Wowway: ‘We’re in compliance’ on 911

But company warns customers don’t dial 1 first
Published April 22, 2011
By Ted Schnell • BocaJump
A representative of Wowway, which provides telephone, Internet and cable television service to some Elgin residents, says it is in compliance with the state’s regulations on 911 calls, even though one such call recently was routed to an Indiana sheriff’s office.

Spokesman Bill Wright, calling from the company’s offices in Colorado Springs, Colo., said Thursday afternoon the company had checked with the Illinois Commerce Commission, which oversees public utilities such as telephone service providers, and verified that its service is routing 911 calls correctly according to ICC standards, even though one such call in Elgin was routed to the sheriff’s office dispatch center 80 miles away in Lake County, Ind.

Wowway joins 911 call probe

Published Arpil 20, 2011
By Ted Schnell • BocaJump
It appears that a technical glitch within phone service provider Wowway’s system may be to blame for rerouting an Elgin man’s 911 call to Lake County, Ind., on April 12.

Elgin police on Tuesday worked with the resident to see if they could repeat the rerouting glitch, something police Sgt. Dennis Hood initially had not been optimistic about being able to do, believing it likely it was rare and not likely to be repeated.

Elgin 911 call directed to Indiana

Published Arpil 12, 2011

By Ted Schnell • BocaJump

Elgin police and a sheriff's office in Indiana are looking into a potential glitch that misdirected an Elgin 911 call early Tuesday to a dispatch center in Crown Point, Ind.

The call was made about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday by an Elgin man reporting that he heard what he believed to have been five or more shotgun blasts in the area of his southwest-side home.