The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) won't require Internet phone service providers to disconnect customers who don't have reliable 911 emergency call service (E911).

The FCC issued a notice late Monday said, "providers that have not achieved full 911 compliance by Nov. 28, will not be forced to discontinue such service to any existing customers."

At the same time, the FCC expects providers to discontinue marketing their Internet call service and accepting new customers in areas where the companies are not routing 911 calls to emergency response centers, even if the subscribers would have access to "basic" 911 service.



In May, the FCC ordered providers of Internet-based phone calls to certify that their customers will be able to reach an emergency dispatcher when they call 911. Dispatchers also must be able to identify the caller's phone number and location. The order resulted because a highly publicized incident in which Vonage customers in Texas suffered injuries during a robbery when a call to the local emergency number failed to go through.

The companies were given until the November 28th deadline to comply, and many providers worried that they would be forced to disconnect customers who didn't have full 911 service.