Emergency call telephone numbers for extension-only devices
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:
receiving, at a calling device, a request to initiate an emergency call, wherein the request is initiated when that calling device is at a location;
obtaining a telephone number from a pool of telephone numbers maintained by a unified communications as a service platform, wherein the telephone number is associated with a region that includes the location, and wherein the calling device has been configured as an extension-only device in a different region; and
placing the emergency call using the telephone number.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the location of the calling device is signaled within the emergency call.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the calling device uses the unified communications as a service platform as a telephony service for the emergency call.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
returning the telephone number to the pool of telephone numbers at an end of the emergency call.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
initiating the emergency call within a client application on the calling device, and
signaling, by the client application, information indicating the location of the calling device to the unified communication as a service platform.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
sending a request to the unified communications as a service platform indicating the emergency call.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
obtaining network information corresponding to the calling device; and
sending the network information to the unified communications as a service platform.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
placing multiple emergency calls using the telephone number before returning the telephone number to the pool of telephone numbers.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving an inbound call from an emergency provider using the telephone number in response to the emergency call.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
returning the telephone number to the pool of telephone numbers when a threshold period of time has elapsed since the calling device obtained the telephone number.
11 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving, at a calling device, a request to initiate an emergency call, wherein the request is initiated when that calling device is at a location;
obtaining a telephone number from a pool of telephone numbers maintained by a unified communications as a service platform, wherein the telephone number is associated with a region that includes the location, and wherein the calling device has been configured as an extension-only device in a different region; and
placing the emergency call using the telephone number.
12 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the location of the calling device is signaled within the emergency call.
13 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the calling device uses the unified communications as a service platform as a telephony service for the emergency call.
14 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , the operations further comprising:
returning the telephone number to the pool of telephone numbers at an end of the emergency call.
15 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , the operations further comprising:
initiating the emergency call within a client application on the calling device, and
signaling, by the client application, information indicating the location of the calling device to the unified communication as a service platform.
16 . An apparatus, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the processor to:
receive, at a calling device, a request to initiate an emergency call, wherein the request is initiated when that calling device is at a location;
obtain a telephone number from a pool of telephone numbers maintained by a unified communications as a service platform, wherein the telephone number is associated with a region that includes the location, and wherein the calling device has been configured as an extension-only device in a different region; and
place the emergency call using the telephone number.
17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the location of the calling device is signaled within the emergency call.
18 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the calling device uses the unified communications as a service platform as a telephony service for the emergency call.
19 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the processor to:
return the telephone number to the pool of telephone numbers at an end of the emergency call.
20 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the processor to:
initiate the emergency call within a client application on the calling device, and signal, by the client application, information indicating the location of the calling device to the unified communication as a service platform.