11th Hour Extension For Customer VoIP Lockout

internetnews.com: "For the third time in as many months, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is delaying its order that Internet telephone providers cut off service to customers who have not acknowledged the possible limitations of Voice over IP (define)E911 calling services.
Because the nomadic nature of VoIP allows users to place and receive calls from any broadband connection, Internet telephone companies frequently route E911 calls to public safety administrative offices instead of directly sending the calls to Public Service Answering Points (PSAPs).
The inability of VoIP users to reach immediate help led to tearful witness testimony> before4 Congress on VoIP E911 limitations in a crisis. The FCC responded by mandating that all VoIP providers that interconnect with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) must route all VoIP E911 calls directly to emergency dispatchers along with the location of the caller.
The FCC gave the VoIP providers until the end of November to comply with the order. Additionally, in the name of public safety, the FCC ruled that all VoIP providers inform their subscribers of the service's E911 limitations and required customer acknowledgement of those limitations by the end of July.
For those VoIP subscribers who did not affirmatively reply to the E911 warning, the FCC said Internet telephone companies must cut off their service by the end of July. That deadline has twice extended to midnight tonight. "