only needs to dial 911. In the United States, Kari’s Law comes into effect on Feb 16, 2020, and will require some additional capabilities, mainly an notification to a responsible party (reception, security desk) at the site of the caller. I cover what Microsoft is/needs to do in this regards in another post.

If you’re wondering why you need to bother with inputting the emergency locations if an operator answers each call, there are two reasons. One, it’s easier for the operator to read the address and have you confirm it versus you having to know it (or find it, if you’re not in your usual office). Two, it’s needed for the scenario where you can speak.

Next post, we’ll cover Cloud Connector Edition (CCE) and Direct Routing, where your online user gets PSTN service from on-premises.