911 Misdial Issues

cmonks · ‎03-09-2010

It seems like I get this issue with every new customer I setup, so I am thinking about changing my configs to use a number other than 9 for outgoing calls. It seems like mostly right after getting a new system, lots of users have issues dialing 911 acidentally then hanging up, but at that point it is already to late and the call is sent to the dispatcher. I have read quite a few posts on NetPro about some settings changes that help with CUCM, but not many with CME.

Are there any tips or best practices for setting up CME to reduce the number of 911 misdials? Most CUCM admins seem to remove the 'urgent' flag from their 911 dial peer, then create a dummy call block route, dn, or something like that with a 911X route. This basically causes the system to wait for the inter-digit timeout after the user presses 911 and wait to see if they are going to enter any more digits before forwarding the call. This at least gives the users 5 seconds or whatever to hang up before the call is actually placed to 911.

My issue is that i have tried this on CME/UC540, and even after setting up a new dummy DN and dial-peer with the number '911.' or '911[0-9]' (anything with more digits than '911'), It still places the call immedeately after dialing the second '1' in 911.

The only way i have gotten it to bypass the 911 dialpeer is by changing the destination to '911T' to get it to wait for the timeout, but even then if someone dialed 91111 it would still transfer to 911. (at that time i had a dummy dialpeer or DN setup with '911...', it might have worked but it was one digit short)

Anyway, if anyone has any solutions they use to deal with 911 misdials i would love to hear them. Basically i was thinking if we could get it to wait for the inter-digit timeout before going through, at least if the user dials 911, realizes it, then hangs up, the call wouldnt have been placed and 911 wont be calling them. Likewise, if a user just dials too many ones in a long distance call, i.e. 911209....... i would like it to bypass the 911 dialpeer and give them a message saying the number doesnt exist, busy signal, anything other than matching the 911 dialpeer and placing the call.

Thanks.

Marcos Hernandez · ‎03-14-2010

There are a number of things that you could do to ensure that your users do not mis-dial 911, some of which you have correctly identified already. In this case, I would say that you do not complicate the dialplan too much, since it could lead to a situation in which emergency calls won't go through. This is a classic example of "better safe than sorry".

One option that comes to mind is Forced Auth Codes (FAC). You could protect the 911 pattern with a FAC and re-record the prompt to say something like "You just dialed 911. Is this an emergency? If so, dial 911 again"

https://www.myciscocommunity.com/docs/DOC-1400#Can_UC500CME_be_configured_to_prompt_a_caller_for_a_PIN_before_placing_a_call

Marcos