Implementation of the National Suicide Hotline Act of 2018

<RULE> FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION <CFR>47 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[WC Docket No. 18-336; FCC 25-42; FR ID 313142]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Implementation of the National Suicide Hotline Act of 2018</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Communications Commission. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts rules requiring covered text providers, including wireless providers, to develop the capability to transmit georouting data in a format that is compatible with the Lifeline's platform to allow the routing of covered 988 text messages by the Lifeline Administrator to the appropriate crisis center based on the texter's general location, rather than area code; and to provide such georouting data for covered 988 text messages, when available, to the Lifeline Administrator. To protect the privacy of 988 texters, this document defines “georouting data” as location data generated from a cell-based location technology that is aggregated to a level that will not identify the precise location of the handset, but only the general area from which the text originated, thereby making local resources available while protecting texters' identities. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> <E T="03">Effective date:</E> This rule is effective October 16, 2025. <E T="03">Compliance dates:</E> Nationwide Commerical Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) providers must comply with the addition of 47 CFR 52.203 by 18 months after October 16, 2025. All covered text providers, including non-nationwide CMRS providers, must comply with the addition of 47 CFR 52.203 by 36 months after October 16, 2025. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For further information, contact Merry Wulff, Wireline Competition Bureau, Competition Policy Division, at <E T="03">Merry.Wulff@fcc.gov</E> or (202) 418-1084. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> This is a summary of the Commission's <E T="03">Fourth Report and Order</E> in WC Docket No. 18-336, FCC 25-42, adopted on July 24, 2025 and released on July 25, 2025. The full text of the document is available on the Commission's website at <E T="03">https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-25-42A1.pdf.</E> To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> braille, large print, electronic files, audio format, etc.), send an email to <E T="03">FCC504@fcc.gov</E> or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice). <HD SOURCE="HD1">Synopsis</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Discussion</HD> 1. In this <E T="03">Fourth Report and Order,</E> we take further steps to facilitate access to the 988 Lifeline's critical local support services by requiring covered text providers to develop and implement georouting solutions for 988 text messages. First, based on a review of the record in the <E T="03">Implementation of the National Suicide Hotline Act of 2018, Third Further notice of Proposed Rulemaking</E> ( <E T="03">988 Georouting Third Further Notice</E> ), 89 FR 91636 (November 20, 2024) we find that establishing georouting for 988 text messages is essential to ensure that text users are routed to geographically appropriate crisis centers and will provide important benefits to Lifeline users. Next, we define “georouting data” and other relevant terms for purposes of our rules, and adopt a two-part requirement to delineate the scope of covered text providers' obligations. Finally, in order to facilitate ongoing efforts to develop 988 text georouting capabilities, we adopt an implementation time frame of 18 months for nationwide providers, and 36 months for non-nationwide providers. <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Text-to-988 Georouting Will Improve Access and Efficiency of the Lifeline</HD> 2. Georouting refers to the technical solutions for directing calls based on a geographic location of the originating call without transmitting information about the handset's precise location. Georouting is distinct from geolocation, which involves the transmission of precise location information ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> street address) often used to dispatch emergencies services. Today, in the absence of georouting, providers route 988 text messages to the Lifeline's centralized system. After a text message reaches 988, the Lifeline Administrator is responsible for routing the text message to an individual crisis center and currently does so based on the area code associated with the text user's wireless device. This inhibits the Lifeline's ability to provide access to more localized services when a text user's area code does not correspond to their geographic location. Based on our review of the record, we find that requiring providers to implement a georouting solution for 988 text messages is essential to improving access to the Lifeline's critical mental health crisis and suicide prevention services. The record overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that georouting for 988 text messages will help connect individuals with more geographically appropriate crisis centers that should have a better understanding of available local resources and unique community stressors. As Reimagine Crisis Response explains, local crisis centers are better positioned to connect individuals “with local mental health care, resources, and support that can help . . . beyond the initial crisis.” According to the current Lifeline Administrator, many individuals that reach out to 988 need resources for follow-up care, including referrals to mental health resources within their current local communities. Several commenters agree that georouting for 988 text messages will improve access to referral and follow-up services that may reduce the risk of future mental health and suicidal crises. Mental health and public safety commenters emphasize that georouting for 988 text messages will improve access for youth and young adults. Indeed, in response to the <E T="03">Implementation of the National Suicide Hotline Act of 2018, Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</E> ( <E T="03">988 Georouting Second Further Notice</E> ), 89 FR 46340 (May 29, 2024), we received over 450 comments from American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) advocates expressing support for requiring georouting for 988 text messages, all emphasizing the significant benefits for children and young adults. As the current Lifeline Administrator explains, georouting for 988 text messages will “help connect young people with counselors who may have a deeper insight into the unique exacerbators within their local communities.” AFSP further notes that georouting is particularly important for “college-aged young adults [who] may be attending schools and universities . . . in areas that do not correspond with their cell phones' area codes.” 3. Many commenters also agree that georouting for 988 text messages will enhance access to local resources and follow-up care services for individuals with disabilities, including individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability. As the Accessibility Organizations explain, text messaging is “a preferred or necessary mode of communication, due to barriers to making voice calls,” for many individuals with disabilities. The record further indicates that georouting for 988 text messages will provide benefits for other disproportionately impacted populations, including older men, rural communities, and individuals with low incomes or safety concerns. 4. We also find georouting for 988 text messages will help ensure that Americans in crisis have access to help, regardless of whether they call or text the Lifeline. As the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) asserts, implementing georouting for voice calls but not for text messages may cause confusion and undermine trust in the 988 Lifeline. Additionally, as several commenters emphasize, achieving routing parity with voice calls will help to minimize inconsistencies in service quality that might otherwise discourage individuals from seeking help, further increasing trust in the 988 Lifeline. <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. Definitions</HD> 5. As proposed in the <E T="03">988 Georouting Third Further Notice,</E> for the purposes of the rules we adopt today, we incorporate the definitions of the terms “covered 988 text message” and “covered text provider,” as adopted in the <E T="03">Implementation of the National Suicide Hotline Act of 2018, Second Report and Order</E> ( <E T="03">Text-to-988 Second Report and Order</E> ), 89 FR 46340 (May 29, 2024). We similarly rely on the definitions of “Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS)” and “georouting data” adopted by the Commission in the <E T="03">Implementation of the National Suicide Hotline Act of 2018, Third Report and Order</E> ( <E T="03">988 Georouting Third Report and Order</E> ), 89 FR 91636 (November 20, 2024). To preserve consistency across the requirements for georouting 988 calls and georouting text-to-988, we likewise use the definition of “Lifeline Administrator” adopted by the <E T="03">988 Georouting Third Report and Order.</E> No commenter opposed this approach. Although supportive of the Commission's existing definitions for these terms, the Accessibility Organizations urge the Commission to account for the accessibility needs of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or have a speech or other disability that impacts communication in crafting rules for 988 text georouting. We find that georouting text-to-988 will have a significant impact on connecting individuals, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, or have a speech or other disability that impacts communication, to local resources and improve the accessibility of lifesaving resources. W ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 127k characters. 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