Buying a discount Internet telephone package could turn out to be bad for your health.

The province’s Emergency Management Office warned Tuesday that links to the emergency 911 system are delayed with Internet telephones, which are increasingly popular in Nova Scotia.

"Internet-based telephone systems offer many features at low cost which are attractive to consumers, but they currently direct emergency 911 calls through a third-party communications centre and this can create a potentially risky response delay," said Mike Myette, the office’s director of emergency services.

"Every minute, in fact every second, counts when responding to an emergency."

Anyone with health issues or any concerns with 911 response times should bear that in mind before buying an Internet phone system, which provides service similar to that of a traditional telephone by using a high-speed Internet connection and a special adapter...

See the full story at The ChronicleHerald.ca