How do emergency calls (100, 101, 102) work from a cloud PBX?

Emergency numbers in Israel

Israel also has other short service numbers, such as municipal hotlines and utility companies. This article focuses on the three main emergency numbers, but most of what is said here applies to the other short numbers too.

Important: the information in this article is general background. It does not replace the instructions of the emergency services themselves, or an organized emergency plan for your organization.

How an emergency call travels through a cloud PBX

When you dial 101 from an extension, the phone sends the request to the cloud PBX. The PBX recognizes that it is an emergency number and passes it to the carrier, and the carrier passes it to the public telephone network and from there to the emergency center.

From the caller's point of view, it looks like any other call. The differences are behind the scenes: the call goes through the office internet, through the PBX servers, and only then reaches the phone network. Every link in that chain has to work for the call to go through.

That's also why it's worth checking in advance — by arrangement, and without actually dialing the emergency center — that the PBX settings allow dialing the emergency numbers from every extension, including extensions whose outgoing calls are restricted.

One more thing: when the emergency center calls back the number that called, the call arrives at the organization's caller ID number — that is, it follows the route of a regular incoming call, possibly into an IVR menu. It's worth thinking in advance about what will happen to such a call outside business hours.

Location: what the dispatch center knows, and what it doesn't

With an old landline, the line was connected to a specific building, so the address was known in advance. With a mobile phone, the cellular network can give the center an estimate of the location. With a cloud PBX the situation is different:

• The center sees the caller ID that left the extension — usually the organization's main number, not the number of the room.
• The address linked to a number, if there is one at all, is the address registered when the number was assigned — not necessarily the place where the phone is right now.
• The extension of an employee working from home, or a softphone on a mobile phone, can dial from anywhere — even from another city — with the same caller ID number.

The practical conclusion: in an emergency call from a cloud PBX, always state the full address right away — street, number, floor, entrance. Don't assume the center knows.

In an organization with several branches this is especially important: if all branches send out the same main number, the center can't tell which branch the call came from. A separate caller ID number for each branch helps, but it doesn't replace clearly stating the address.

A power outage

An IP phone needs electricity. If it gets power from the switch (PoE), then the switch needs electricity. And the router needs electricity. In a power outage, without backup, all of these shut down — and the desk phone won't work, not even for an emergency call.

The common solution is a UPS — a battery that keeps the router, the switch and the phones running for a while. How long? It depends on the size of the battery and how much equipment is connected to it. It's worth testing in practice, and not relying on the number printed on the box.

And in any case: even with a UPS, a long enough outage will eventually shut the equipment down. So you need another way to dial.

It's also worth knowing what is connected to the UPS and what isn't. If only the router is backed up, but the switch that feeds the phones is not, the phones will shut down anyway. A simple test: cut the power for a moment and see what keeps working.

Internet outage

Even when there is power, an IP phone needs the internet to reach the cloud PBX. If the office connection is down, desk extensions can't dial out — not even emergency numbers.

There are several ways to reduce the risk:

• Backup connection — a second internet line, or a router with cellular backup that switches over automatically. See Backup Internet.
• Mobile phone — there is almost always someone in the office with a mobile phone. Everyone should know this is the first option when the desk phone isn't working.
• SIM extension — which runs over the cellular network and not over the office internet.

And note: even when the internet comes back, it takes the phones a short while to register with the PBX again. If you need to dial at that very moment, a mobile phone is faster.

A SIM extension as a backup

A SIM extension is a SIM card that behaves like an extension of the PBX. It sits in a mobile phone — including a kosher phone — and doesn't depend on the office router or its electricity.

As an emergency backup, it gives you two things: a phone that works even when the office has no power or no internet, and an organization extension you can take with you anywhere. In an organization with a security officer, a shift coordinator or a building manager, consider a SIM extension for that role.

Even so, a mobile phone also depends on battery and reception. No single method works in every situation, so you plan in layers: a desk phone with a UPS, a mobile phone, and a SIM extension for people in key roles.

Clashes with extension numbers

This is a trap that's easy to fall into when planning: if the PBX has extension 100, 101 or 102, what happens when someone dials 101? Will they reach the secretary's extension, or Magen David Adom?

In many phone systems the emergency numbers are set to override everything else, but it's not wise to rely on that blindly. The safe way is not to give extensions numbers that clash with emergency numbers or short service numbers. For example, start extension numbering at 200, or use four-digit extensions.

Internal codes that start with 1 can also clash. For numbering plans, see Extension Numbering Plan.

Outgoing prefix and restricted extensions

• Outgoing prefix — in older phone systems you had to dial 9 or 0 before an outside number. Someone used to that might dial "9-101" in a moment of stress. Make sure that even this dialing, if it happens, doesn't get stuck.
• Extensions with dialing restrictions — an extension in a lobby, a guest room or a dormitory that is restricted to internal calls still has to allow dialing the emergency numbers. This is something you check in the settings, not assume.
• Phones that dial only approved numbers — exactly the same question: are the emergency numbers on the list?

A simple rule: every phone a person can pick up must be able to reach help.

Checklist for your organization

1. Can you dial 100, 101 and 102 from every extension, including restricted extensions? (Check in the settings, not by actually dialing the emergency center.)
2. Is there no extension whose number clashes with an emergency number?
3. Are the router, the switch and the important phones connected to a UPS?
4. Is there a way to dial when there is no internet — a mobile phone, a SIM extension, a backup connection?
5. Is the full address of the place posted near the phones, including floor and entrance?
6. Does the staff know to state the address right at the start of the call?
7. Do people who work from home know that in an emergency call from the extension, the center doesn't know they are at home?

Seven questions. It's worth going through them once a year, and every time you make a big change in the office.

An example from the field

In the dormitory of the "Maalot HaTorah" yeshiva (a made-up name), extensions were installed in the counselors' rooms, restricted to internal calls. In the annual check it turned out that the extension in the second-floor counselor's room did not allow dialing 101 — the restriction had been set too broadly.

The setting was corrected so the extensions stayed internal-only, except for the emergency numbers. Next to every phone they posted a sign with the dormitory's full address, the floor, and the name of the night supervisor. And the head counselor was given a SIM extension, as a backup when there is no power.

Softphones and remote work

A softphone — an app on a computer or mobile phone that behaves like an extension — is a convenient tool for working from home. But in an emergency call it has limitations worth knowing:

• It depends on the internet connection it is on at that moment — home Wi-Fi, a hotspot or a café network.
• The call goes out with the organization's caller ID number, so the center may think the incident is at the office.
• If the softphone is on a mobile phone, the same device also has a regular dialer. For an emergency, the phone's regular dialer is usually the more natural choice, because it goes directly over the cellular network.

It's worth telling remote workers this explicitly, as part of their first training.

What to post next to the phone

A small sign next to every phone, especially in public places — a lobby, a dining room, a dormitory — can save precious minutes:

• The emergency numbers: 100, 101, 102.
• The full address: street, number, city, floor, entrance.
• The name of the place as it is known in the neighborhood.
• The phone number of the security officer or building manager.
• A short note: "In an emergency call — state the address first."

In a moment of stress, people forget even things they know well. A sign in front of their eyes helps.