The FCC has adopted rules to ensure the public has reliable access to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In order to address the issues of service outages, the FCC will require providers that have a role in delivering 988 calls to report outages to the FCC’s Network Outage Reporting System and to provide notice of such events to SAMHSA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the 988 Lifeline administrator. The new rules also require providers to provide updates on outages that last longer than two hours. These requirements will allow SAMHSA, the VA, and the 988 Lifeline to inform the public of alternative ways to connect to the 988 Lifeline, such as texting or online webchat, as well as potentially improve the 988 Lifeline’s reliability by allowing these entities to analyze outage trends to better prevent and mitigate outages.
