Patent ID: 7130385

Claim:
A method for providing emergency location information to an emergency service provider, comprising: (a) providing an enterprise network comprising a plurality of communication devices, an Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Layer 2 switch connected to a subset of the plurality of communication devices, and a corresponding enterprise switch servicing the plurality of communication devices, wherein a first communication device is connected to a respective first port of the Layer 2 switch, wherein the enterprise network corresponds to a plurality of Emergency Location Information Numbers (ELINs) associated with differing segments of the enterprise network, and wherein the Layer 2 switch serves at least one of the differing segments; (b) when a first event occurs involving the first communication device, the first communication device obtaining from the Layer 2 switch at least one of a switch identifier of the Layer 2 switch and a port identifier identifying the respective first port to which the first communication is connected; (c) when at least one of the first event and a second event occurs, the enterprise switch obtaining the at least one of a switch identifier and port identifier from the first communication device; (d) the enterprise switch, thereafter receiving from the first communication device, a first contact to a universal emergency number and a first extension assigned to the first communication device; (e) the enterprise switch, maintaining a set of data structures mapping switch identifiers and/or port identifiers to an ELIN corresponding to a network segment comprising the corresponding communication device and, in response to step (d), using the set of data structures and first extension received from the first communication device to select a first ELIN corresponding to a first network segment including the first communication device; and (f) the enterprise switch, forwarding, as part of the first contact, the first ELIN to a public safety answering point.