OTTAWA – The CRTC has ordered Telus to add 9-1-1 emergency service to its nomadic local VoIP service Telus Extend by the end of the year.
Telus Extend is a downloadable mobile application available to Telus mobility customers that allows them to use their Telus Mobility telephone number to make/receive calls or text messages over Wi-Fi. The service, launched in 2014, is available by invitation only to select customers with Android and iOS devices.
In a letter to the company’s telecom policy and chief regulatory legal counsel Stephen Schmidt, the Commission directed Telus to bring itself into compliance with the nomadic local VoIP 9-1-1 service requirements by December 31, 2016, and to not sign-up any new Telus Extend customers in the interim.
“Canadians’ access to 9-1-1 emergency services is vital, and the Commission has typically gone to considerable efforts to ensure that all service providers, large and small, comply with their 9-1-1 obligations”, reads the letter, signed by CRTC secretary general Danielle May-Cuconato. “Despite the notification to Telus Extend customers that 9-1-1 is not available, Telus Extend as it currently exists poses a risk to public safety as a caller may expect to be able to reach 9-1-1 during an emergency. The fact that access to 9-1-1 would be available in some situations but not in others does nothing to attenuate the risk of customer confusion.”
The letter added that failure to comply with the decision could result in the Commission taking enforcement actions, including levying administrative monetary penalties.
