Every VoIP provider must allow 999

Every VoIP provider must now allow emergency phone calls on their network, after new rules by Ofcom came into force.

Previously, a VoIP provider could choose whether to provide access to the 999 and 112 numbers, as long as the end-user was informed.

However, Ofcom confirmed in December last year that any service which allowed users to call national phone numbers should also let them call the emergency numbers.

The regulatory body had found that 78 per cent of VoIP users that could not call the numbers either thought they could call or did not know.

"As new voice services develop and become more mainstream, regulation must evolve too," said Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, at the time.

"In the future, consumers will be confident that if they can make calls to ordinary national numbers using their VoIP service then they will be able to call 999 or 112 in an emergency."

Now that the change has come into force, Ofcom will be investigating VoIP providers to make sure their users have access to the emergency numbers.