Skip Maine state header navigation

Agencies | Online Services | Help

Skip First Level Navigation | Skip All Navigation

Home > Enhanced 9-1-1 Availability

Enhanced 9-1-1 Availability

Traditional Wireline Telephone Service

99.6 percent of all traditional wireline subscribers have access to Enhanced 9-1-1. Only residents of the Town of Lincoln and others with telephone numbers beginning with 794, do not have Enhanced 9-1-1. They should use the emergency numbers listed on the inside cover of the telephone directory.

Cell Phone Subscribers

9-1-1 is the emergency number for all wireless phone users to dial in an emergency throughout Maine.

Currently, the Emergency Services Communications Bureau, in coordination with cell phone providers, is implementing Phase II enhanced 9-1-1 wireless services. Phase II is the technology needed to approximate the location of a 9-1-1 wireless caller. Implementation is done on a carrier-by-carrier basis. Check to see if your service provider has completed this process. You should also check with your carrier to see if your phone is Phase II compliant.

Voice over Internet Protocol Services

Subscribers to VoIP services need to check with their providers to find out what, if any, 9-1-1 features are available. Currently, there are three ways in which VoIP service providers approach emergency calling:

  1. No emergency calling option is included by the VoIP provider.
  2. With VoIP Basic Emergency Calling, the call is routed to the general access line (not a 9-1-1 line) at a law enforcement agency without location information, and possibly without your callback number.
  3. With VoIP Enhanced 9-1-1 Emergency Calling, the call is routed over a dedicated 9-1-1 network and arrives at your local 9-1-1 dispatching center with both location and callback number information.