Location determination and telephone number distribution for emergency calls
Location determination and telephone number distribution for emergency calls is enabled by a telephony system which maintains multiple pools of telephone numbers. Each pool corresponds to a different region such that the pools of telephone numbers are defined at the region-level rather than at the site-level. The telephony system determines the location of a calling device initiating an emergency call regardless of whether the calling device is at a known site. Based on the determined location of the calling device, one of the pools of telephone numbers which corresponds to that location is selected. The telephony system thereafter distributes a telephone number for the calling device to use for the emergency call from that selected pool of telephone numbers to facilitate an emergency call between the calling device and a local public safety answering point.
1. A method, comprising:
based on a calling device initiating an emergency call to a public safety answering point, determining, by a computing device and as a location of the calling device, first location information associated with a network within a detectable range of the calling device by comparing network information within the detectable range of the calling device against records associating networks with location information;
determining, by the computing device, a pool of telephone numbers associated with the location of the calling device from amongst a plurality of pools of telephone numbers maintained by a unified communications as a service platform and each associated with a different region;
distributing, by the computing device, a telephone number from the pool of telephone numbers to the calling device for use with the emergency call;
facilitating, by the computing device, the emergency call between the calling device and the public safety answering point based on the telephone number;
determining, by the computing device, that second location information of the calling device signaled within the emergency call to the public safety answering point is different from the first location information; and
based on the second location information being different from the first location information, updating, by the computing device, a record of the records corresponding to the network to replace the first location information with the second location information.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pool of telephone numbers is associated with a first region, and wherein determining the pool of telephone numbers associated with the location of the calling device comprises:
selecting, from the plurality of pools of telephone numbers, the pool of telephone numbers based on a determination that the location is associated with the first region.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein a telephone extension configured for use with the calling device is associated with a second region, the public safety answering point is located within the first region, and the public safety answering point is unreachable using the telephone extension.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein facilitating the emergency call between the calling device and the public safety answering point based on the telephone number comprises:
signaling the second location information within the emergency call.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the location of the calling device responsive to the calling device initiating the emergency call to the public safety answering point comprises:
determining a candidate location of the calling device based on the network information within the detectable range of the calling device; and
determining the location of the calling device based on a comparison of the candidate location against the records.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein
the records are accessed within a data store maintained by a telephony service provider, wherein ones of the records are added to the data store based on prior determinations of the networks and the location information.
7. The method of claim 1 , the method comprising:
updating a local public database accessible by the public safety answering point to indicate an unknown location of the calling device.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distribution of the telephone number to the calling device for use with the emergency call enables a callback to the calling device from the public safety answering point based on the telephone number.
9. An apparatus, comprising:
a memory; and
a processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:
select a pool of telephone numbers from a plurality of pools of telephone numbers, maintained by a unified communications as a service platform and each associated with a different region, based on a location of a calling device determined, based on first location information associated with a network within a detectable range of the calling device, by comparing network information within the detectable range of the calling device against records associating networks with location information;
distribute a telephone number from the pool of telephone numbers to the calling device for use with an emergency call between the calling device and a public safety answering point;
determine that second location information of the calling device signaled within the emergency call to the public safety answering point is different from the first location information; and
based on the second location information being different from the first location information, update a record of the records corresponding to the network to replace the first location information with the second location information.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the unified communications as a service platform provides a telephony service used for the emergency call.
11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the processor executes the instructions to:
determine a candidate location of the calling device based on the network information within the detectable range of the calling device; and
determining the location of the calling device based on a comparison of the candidate location against the records.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the records are accessed within a data store maintained by a telephony service provider, wherein ones of the records are added to the data store based on prior determinations of the networks and the location information.
13. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the processor executes the instructions to:
facilitate an outbound call from the calling device to the public safety answering point based on the telephone number; and
facilitate an inbound call from the public safety answering point to the calling device according to a temporary routing rule defined based on the distribution of the telephone number to the calling device.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the processor executes the instructions to:
revoke the temporary routing rule responsive to the telephone number being returned to the pool of telephone numbers.
15. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
determining, as a location of a calling device, first location information associated with a network within a detectable range of the calling device by comparing network information within the detectable range of the calling device against records associating networks with location information;
selecting, based on the location of a calling device, a pool of telephone numbers from a plurality of pools of telephone numbers maintained by a unified communications as a service platform and each associated with a different region;
facilitating an emergency call between the calling device and a public safety answering point based on a telephone number from the pool of telephone numbers;
determining that second location information of the calling device signaled within the emergency call to the public safety answering point is different from the first location information; and
based on the second location information being different from the first location information, updating a record of the records corresponding to the network to replace the first location information with the second location information.
16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the unified communications as a service platform provides a telephony service used for the emergency call.
17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , the operations comprising:
distributing the telephone number from the pool of telephone numbers to the calling device for use with the emergency call; and
returning the telephone number to the pool of telephone numbers responsive to a conclusion of the emergency call.
18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations for determining the location of the calling device comprise:
determining the location of the calling device based on a comparison of a candidate location determined based on the network information against the records, wherein the records are accessed within a data store maintained by a telephony service provider, wherein ones of the records are added to the data store based on prior determinations of the networks and the location information.
19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , the operations comprising:
facilitating an inbound call from the public safety answering point to the calling device according to a temporary routing rule defined based on a distribution of the telephone number to the calling device.
20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the first location information is signaled to a public safety answering point within the emergency call.