HWG LLP Advisory 

By: Kristine Laudadio Devine

April 15, 2025 is the effective date for new outage notification rules adopted by the FCC in 2022 and 2023. The new rules require cable, satellite, wireless, wireline and VoIP providers to notify 911 special facilities and 988 special facilities of any communications outage that potentially affects 911 or 988 services. The new rules replace existing, lightly defined requirements only applicable to wireless providers with several very specific obligations, while also extending them to a broader range of providers. 

Under the new rules, cable, satellite, wireless, wireline and VoIP providers must compile and maintain contact information to be used for outage notifications for each 911 special facility they serve, as well as the 988 special facilities. 911 special facilities include public safety answering points (PSAPs), and 988 special facilities include the 988 Lifeline administrator, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. This contact information must be verified and updated annually. Providers that offer service nationwide or whose customers can make and receive calls nationwide (including many nomadic VoIP providers) may need to maintain this list for all public safety answering points (PSAPs) in the United States. 

In the event of an outage potentially affecting 911 or 988 (which includes general outages as well as 911- or 988-specific outages), these providers must notify the affected 911 and/or 988 special facilities within 30 minutes of discovering the outage. Note that this is earlier than a preliminary outage report is due to the FCC. The outage notifications must include several specific pieces of information:

  1. An identifier unique to each outage;
  2. The name, telephone number, and email address at which the notifying provider can be reached for follow up;
  3. The name of the service provider(s) experiencing the outage;
  4. The date and time when the incident began (including a notation of the relevant time zone);
  5. The types of communications service(s) affected;
  6. The geographic area affected by the outage;
  7. A statement of the notifying provider’s expectations for how the outage potentially affects the relevant special facility (e.g., dropped calls or missing metadata);
  8. Expected date and time of restoration, including a notation of the relevant time zone;
  9. The best-known cause of the outage; and
  10. A statement of whether the message is an initial notification, an update to an initial notification, or a message intended to be the service provider’s final assessment of the outage.

Providers must follow up with each 911 or 988 special facility no later than two hours after the first notice, to provide an update (even if there is no update). After the initial follow-up, providers must update 911 or 988 special facilities at any time there is new material information about the outage, including information about an estimated time to restoration of service.

PSAP notification obligations have been routinely cited by the FCC in investigations and enforcement actions, leading in some cases to high fines under consent decrees. These new rules will give the FCC an expanded ability to investigate suspected compliance failures, with the potential for significant monetary penalties.

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HWG LLP’s cross-disciplinary telecommunications practice advises clients on federal and state legislative and regulatory proceedings, company compliance, and related litigation matters. Please contact Kristine Laudadio Devine for more information. This advisory is not intended to convey legal advice. It is circulated publicly as a convenience and does not reflect or create an attorney-client relationship.