56-484.19 - Definitions.
§ 56-484.19. Definitions.
As used in this article:
"Alternative method of providing call location information" means a methodof maintaining and operating a multiline telephone system that ensures that:
1. Emergency calls from a telephone station provide the PSAP with sufficientlocation identification information to ensure that emergency responders aredispatched to a location at the facility from which the emergency call wasplaced, from which location emergency responders will be able to ascertainthe telephone station where the emergency call was placed (i) by being ableto view all of the telephone stations in the area contiguous to the telephonestation from which the emergency call was placed or (ii) by the activation ofan alerting system at the facility, which activation is triggered by theplacing of the emergency call, and which readily allows arriving emergencyresponders to determine the physical location of the telephone station fromwhich the emergency call was placed. A light or alarm located near thetelephone station is an example of such an alerting system;
2. Emergency calls from a telephone station, in addition to reaching a PSAP,connect to or otherwise notify a switchboard operator, attendant, or otherdesignated on-site individual who is capable of giving the PSAP the locationof the telephone station from which the emergency call was placed; or
3. Calls to the digits "9-1-1" from a telephone station connect to aprivate emergency answering point.
An alternative method of providing call location information shall also bedeemed to be provided, as a result of the imputed ability of emergencyresponders to readily locate all telephone stations from which the emergencycall could have been placed, when emergency calls provide calling partyinformation corresponding to a contiguous area containing the telephone fromwhich the emergency call was placed, of fewer than 7,000 square feet, locatedon one or more floors.
"Automatic location identification" or "ALI" means the automatic displayat a PSAP of information defining the emergency call location, whichinformation shall identify the floor name or number, room name or number,building name or number, cubicle name or number, and office name or number,as applicable, or imparts other information that is sufficiently specific toprovide the emergency responders with the ability to locate the telephonestation from which the emergency call was placed.
"Automatic number identification" or "ANI" means the automatic display ata PSAP of a telephone number that a PSAP may use to call the telephonestation from which the emergency call was placed.
"Calling party information" means information that is delivered by the MLTSprovider to the PSAP that is used to provide the ANI and ALI function.
"Central office system" means a business telephone service offered by aprovider of communications services that provides features similar to aprivate branch exchange by transmitting data over telecommunicationsequipment or cable lines.
"Emergency call" means a telephone call that enables the user to reach aPSAP by dialing the digits "9-1-1" and, if applicable, any additional digitor digits that must be dialed in order to permit the user to access thepublic switched telephone network.
"Emergency call location" means the location of the telephone station on anMLTS from which an emergency call is placed and to which a PSAP may dispatchemergency responders based upon ALI provided via the emergency call.
"Emergency responders" means fire services, law enforcement, emergencymedical services, and other public services or agencies that may bedispatched by a PSAP in response to an emergency call.
"Enhanced 9-1-1 service" means a service consisting of telephone networkfeatures and PSAPs that (i) enables users of telephone systems to reach aPSAP by making an emergency call; (ii) automatically directs emergency callsto the appropriate PSAPs by selective routing based on the geographicallocation from which the emergency call originated; and (iii) provides thecapability for ANI and ALI features.
"Facility" means real estate and improvements used principally for or as a(i) hotel as defined in § 35.1-1, (ii) college or university dormitory, (iii)medical care facility as defined in § 32.1-102.1, (iv) group home or otherresidential facility licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health andDevelopmental Services or Department of Social Services, (v) assisted livingfacility as defined in § 63.2-100, (vi) apartment complex or condominiumwhere shared tenant telephone service is provided, (vii) commercial orgovernment office building, (viii) manufacturing, processing, assembly,warehouse, or distribution establishment, or (ix) retail establishment.
"MLTS provider" means a person who operates a facility at which telephoneservice is provided, with or without compensation, through a multilinetelephone system.
"MLTS service provider" means a person offering or operating third partyservices that combine communications services, private branch exchange orcentral office systems, and multiline telephone systems where such servicesare provided to an MLTS provider on a fee-for-service basis.
"Multiline telephone system" or "MLTS" means a telephone system,including network-based or premises-based systems, whether owned or leased bya public or private entity, operated in the Commonwealth, that serves afacility, has more than one telephone station, and is comprised of commoncontrol units, telephones, and control hardware and software that share acommon interface to the public switched telephone network, whether by aprivate branch exchange or central office system, without regard to whetherthe system utilizes VoIP technology.
"Person" includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association,cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government,political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and anysuccessor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof.
"Portable VoIP services" includes any MLTS utilizing a VoIP service andproviding an end user with the capability to use the service at a locationindependent of the original physical location of telephone stations on theMLTS.
"Private emergency answering point" means an answering point that isequipped and staffed during all hours that the facility is occupied toprovide adequate means of responding to calls to the digits "9-1-1" fromtelephones on a multiline telephone system by reporting incidents to a PSAPin a manner that identifies the emergency response location from which thecall to the answering point was placed.
"Public safety answering point" or "PSAP" means a communicationsoperation operated by or on behalf of a governmental entity that is equippedand staffed on a 24-hour basis to receive and process telephone calls foremergency assistance from an individual by dialing, in addition to any digitsrequired to obtain an outside line, the digits "9-1-1."
"Public switched telephone network" means the worldwide, interconnectednetworks of equipment, lines, and controls assembled to establishcircuit-switched voice communication paths between calling and called parties.
"Retail establishment" means any establishment selling goods or services tothe ultimate user or consumer of those goods or services, not for the purposeof resale, but for that user's or consumer's personal rather than businessuse.
"Telephone call" means the use of a telephone to initiate an ordinary voicetransmission placed through the public switched telephone network.
"Telephone station" means a telephone on a multiline telephone system, fromwhich a call may be placed to a PSAP by dialing, in addition to any digitsrequired to access the public switched telephone network, the digits"9-1-1." However, in any medical care facility or licensed assisted livingfacility, "telephone station" includes any telephone on a multilinetelephone system located in an administrative office, nursing station, lobby,waiting area, or other area accessible to the general public but does notinclude a telephone located in the room of a patient or resident.
"VoIP service" has the same meaning ascribed to it in § 56-484.12.
(2007, c. 427; 2008, c. 853; 2009, cc. 813, 840.)