IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by the Telecommunications Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons With Disabilities; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities, 20892-20893 [E9-10502]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 6, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20892-20893]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10502]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC 
Docket No. 92-105; DA 09-749]


IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2) 
of the Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications 
Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons With Disabilities; 
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; extension of waiver.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, extends the limited waiver granted in the 
Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2) of the Communications Act 
of 1934, as Enacted by the Telecommunications Act of 1996: Access to 
Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications Equipment and Customer 
Premises Equipment by Persons with Disabilities; Telecommunications 
Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with 
Hearing and Speech Disabilities, Order (2008 TRS 711 Waiver Order) of 
the requirement that traditional telecommunications relay service (TRS) 
providers (those providing relay service via the public switched 
telephone network and a text telephone (TTY)) must automatically and 
immediately call an appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) 
when receiving an emergency 711-dialed call placed by an interconnected 
voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) user. In taking this action, the 
Commission grants, to the extent provided herein, the petition for 
extension of waiver filed by AT&T Inc. (AT&T) and Sprint Nextel 
Corporation (Sprint) with respect to traditional TRS providers' duty to 
automatically and immediately route emergency 711 calls that originate 
on the network of an interconnected VoIP provider.

DATES: Effective on April 1, 2009. Traditional TRS providers are 
granted a waiver until June 29, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Boehley, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-7395 (voice), or e-mail: 
Lisa.Boehley@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's 
document DA 09-749, adopted and released April 1, 2009. This document 
also contains a separate document seeking comment on issues raised by 
the petition for extension of waiver filed by AT&T and Sprint. The full 
text of this document and copies of any subsequently filed documents in 
this matter will be available for public inspection and copying during 
regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals 
II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. This 
document and copies of subsequently filed documents in this matter may 
also be purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor at 
Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. 
Customers may contact the Commission's duplicating contractor at their 
Web site: https://www.bcpiweb.com or call 1-800-378-3160. To request 
materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, 
large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to 
fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 
(202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). This document can also be 
downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at: https://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro.

Synopsis

    On June 15, 2007, the Commission released the Report and Order 
(VoIP TRS Order), published at 72 FR 43546, August 6, 2007, WC Docket 
No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 
92-105, FCC 07-110. In the VoIP TRS Order, the Commission extended its 
pre-existing TRS rules to interconnected VoIP providers, including the 
duty to offer 711 abbreviated dialing access to TRS. The VoIP TRS Order 
required interconnected VoIP providers to offer 711 abbreviated dialing 
``to ensure that TRS calls can be made from any telephone, anywhere in 
the United States, and that such calls will be properly routed to the 
appropriate relay center.''
    In the Order and Public Notice Seeking Comment (October 2007 Order 
and Notice), released on October 9, 2007, published at 72 FR 61813, 
November 1, 2007, and 72 FR 61882, November 1, 2007, WC Docket No. 04-
36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-
105, DA 07-4178, the Commission clarified the 711 abbreviated dialing 
requirement adopted in the VoIP TRS Order and granted interconnected 
VoIP providers a six-month waiver of the requirement to route the 
inbound leg of a 711-dialed call to an ``appropriate TRS provider,'' as 
defined by the Commission. The Commission also determined that the 
geographic location identification challenges associated with 
interconnected VoIP-originated 711 calls rendered traditional TRS 
providers unable to consistently identify the ``appropriate'' PSAP to 
which to route such calls. On this basis, the Commission found good 
cause to grant traditional TRS providers a six-month waiver of the 
obligation set forth in Sec.  64.604(a)(4) of its rules to 
automatically and immediately route the outbound leg of an 
interconnected VoIP-originated emergency 711 call to an ``appropriate'' 
PSAP.
    In the 2008 TRS 711 Waiver Order, released on April 4, 2008, 
published at 73 FR 28057, May 15, 2008, WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket 
No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105, DA 07-4178, 
the Commission granted interconnected VoIP providers an extension of 
time, until March 31, 2009, to route 711-dialed calls to an appropriate 
relay center, in the context of 711-dialed calls in which the calling 
party is using a non-geographically relevant telephone number or a 
nomadic interconnected VoIP service. The Commission also granted 
traditional TRS providers an extension of time,

[[Page 20893]]

until March 31, 2009, to fulfill their obligation to implement a system 
to automatically and immediately call an appropriate PSAP when 
receiving an emergency 711-dialed call via an interconnected VoIP 
service.
    In this document, the Commission extends for 90 days (until June 
29, 2009) the limited waiver granted to traditional TRS providers in 
the 2008 TRS 711 Waiver Order. In taking this action, the Commission 
grants, to the extent provided herein, the petition for extension of 
waiver filed by AT&T and Sprint from the requirement of Sec.  
64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules with respect to traditional TRS 
providers' duty to automatically and immediately route emergency 711 
calls that originate on the network of an interconnected VoIP provider. 
The Commission's reasons for extending the waiver are three-fold. 
First, petitioners note that the routing of the outbound leg of an 
interconnected VoIP-originated, 711-dialed call to an appropriate PSAP 
by a TRS provider continues to present significant technical and 
operational challenges. Second, to the extent that interconnected VoIP 
providers are only recently able to consistently deliver the inbound 
leg of a 711-dialed call to the appropriate relay center, the 
Commission agrees that implementation of a solution to allow TRS 
providers to properly route emergency 711-dialed VoIP calls will take 
additional time beyond the March 31, 2009 deadline for interconnected 
VoIP providers. Third, as the petition reflects, addressing these 
challenges requires further collaboration among a variety of 
stakeholders including TRS providers, interconnected VoIP providers and 
their vendors, PSAPs, the emergency services community, and the 
consumers. In light of the foregoing, the Commission finds good cause 
to grant traditional TRS providers an extension of the current waiver 
of Sec.  64.604(a)(4) of its rules until June 29, 2009.
    During the period of this waiver, a traditional TRS provider that 
cannot automatically and immediately route to an appropriate PSAP the 
outbound leg of an emergency 711 call placed via TTY by an 
interconnected VoIP user, as required by Sec.  64.604(a)(4) of the 
Commission's rules, must maintain a manual system for doing so, to the 
extent feasible, that accomplishes the proper routing of emergency 711 
calls as efficiently as possible. Further, during this period, 
traditional TRS providers must take steps to remind individuals with 
hearing or speech disabilities to dial 911 directly (as a text-to-text, 
TTY-to-TTY call) in an emergency, whether using a PSTN-based service or 
interconnected VoIP service, rather than making a TRS call via 711 in 
an emergency. Finally, the Commission expects traditional TRS providers 
to continue their collaboration with industry stakeholders in order to 
address any remaining issues, such that a further extension of this 
waiver will be unnecessary.
    Based on the record, the Commission allows the waiver relief 
previously granted to interconnected VoIP providers of the requirement 
to route 711-dialed calls to an appropriate relay center to expire 
after the March 31, 2009 deadline. Accordingly, interconnected VoIP 
providers will be required to properly route all 711-dialed calls to an 
appropriate relay center (i.e., the relay center serving the state in 
which the caller is geographically located or that corresponds to the 
caller's last registered address). Given that compliance issues remain 
with respect to traditional TRS providers' handling and routing of the 
outbound leg of emergency 711 VoIP calls, interconnected VoIP 
providers, however, must continue to take steps to remind persons with 
speech or hearing disabilities to dial 911 directly (as a TTY-to-TTY 
call), rather than dialing 711 (as a relay call), in the event of an 
emergency.

Ordering Clauses

    Pursuant to Sections 1, 2, and 225 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, and 225, and Sections 0.141, 
0.361, and 1.3 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.141, 0.316 and 1.3, 
document DA 09-749 is adopted.
    Traditional TRS providers are granted an extension of time, until 
June 29, 2009, to implement a system, as set forth in Sec.  
64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 64.604(a)(4), to 
automatically and immediately call an appropriate PSAP when receiving 
an emergency 711-dialed call via an interconnected VoIP service.
    The Petition of AT&T and Sprint Nextel for Extension of Waiver is 
granted to the extent provided herein.

Federal Communications Commission.
Catherine Seidel,
Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E9-10502 Filed 5-5-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P