Voip providers will be forced by Ofcom to tell limitations of service.

acezing

"Internet phone providers such as Skype, Tesco and BT will be forced to tell customers about the limitations of their services under new rules, The Times has learnt.
Suppliers will have to provide information at the point of sale detailing deficiencies, such as the inability to call 999, the phone line going dead in power cuts and the service not working when the buyer’s computer is turned off."

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9076-2473301,00.html

redux

Do Ofcom actually have brains or eyes? I don't there is much chance of the customers reading anything, when Ofcom are too blind or stupid to do so.

© 2005-2006 - all rights reserved - you cannot use FreeCall to call emergency services

© 2005 - 2006 - all rights reserved - you cannot use VoipCheap to call emergency services

Skype is not a telephony replacement service and cannot be used for emergency dialing.

9.5
Certain types of Calls and services are not provided by us as part of the Tesco internet phone service. These include: (a) emergency numbers, operator assistance, 1471 ...

7.4 No Emergency Services. You expressly agree and understand that the VoipBuster Software is not intended to support or carry emergency calls to any type of hospital, law enforcement agency, medical care unit or any other kind of emergency service. VoipBuster, its Affiliates or VoipBuster Staff are in no way liable for such emergency calls.

1. Essential Service Information
1.1 By signing up to the Service you understand and agree that the Service may not offer all of the features you may expect from a traditional phone line and may sometimes be unavailable as a result of things over which we have no control, for example, power disruptions and failures of your internet service provider (ISP) or broadband connection. You must maintain your broadband connection in order to use the Service. Your attention is specifically drawn to the service description at https://www.vonage.co.uk, which describes the Service and any limitations.

1.2 If the Services are fully operational, 999/112 public emergency call services can be accessed. However, you understand and acknowledge that there may be some limitations as set out in the following paragraphs.

1.3 If there is a Service outage for any reason, such outage may prevent access to 999/112 dialling.

1.4 It may or may not be possible for emergency operators and authorities to identify your location and phone number when you dial 999/112. You will need to state your location and phone number promptly and clearly, as emergency operators and authorities may not have this information.

1.5 Emergency operators and authorities may or may not be able to identify your phone number in order to call you back if the call is unable to be completed, is dropped or disconnected, or if you are unable to speak to tell them your phone number and/or if the Service is not operational for any reason. Emergency operators and authorities may also not be able to hold your line open in the event you hang up.

1.6 You agree to inform potential users of the Service of the above limitations and you understand and accept that you should always have an alternative means of accessing 999/112 emergency services.

1.7 If Vonage suspends the Service you may not be able to dial 999/112.

I can even understand an Italian version

8.8
I servizi di fonia di MESSAGENET non possono chiamare i numeri di emergenza, tra cui, a titolo esemplificativo ma non esaustivo, i numeri 112 (Carabinieri), 113 (Polizia/Soccorso pubblico), 115 (Vigili del Fuoco), 118 (Soccorso Sanitario). MESSAGENET pertanto consiglia di avere e utilizzare una linea telefonica tradizionale allo scopo di contattare i servizi di emergenza

This Agreement ("Agreement") is between Inet Telecoms Ltd (Voipfone), and the Customer. The parties agree as follows:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Customer, understand and acknowledge that 999, 112 and 911 calls are not yet available via any of our services due to the fact that these services DO NOT operate identically to traditional fixed line emergency call services. The Customer also acknowledges that this is a Voice over Data Network service, and as such, it is dependent on the Customer’s connection to the data network and the data network itself. The Customer’s service may therefore cease to function if there is a power failure or a failure in the underlying data network. You agree to inform potential users of the Service of the above limitations and you understand and accept that you should always have an alternative means of accessing 999/112 emergency services.

I want to apply for a job in Ofcom's compliance department - I reckon I could work from the beach in Australia