FCC Adopts Rules Requiring Georouting for All Wireless Calls to 988

The Federal Communications Commission approved rules that will require all U.S. wireless carriers to implement georouting for calls to the 988 Lifeline. These rules will facilitate access to the 988 Lifeline’s critical local intervention services by requiring wireless providers to implement georouting solutions for 988 calls to route wireless calls to local crisis centers based on the geographic area associated with the origin of a 988 call rather than by area code and exchange, while protecting the privacy needs of the caller. The FCC  also approved a proposal to require covered text providers to provide georouting data for 988 text messages. The FCC's Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes rules requiring covered text providers, including wireless providers, to support georouting to ensure that the 988 Lifeline may route covered 988 text messages to the appropriate local crisis center to enhance the support and resources available to text users in crisis.  In addition, it proposes to require covered text providers to send georouting data to the 988 Lifeline to the same extent that they are required to send covered 988 texts to the Lifeline. Lastly, this proposal suggests an implementation deadline of six months from the effective date of final rules for covered text providers to comply with the proposed text-to-988 georouting requirements.