February 16, 2020 was the deadline to comply with Kari’s Law. Did you update your switch already, or is this all news to you? Who was Kari? Kari Hunt Dunn was tragically murdered in a hotel bathroom in December 2013, while her young daughter desperately and repeatedly tried to dial 911 from the hotel room… Continue Reading
Network Ops
What happens if one subscriber sets an easy password?
Let’s imagine you provide phone service to local residents and local businesses. Let’s imagine that you provide some kind of web-portal where a subscriber can log-in and update the settings on their lines. I’m guessing most of you are nodding along – this isn’t hard to imagine, because it’s reality. But let’s see how this… Continue Reading
FCC plans to use 988 for suicide prevention hotline
In December the FCC released a proposal whereby all telcos would allow subscribers to dial 988 in order to reach the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. At this time, this is simply a proposal and the FCC is asking for comments (you can read the full text and submit comments here), but it seems likely… Continue Reading
What if you lose your best switch tech?
It’s every manager’s worst fear. You have this great team member – the engineer who has been around forever, who understands how everything’s designed, and who can magically fix any problem. Then one day… you receive the dreaded two weeks notice. Maybe it’s a new job, or moving out of state, or (worse) an illness…. Continue Reading
Why every team needs a Troubleshooting Coach
If you manage a team of technical people – maybe VoIP engineers or CO techs – and there’s a big technical problem, your job is to ask the right questions. To be the Troubleshooting Coach. You don’t need to be a technical expert yourself. In fact, you can often reach a solution more quickly by… Continue Reading
Core skills vs Rare skills
The other day I’d just come back from the store, and was washing my hands when I heard a loud bang. I assumed my wife had dropped something. Something BIG. “Was that you?” she called. “Umm… no. Maybe the kids knocked something over?” But no, it wasn’t our daughters either. So we spent a few… Continue Reading