Normally when you call 911, the dispatcher can tell exactly where the call is coming from. But calls from internet phone services,aren't as easily traced which can lead to confusion and delays.

"Many times, time is the difference between life and death," says Sgt. Greg Terry from the Bakersfield Police Department.

Because internet phone calls are transmitted through the web, there's no way to trace them.

Most companies require to you register your home address so dispatchers will know where to send help. but you need to update that every time you move.

This weekend, a 9 month old Canadian baby died when an ambulance was sent to the family's old house more than 2,000 miles away. The family called 911 from their internet phone. Their call was sent to a dispatch center near Toronto even though the family had moved to Calgary. A spokesman for Comwave Telecom, the company that provided the internet service, said the family never updated their address when they moved.

"When we receive a 911 call from those types of phones all we're going to have, the only location we can respond to is their registered address. If they're not able to speak to us, they could have moved a year ago and we would have no way of knowing," said Sgt. Terry.

There's also the problem of people taking the phones with them when they go out of town. A recent 911 hangup call led to major confusion at the BPD call center. The person accidentally called 911 from their internet phone. The person's home address in Bakersfield showed up on the dispatcher's computer. But when the dispatcher called back they found out the person was actually in Belize.

Bright House Networks provides a facilities-based phone service in Kern County. According to Danielle Wade, Vice President of Marketing, Bright House phone equipment is not designed to be portable.