§ 349-B-1 — Voice over internet protocol 911 disclosure

§ 349-b-1. Voice over internet protocol 911 disclosure. 1. For the\npurpose of this section:\n (a) "Consumer" or "purchaser" means a retail customer who purchases\nvoice over internet protocol services for personal use in a place of\nresidence or elsewhere in New York state;\n (b) "Seller" or "reseller" means any retailer, distributor,\nmanufacturer, or third-party who sells or offers for sale voice over\ninternet protocol equipment or service therefor or both directly to a\nconsumer or purchaser or places in the chain of distribution such\nequipment to be ultimately sold to a consumer or purchaser;\n (c) "Voice over internet protocol" or "VoIP" shall have the same\nmeaning as the term "interconnected VoIP service" as set forth in 47\nC.F.R., Section 9.3, or any successor regulation adopted by the Federal\nCommunications Commission, and which defines the term as a service that:\n (i) enables real-time, two-way voice communications,\n (ii) requires a broadband connection to the user's location,\n (iii) requires internet protocol-compatible customer premises\nequipment (CPE), and\n (iv) permits users generally to receive calls that originate on the\npublic switched telephone network (PSTN) and to terminate calls to the\nPSTN. For purposes of this section, three different types of VoIP\nservice offered to consumers are addressed as defined in this paragraph:\nfixed, nomadic and foreign exchange;\n (d) "E911 system" or "enhanced 911" has the meaning provided for by\nsubdivision three of section three hundred one of the county law;\n (e) "Basic 911" or "911" means a service that connects the caller to a\npublic service answering point (PSAP);\n (f) "Public service answering point" or "PSAP" has the meaning\nprovided for in subdivision six of section three hundred one of the\ncounty law;\n (g) "Fixed VoIP consumer" means a consumer whose VoIP service permits\nthe placement of a telephone call from only the location where such\nservice is being provided;\n (h) "Nomadic VoIP consumer" means a consumer whose VoIP service\nprovider and service allows such consumer to make calls from any\nlocation where such consumer can obtain access to internet service;\n (i) "Foreign exchange VoIP consumer" means a consumer whose VoIP\nservice provider and service allow such consumer in one telephone\nexchange to receive telephone calls placed as local calls in another\nexchange that such consumer has selected (e.g. a consumer located in the\ncity of Amsterdam or the city of Utica with a New York city local\ntelephone number).\n 2. (a) All VoIP sellers and resellers shall provide consumers with\nnotification, before service commencement and during service provision,\nregarding any material limitations associated with their basic or\nenhanced 911 service, and whether such service is basic 911 service or\nenhanced 911 service.\n (b) Such notice shall be provided to consumers in the marketing\nmaterial used for television, radio, and printed media; in the terms and\nconditions of service; in on-line material; through VoIP sellers' and\nresellers' customer service representatives; in consumer service\ncontracts; and in VoIP services starter and installation kits.\n (c) Such sellers and resellers shall also secure consumers' express\nacknowledgement that they are aware of any limitations upon basic or\nenhanced 911 services from the VoIP services offered by such sellers and\nresellers prior to providing consumers with VoIP service.\n (d) Where service limitations exist, or both basic and enhanced 911\nservice are unavailable to the consumer, VoIP sellers and resellers\nshall provide consumer notification during service provision, and by\nissuing warning stickers to be affixed to telephone sets through any\nsubsequent advertising, and annually in the customer's billing insert.\n (e) All VoIP sellers and resellers shall provide nomadic VoIP\nconsumers with notification, both before service commencement and during\nservice provision, regarding the necessity (if applicable) of\nre-initializing or resetting or reactivating such consumers' basic or\nenhanced 911 services at each new location from which such consumers\naccess VoIP services.\n (f) All VoIP sellers and resellers shall use all reasonable efforts to\nprevent basic or enhanced 911 calls from foreign exchange VoIP consumers\nfrom being routed to the wrong PSAP.\n 3. Nothing in this section shall in any way limit the rights or\nremedies that are otherwise available to a consumer or purchaser under\nany other law.\n 4. Nothing in this section shall in any way limit the rights or\nremedies that are otherwise available to any seller or reseller against\nany other seller or reseller of VoIP services or equipment or both.\n 5. The attorney general may bring a civil action against any seller or\nreseller who violates any provision of this section to enforce the\nviolation and may recover any or all of the following:\n (a) up to one hundred thousand dollars for a knowing pattern or\npractice of such violations;\n (b) costs and reasonable attorney's fees; and\n (c) whenever the attorney general believes from evidence satisfactory\nto him or her that a knowing violation of this section or a pattern or\npractice of violating this section has occurred or is about to occur, an\norder to enjoin such violation.\n 6. Nothing in this section is intended to extend, limit or conflict\nwith the notice and related obligations of providers subject to 47\nC.F.R. part 9 or any successor regulation or law.\n