Soyo G1681 VoIP ATA

The problem with VoIP (voice over IP) and emergency 911 calls shouldn't be too difficult to understand: When you place a call from your landline, you have a three-digit area code and a three-digit exchange code to identify the origin of the call. All you have from a VoIP phone is an IP address, and all that does is identify the last node in whatever chain of servers stood between the point from which your phone call started and where someone answered. It might not be in the same city as you. In fact, it might not even be in the same state.

Under those conditions, demanding that VoIP providers come up with a reliable method of connecting your emergency calls to the correct response station is about as practical as insisting that wireless telephone companies devise a way for you to still be able to make calls when the power is out. The nature of things makes it impossible to do--unless you cheat. That's what Soyo's G1681 VoIP/ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) does. In doing so, however, Soyo may have made its product redundant.

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