The incident occurred in late April when the parents of 18-month-old Elijah Luck called 9-1-1 from their Calgary home. The family had previously lived in Mississauga and, although their billing address had been changed, their residence was still listed in Mississauga with Comwave's call centre. Comwave provided the Luck family with Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephone service.
Little Elijah, who was born premature with heart problems, was not breathing when paramedics arrived. He died later that fateful night in hospital.
Federal investigators have informed the company they don't believe it followed proper procedure, The Globe and Mail reports in a front-page story today. The Globe obtained several communications between federal officials at the CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission) and Comwave.
The CRTC's letters suggest that Comwave should have immediately called the family back after the line was suddenly disconnected.
Comwave Chief Executive Officer Yuval Barzakay told The Globe that no regulations require a company to call back when a 9-1-1 caller using Internet phone service becomes disconnected.
The rules set up for the industry in 2005, he said, do not specifically indicate how companies should handle emergency calls in that situation.
"It is not our interpretation of what the rules of the game were in 2005, nor is it the industry practice today," that disconnected calls be returned immediately, Barzakay said.
Following the incident, Comwave and other Internet phone providers said it is their customers' responsibility to inform them of all changes of addresses.
jstewart@mississauga.net
