FCC Task Force: Broadband Mapping Platform Getting Maternal Health Updates Next Month

The FCC's mapping broadband health in America platform will soon include additional details on telehealth access and maternal health, the Connect2Health Task Force told commissioners during their open meeting Thursday (see 2409250041). While the FCC has adopted rules requiring georouting wireless calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, it's uncertain whether it will require georouting to other emergency helplines, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said during a news conference following the meeting. The 5-0 988 georouting approval was expected (see 2410040005). Commissioners also unanimously voted for adoption of an order on hearing aid compatibility requirements (see 2410170030) and tentatively selected applicants for new low-power FM station construction permits.

The mapping broadband health platform will include features that are "more intelligent, expansive, and analytic," Office of General Counsel Legal Adviser Brayden Parker told commissioners. The FCC worked with federal agencies ensuring that "the platform includes the necessary data and functionalities to promote data-driven decision-making for our nation's broadband and maternal health policymakers," Parker said (see 2306200074). The platform will "visualize proxy variables" like low birth weight and pre-term birth due to the lack of data on maternal mortality and morbidity at the county level. It will also let users visualize the intersection of broadband data with health risk factors like diabetes, hypertension and obesity. It will include facts about infant health outcomes, breast cancer and social determinants of health data.

"Along the way, we know that access to broadband-enabled solutions like telehealth can play a role in improving maternal outcomes," said Rosenworcel. The commission will add information proxies to the mapping platform that "help close gaps in reportable maternal and morbidity data."

"No doubt," said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, "if you're in a doctor desert you're probably in a broadband desert." Identifying areas that need broadband based on health outcomes "is not enough," said Commissioner Ana Gomez. "We must ensure that these areas have access to affordable, reliable high speed broadband." Gomez said Congress should replenish the affordable connectivity program.

Though an association of poison control centers earlier this month asked the FCC that wireless calls to their members also be georouted (see 2410110041), Rosenworcel said at her news conference it’s unclear whether the agency has statutory authority to do so. The FCC has “unique responsibility” on 988 Lifeline calls because of congressional legislation that established the three-digit number, she said.

Under the 988 georouting order, nationwide wireless carriers will have 30 days from the effective date of the rules to comply with the georouting requirement that 988 wireless calls are routed to a 988 call center physically near the caller, instead of one in the same area code as the caller’s phone number. Non-nationwide carriers will have 24 months. The U.S. has 200-plus such call centers.

Multiple commissioners spoke of linking people calling 988 with local resources. Commissioner Brendan Carr called the agency’s 988 actions one of the most consequential initiatives the FCC has undertaken. Georouting is “a no-brainer,” Carr added, though there are privacy concerns for those seeking help.

Area code routing made sense at Lifeline’s 2005 inception, when most calls were from landlines, Rosenworcel said. With 80% of its call volumes wireless today, call centers are less able to connect help-seekers with local resources, she said. While Verizon and T-Mobile already georoute 988 mobile calls, AT&T has indicated it “will be on board shortly,” she said.

Along with the 988 call georouting order, commissioners approved an accompanying Further NPRM that proposes requiring georouting text messages, with a six-month implementation timeline. Rosenworcel said texting has different challenges than wireless calls, with texts traveling on a different pathway than phone calls. Moreover, the current Lifeline administrator can't receive text-related georouting data.

CTIA said it was "proud of its member companies that have stepped up to voluntarily bring georouting capabilities to wireless 988 callers across the nation." It added, "The wireless industry supports the FCC and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s mission and understands the importance of providing georouting data so that the Lifeline can route calls to geographically appropriate crisis centers that correspond with the location of the caller, while also protecting the caller’s privacy.” Today’s action, it said, "marks another important milestone in our country’s efforts to prevent suicide and expand access to vital mental health services.”

The Washington State Department of Health, which submitted comments to the FCC about caller privacy protections, told us it supports 988 georouting as long as it maintains help-seekers’ anonymity and confidentiality.