10-digit dialing will be required for local calls in Carson City and beyond beginning in October; FCC change to aid in mental health crisis calls
A change in a communications policy to help Americans in mental health crisis will — beginning in October — affect how telephone calls are made throughout the country, including here in Nevada.
The Federal Communications Commission adopted new policies in 2020 which establishes 988 as the new 3-digit phone number that those suffering from a mental health crisis can use throughout the country to connect with either suicide prevention or mental health crisis counselors.
“To help Americans in crisis access suicide prevention and mental health support services, the federal government has established the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which can be reached by dialing 1-800-273-8255 / 1-800-273 (TALK),” the FCC said in a statement about the changes. “Both Congress and the Commission have recognized the need to ease access to this potentially life-saving resource by designating a shorter, easy-to-remember, 3-digit dialing code for the Lifeline.”
However, in order to enact this change, 7-digit dialing will be affected, and beginning on Oct. 24, 2021, throughout the country phone users will need to begin using 10-digit dialing regardless if the call is local or not.
The FCC asks for users to also update stored phone numbers in their contacts to the full 10-digit number so that the numbers will continue to connect after the change is enacted.
So, for example, instead of dialing 555-0123, users will now be required to dial 775-555-0123 or 1-775-555-0123 in order to reach the intended user.
To read the full FCC order, visit https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-100A1.pdf