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ClearlyIP Integrates ‘988’ for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline

ClearlyIP Supports Mental Health Awareness and Quickly Adds 988 Integration to Trunking Services

 

APPLETON, WISCONSIN- April 1, 2021 – Clearly IP Inc. (“ClearlyIP” or the “Company”) is releasing their support of the FCC adopting the new nationwide 3-digit phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

ClearlyIP has enabled 988 on their trunking service. Last year, on October 17th, 2020, Former President Donald Trump signed into law a bipartisan bill that will make 9-8-8 the universal telephone number to reach the National Suicide Prevention Hotline starting in 2022.

The law requires all telecommunications carriers and all interconnected and one-way Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers to direct all 988 calls to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. While this rule goes into effect as of July 16, 2022, ClearlyIP has already ensured compliance and enabled 988 service. If the user’s dialplan supports it, 988 service is available on ClearlyIP trunks today. ClearlyIP’s wiki is an excellent resource that walks a user through enabling the 988 service on a ClearlyIP trunkline.

ClearlyIP understands the importance of safety and well-being and how it can affect partners and clients. They have designed multiple product offerings for their clients to provide them peace of mind in the event of an emergency. The Panic Button is a physical button that can be programmed to dial multiple programmed numbers and play a pre-recorded message to the recipients- all while the phone shows an idle state. ClearlyIP also developed the “CodeX” solution – a notification and alert tool that allows administrators to mark areas as “safe” or “unsafe” during an emergency. With these solutions already available, 988 integration was a natural addition.

Until the requirement of 988, the two-year transition period will reflect the real challenges of this nationwide effort, including the need for widespread network changes and providing time for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to prepare for the expected increase in the volume of calls. Under these rules, calls to 988 will be directed to 1-800-273-TALK, which will remain operational thru the 988 transition. To ensure that calls to 988 reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, all covered providers will be required to implement 10-digit dialing in areas that both use seven-digit dialing and use 988 as the first three numbers in seven-digit phone numbers.

Takeaways on 988:
  • Suicide prevention is a critical need. Since 2008, suicide has ranked as the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. Suicide claimed the lives of more than 48,000 Americans in 2018, resulting in about one death every 11 minutes.
  • Americans who need help today can find it by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached by calling 1-800-273- 8255 (1-800-273-TALK) and through online chats. Veterans and Service members may contact the Veterans Crisis Line by pressing 1 after dialing and chatting online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or texting 838255.
  • The requirement to transition to 988 as the National Suicide Prevention Hotline will take effect on July 16, 2022. The transition time gives phone companies time to make necessary network changes. It additionally provides time for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to prepare for a likely increase in the volume of calls following the switch.
About ClearlyIP

With decades of leadership in communications and developing innovative telephony solutions, the team at ClearlyIP provides world-class telecommunications services, applications, and customer premise hardware to businesses, ITSP’s, OEMs, and other communications providers across the globe. Product offerings include Brandable IP Phones, VoIP Appliances, a Suite of Advanced Cloud Services, and a feature-rich SIP Trunking platform in full compliance with Kari’s Law. ClearlyIP is privately held and headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, and utilizes a “Build and Buy” strategy for company growth, building products that help us grow organically and through strategic acquisitions, more at www.clearlyip.com

ClearlyIP Inc.
Breanna Fernie
Chief Marketing Officer
[email protected]
+1-855-802-6465
www.clearlyip.com

 

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