March 29, 2024

Scieron

Health know-how

Mandatory Dialing Procedure to Accommodate the 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Hotline

On July 16, 2020, the FCC adopted an Order (FCC 20-100) approving 988 as the three-digit abbreviated dialing code to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline starting July 16, 2022. The Order requires all telecommunications carriers, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers, and one-way VoIP providers (covered providers) to make any network changes necessary to ensure that users can dial 988 to reach the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by July 16, 2022.

Beginning October 24, 2021, all consumers with numbers in area codes 616, 810 and 906 must dial 10 digits (area code + telephone number) for all local calls. On and after this date, local calls dialed with only seven digits may not be completed, and a recording may inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed. If you get this recording, you must hang up and dial again using the area code with the seven-digit telephone number. Important safety and security equipment, such as medical alert devices, and alarm and security systems must be reprogrammed to use 10-digit (or 1+10-digit) dialing by October 24, 2021. Many systems operate on 10-digit (or 1+10-digit) dialing by default, but some older equipment may still use seven-digit dialing. Please contact your medical alert or security provider if you are not sure whether your equipment needs to be reprogrammed to accommodate the upcoming change to 10-digit (or 1+10-digit) local dialing in order to avoid interruption of services.