OK, this thread is getting really out of hand, so I'll condense my answers into one big stupid message:
1) 911 service. Yes, that is one of three reasons to keep your PSTN line. The other two reasons are: Inbound calls from local callers still should work on a POTS line, for now. You can't find VOIP providers in most area codes, so you'll most likely need to have a "local" number that finds it's way to you for "local" tasks. Secondly, the Internet is not as reliable as the phone system. Sorry, folks, it just works that way right now despite what your network engineer might tell you. That's not to say it's unreliable, but those last two nines are very expensive... Besides, any good network engineer will tell you that you should have multiple paths for your IP connectivity. With few exceptions, most homes do not have multipath connectivity. (note: businesses may in fact have better uptime on their IP network than their phone network, if they have competent engineers and a reasonable budget.)
1.5) There are reasonable technical solutions to this problem, but for the life of me I can't figure out why the 911 centers haven't gotten their act together and solved this. There are two halves to this problem: "What PSAP do I call? (and what phone number)" and "How do I get my location data to the PSAP once I call them?" C'mon, this is not difficult. The first question can be answered trivially: there _must_ be a database of address-to-PSAP mappings. Any PBX administrator (or SIP phone owner, for that matter) should be able to figure out their address. Methods for associating the PSAP number with the phone are numerous, and trivially implemented - if people don't keep their address information updated, they're SOL (though you can remind them in an automated fashion to keep it updated - just forbid them from using the service unless they verify the address every month or so.) The second question is more difficult, but certainly
2) Networks of Asterisk servers, offering dialtone to each other in different places. YES, this is a good idea, but setting dialplans up for least-cost-routing via static routes is a pretty rotten task. See my conversations on why someone should implement TRIP in Asterisk (hey, I'm still looking for a programmer... anyone want some money?)
http://lists.digium.com/pipermail/asterisk-dev/2003-July/001172.html
3) Well, I forget what 3 was. Time to get some sleep.
JT
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