News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by majewsky on Monday December 28, 2020 @09:44PM (#25566162)
> I would add to this, why even have "phone service" anymore. I call my family via Facebook Messenger or Zoom etc.

Emergency services. You can't call an ambulance via Zoom. Even if 911 supported Zoom, Zoom probably won't support 911 because they don't want to be held liable if people die because of a Zoom outage.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by imgabe on Monday December 28, 2020 @09:54PM (#25566224)
Is the phone company liable if there's an emergency and the phone system is down?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by onecommentman on Tuesday December 29, 2020 @01:18AM (#25567275)
Yes it is

Earlier this week, the FCC Fined CenturyLink $400,000 and West Safety Communications $175,000 for a multi-state 911 outage that occurred in August 2018. To resolve the dispute, both companies also entered into a Compliance Plan.

https://www.beyondtelecomlawblog.com/fcc-fines-companies-for...

[ Parent | on HN ]