Chairwoman Rosenworcel Calls for Improved Wireless Calls Routing to 988 Lifeline

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel shared with her colleagues a proposal that would improve how wireless calls to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988 Lifeline) are routed to ensure that callers in crisis have access to behavioral health resources in the state or territory they are calling from while protecting their privacy. Calls to the 988 Lifeline are currently routed based on the caller’s area code and exchange, which presents some obstacles to callers whose area code does not correspond the caller’s location when in crisis. For instance, under current practices if a wireless caller with a 703 Virginia area code dials the 988 Lifeline, that call will be routed to a Virginia crisis center, regardless of where the caller is located. Under the FCC’s proposal, if that caller dials the 988 Lifeline while located in California, that call would be routed to a local crisis center in California, near the caller’s physical location.