Users group debates cloud call‑handling hairpin, tariff language and potential billable project hours

At the July 9 Esinet User Group meeting, Lumen and Intrado explained technical and billing implications for PSAPs that choose cloud‑hosted call‑handling solutions rather than on‑premise controllers.

Steve (Lumen) outlined the current statewide NG9‑1‑1 topology and said the tariffed model delivers calls to two routers at the PSAP demarc. For cloud call handlers that do not build a direct network connection to the state's NG9‑1‑1 infrastructure, vendors have used a "hairpin" approach in which traffic delivered to the PSAP routers is forwarded (hairpinned) to the cloud provider and then returned to the PSAP. Steve said this configuration was requested by a cloud vendor in a prior pilot and that it required substantial configuration, testing and project coordination.

"We program those ports on those routers...that traffic hairpins," Steve said while explaining how the call is delivered to the router, forwarded to the cloud call handler…