Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Waiver of iTRS Mandatory Minimum Standards, 62875-62883 [2014-24532]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Rules and Regulations
62875
FIRE SUPPRESSION AND EXPLOSION PROTECTION—Continued
End-use
Substitute
Decision
Further information
—the appropriate safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) (e.g., protective gloves, tightly sealed
goggles, protective work clothing, and particulate-removing respirators with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health type N95 or better filters)
consistent with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines should be used during manufacture, installation, servicing, and disposal
of total flooding systems using the agent;
—adequate ventilation should be in place to reduce airborne exposure to constituents of agent;
—an eye wash fountain and quick drench facility should
be close to the production area;
—training for safe handling procedures should be provided to all employees that would be likely to handle
containers of the agent or extinguishing units filled
with the agent;
—workers responsible for clean up should allow for
maximum settling of all particulates before reentering
area and wear appropriate personal protective equipment; and
—all spills should be cleaned up immediately in accordance with good industrial hygiene practices.
As required by the manufacturer, units installed in normally
occupied spaces will be equipped with features such as a
system-isolate switch and cross-zone detection system to
reduce risk of accidental activation of an agent generator
while persons are present in the protected space. Also required by the manufacturer is warning of pending discharge and delay in release to ensure egress prior to activation of the agent to reduce the risk of exposure.
See additional comments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
1. The EPA recommends that users consult Section VIII of the OSHA Technical Manual for information on selecting the appropriate types of
personal protective equipment for all listed fire suppression agents. The EPA has no intention of duplicating or displacing OSHA coverage related
to the use of personal protective equipment (e.g., respiratory protection), fire protection, hazard communication, worker training or any other occupational safety and health standard with respect to halon substitutes.
2. Use of all listed fire suppression agents should conform to relevant OSHA requirements, including 29 CFR part 1910, subpart L, sections
1910.160 and 1910.162.
3. Per OSHA requirements, protective gear (SCBA) should be available in the event personnel should reenter the area.
4. Discharge testing should be strictly limited to that which is essential to meet safety or performance requirements.
5. The agent should be recovered from the fire protection system in conjunction with testing or servicing, and recycled for later use or
destroyed.
[FR Doc. 2014–24989 Filed 10–20–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[CG Docket No. 03–123; FCC 14–125]
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Telecommunications Relay Services
and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals With Hearing and Speech
Disabilities; Waiver of iTRS Mandatory
Minimum Standards
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
In this document, the
Commission eliminates certain waivers
of the telecommunications relay service
(TRS) requirements that are no longer
necessary, given advances in
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:03 Oct 20, 2014
Jkt 235001
communications technology. At the
same time, it extends certain existing
waivers of mandatory minimum
standards for specific providers for
which the provision of certain TRS
features is technologically infeasible at
this time. The Commission also
eliminates certain TRS requirements
that are either not applicable or
technically not feasible, while ensuring
that TRS consumers continue to have
access to communications services that
are functionally equivalent to voice
telephone services. Lastly, the
Commission eliminates an annual
reporting requirement for TRS
providers. These actions provide
regulatory clarity and reduce
administrative burdens on both TRS
providers and the Commission and
ensure that the TRS mandatory
minimum standards are applicable and
technologically appropriate for each
type of TRS.
PO 00000
Frm 00079
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
Effective December 22, 2014,
except for terminations of waivers of
§§ 64.604(a)(3)(vi)(B) and (C) of the
Commission’s rules, which shall
become effective on October 21, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eliot
Greenwald, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability
Rights Office, at (202) 418–2235 or
email Eliot.Greenwald@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a
summary of the Commission’s
Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities; Waiver of iTRS Mandatory
Minimum Standards Report and Order
and Order, (Order), document FCC 14–
125, adopted on August 20, 2014, and
released on August 22, 2014, in CG
Docket No. 03–123. In document FCC
14–125, the Commission also seeks
comment in an accompanying Further
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(FNPRM), which is summarized in a
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\21OCR1.SGM
21OCR1
62876
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Rules and Regulations
separate Federal Register publication.
The full text of document FCC 14–125
will be available for public inspection
and copying via ECFS, and during
regular business hours at the FCC
Reference Information Center, Portals II,
445 12th Street SW., Room CY–A257,
Washington, DC 20554. It also may be
purchased from the Commission’s
duplicating contractor, Best Copy and
Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th Street
SW., Room CY–B402, Washington, DC
20554, telephone: (800) 378–3160, fax:
(202) 488–5563, or Internet:
www.bcpiweb.com. Document FCC 14–
125 can also be downloaded in Word or
Portable Document Format (PDF) at:
https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/
disability-rights-office-headlines. To
request materials in accessible formats
for people with disabilities (Braille,
large print, electronic files, audio
format), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov
or call the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at 202–418–0530 (voice),
202–418–0432 (TTY).
Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
Analysis
Document FCC 14–125 does not
contain new or modified information
collection requirements subject to the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, Public Law 104–13. In addition,
therefore, it does not contain any new
or modified information collection
burden for small business concerns with
fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to
the Small Business Paperwork Relief
Act of 2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(4).
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Congressional Review Act
The Commission will send a copy of
document FCC 14–125 in a report to be
sent to Congress and the Governmental
Accountability Office pursuant to the
Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C.
801(a)(1)(A).
Synopsis
1. Telecommunications Relay
Services. Title IV of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requires
the Commission to ensure that TRS is
available to enable a person with a
hearing or speech disability to
communicate with other telephone
users in a manner that is functionally
equivalent to voice communications
service to the extent possible and in the
most efficient manner. In accordance
with this directive, the Commission’s
rules contain functional requirements,
operations procedures and mandatory
minimum standards to ensure the
provision of functionally equivalent
relay service. See 47 CFR 64.604. Many
of these standards were adopted in the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:03 Oct 20, 2014
Jkt 235001
1990s, at a time when there was only
one form of TRS transmitted over the
public switched telephone network
(PSTN)—TTY-to-voice relay service. A
text telephone, or TTY, is a text device
that employs graphic communication in
the transmission of coded signals
through a wire or radio communication
system. In a TTY-to-voice relay call, a
communications assistant (CA) relays
the call between parties by converting
everything that the text caller with a
hearing or speech disability types into
voice for the hearing party and typing
everything that the voice user responds
back to the person with a disability.
From 2000 to 2007, in light of advancing
communication technologies and
Internet-based innovations, the
Commission recognized other forms of
TRS as eligible for compensation from
the Interstate Telecommunications
Relay Service Fund (TRS Fund of
Fund), including Captioned Telephone
Service (CTS) and three forms of
Internet-based TRS (iTRS): Video Relay
Service (VRS), Internet Protocol Relay
Service (IP Relay), and Internet Protocol
Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS).
CTS permits people who can speak, but
who have difficulty hearing over the
telephone to simultaneously listen to
the other party and read captions of
what that party is saying. VRS allows
people with hearing or speech
disabilities who use sign language to
communicate with voice telephone
users over a broadband Internet
connection using video equipment and
a CA who relays the conversation back
and forth by signing what the voice
telephone user says to the deaf or hard
of hearing user and responding in voice
to the voice telephone user. IP Relay
permits people with hearing or speech
disabilities to communicate in text
using an Internet Protocol-enabled
device via the Internet. With IP CTS, the
connection carrying the captions
between the relay service provider and
the relay service user is via the Internet,
rather than through the PSTN. Today
iTRS account for more than 90% of the
total relay service minutes reimbursed
from the Fund.
2. Waivers Granted for iTRS and CTS.
The Commission’s mandatory minimum
standards are intended to ensure that
the user experience when making TRS
calls is comparable to a voice user’s
experience when making conventional
telephone calls. Over the years,
however, the Commission has granted
TRS providers waivers of certain TRS
mandatory minimum standards that
were deemed either technologically
infeasible for or inapplicable to a
particular form of TRS. The waivers
PO 00000
Frm 00080
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
granted for IP CTS and Captioned
Telephone Service (CTS) have been
issued for indefinite periods, while most
waivers granted for VRS and IP Relay
have been limited in duration. See
Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, CG Docket No. 03–123,
Declaratory Ruling (IP CTS Declaratory
Ruling); published at 72 FR 6960,
February 14, 2007; Telecommunications
Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech
Services for Individuals with Hearing
and Speech Disabilities, CC Docket No.
98–67, Waiver Order (2001 VRS Waiver
Order); Provision of Improved
Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities; Petition for Clarification of
WorldCom, Inc., CC Docket No. 98–67,
Declaratory Ruling (IP Relay Declaratory
Ruling); published at 67 FR 39863, June
11, 2002. Generally, the limitedduration waivers have been renewed
periodically—in recent years on an
annual basis. The Commission has
conditioned many of the waivers on the
filing of annual waiver reports in which
providers are expected to detail their
progress in achieving compliance with
the underlying mandatory minimum
standards.
3. TRS Waiver NPRM. On November
19, 2009, Hamilton Relay, Inc., AT&T,
Inc., CSDVRS, LLC, Sorenson
Communications, Inc., Sprint Nextel
Corporation, and Purple
Communications, Inc. (Petitioners) filed
a ‘‘Request for Extension and
Clarification of Various iTRS Waivers’’
(Hamilton Joint Request), requesting
that the Commission extend indefinitely
all iTRS waivers of limited duration and
provide clarification on what Petitioners
claim are discrepancies in some of the
waivers. In September 2013, the
Commission released a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking to take an indepth look at the merits of making
permanent or eliminating the waivers
addressed in the Hamilton Joint
Request, as well as waivers granted for
CTS. Telecommunications Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services
for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities; Waivers of iTRS Mandatory
Minimum Standards, CG Docket No.
03–123, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(TRS Waiver NPRM); published at 78 FR
63152, October 23, 2103. Specifically,
the Commission sought public comment
on the continuing need for, and
technical feasibility and applicability of,
the rules underlying each of these
waivers as these rules apply to certain
types of TRS.
E:\FR\FM\21OCR1.SGM
21OCR1
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Rules and Regulations
4. Generally, the Commission sought
input on the technological feasibility of
compliance with, as well as the
consumer need for, its waived
mandatory minimum standards. The
Commission divided the waivers
addressed in its TRS Waiver NPRM into
two categories, with the first group
consisting of waivers for standards
mandating the inclusion of features and
functions available with voice telephone
service in TRS, and the second group
consisting of waivers for standards
mandating the provision of specific
communication services needed by
people with speech or hearing
disabilities. With respect to waivers that
were limited in duration, the
Commission sought comment on
whether to exempt specified iTRS
providers from the underlying waived
mandatory minimum standards on a
permanent basis, if they were
determined to be inapplicable to the
specified iTRS providers. Similarly, for
waivers that were already of unlimited
duration, the Commission sought
comment on whether it should amend
its rules to codify these as exemptions.
5. Mandatory Minimum Standards for
Features and Functions of Voice
Telephone Service. The first group of
waived mandatory minimum standards
relates to features and functions that are
available with voice telephone service,
including the types-of-calls
requirement, equal access to
interexchange carriers, pay-per-call
(900) calls, three-way calling, and speed
dialing. Each of these issues are
addressed in turn.
6. Types-of-Calls Requirement. The
Commission exempts iTRS providers
from the types-of-calls requirement—to
the extent that this standard requires
providers to offer specific billing
options traditionally offered for wireline
voice services—so long as iTRS
providers allow for long distance calls
to be placed using calling cards or credit
cards or do not charge for long distance
service. Commission rules require TRS
providers to be capable of handling any
type of call normally provided by
telecommunications carriers unless the
Commission determines that it is not
technologically feasible to do so. 47 CFR
64.604(a)(3)(ii). This requirement has
been waived on a limited-duration basis
for IP Relay and VRS providers (but not
for IP CTS providers) to the extent that
it requires providers to offer specific
billing options, including ‘‘operatorassisted’’ billing, such as collect, calling
card, and third party billing, as well as
sent-paid billing for long distance calls.
As a condition of this waiver, the
Commission, and subsequently the
Consumer and Governmental Affairs
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:03 Oct 20, 2014
Jkt 235001
Bureau, required that VRS and IP Relay
providers allow users to place long
distance calls using calling cards or
without charging users for such calls.
7. The Commission concludes that
compliance with this mandatory
minimum standard is not necessary to
provide functionally equivalent
telephone services for iTRS users and
would not be cost effective or efficient,
because it would be more costly to
providers to establish a billing
mechanism in order to bill for these
calls than to handle them without
billing consumers, as is providers’
current practice. The types-of-calls
requirement, adopted more than 20
years ago, was intended to ensure that
certain billing options, including
operator-assisted billing, that were
available to voice telephone users in a
PSTN-based environment would be
similarly available to users of TTY-tovoice relay services. However, given the
technological changes that have taken
place over the past two decades,
including the development of Internetbased forms of TRS, iTRS consumers do
not need the same billing options that
users who access relay services via the
PSTN require. Accordingly, so long as
iTRS providers allow consumers to use
calling cards or credit cards or do not
charge for long distance service, the
Commission exempts all forms of iTRS
from the types-of-calls requirement to
the extent that the standard requires
providers to offer the billing options
traditionally offered for wireline voice
services, and amends its rules
accordingly.
8. Equal Access to Interexchange
Carriers. The Commission exempts iTRS
providers from the equal access to
interexchange carriers requirement so
long as they do not charge for long
distance service. The Commission’s
rules require TRS providers to offer
consumers access to their interexchange
carrier of choice to the same extent that
such access is provided to voice users.
47 CFR 64.604(b)(3). The Commission
waived this requirement indefinitely for
IP Relay and IP CTS, IP Relay
Declaratory Ruling, IP CTS Declaratory
Ruling, and on a limited-duration basis
for VRS providers, Telecommunications
Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech
Services for Individuals with Hearing
and Speech Disabilities; E911
Requirements for IP-Enabled Service
Providers, CG Docket No. 03–123, WC
Docket No. 05–196, Waiver Order, (2012
TRS Waiver Order), contingent on iTRS
providers offering long distance service
without charge.
9. The Commission exempts iTRS
providers from the equal access to
interexchange carriers requirement so
PO 00000
Frm 00081
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
62877
long as iTRS providers do not charge for
long distance service. First, the equal
access to interexchange carriers
requirement is not necessary to provide
functionally equivalent telephone
services for iTRS users so long as iTRS
providers do not charge for long
distance service. Consumers derive no
value from equal access to long distance
carriers where they do not pay longdistance charges for iTRS calls and,
consequently, have no interest in price
shopping for a long-distance provider.
Finally, it is not feasible for iTRS
providers to implement networking and
routing solutions to allow iTRS users to
choose their carriers. For these reasons,
the Commission concludes that the
equal access to interexchange carriers
requirement is not necessary for iTRS
providers and therefore exempt iTRS
providers that do not charge for long
distance service from this requirement.
10. Pay-Per-Call (900) calls. The
Commission exempts iTRS providers
from the requirement for TRS providers
to be capable of handling pay-per-call
(i.e., 900-number) calls. Although the
Commission’s rules generally require
TRS providers to be capable of handling
pay-per-call calls, 47 CFR
64.604(a)(3)(iv), ,the Commission has
previously waived this requirement
indefinitely for IP CTS providers in the
IP CTS Declaratory Ruling, and on a
limited-duration basis for IP Relay and
VRS providers because no billing
mechanism has been available to handle
the charges associated with pay-per-call
calls. See Provision of Improved
Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98–67, Order
on Reconsideration, (IP Relay Order on
Reconsideration); published at 68 FR
50973, August 25, 20013; 2012 TRS
Waiver Order.
11. The Commission exempts iTRS
providers from handling pay-per-call
calls. The Commission bases its
decision on the fact that, as holds true
for the types-of-calls and equal
interexchange access requirements
discussed above, the pay-per-call
requirement presupposes a billing
relationship, or the ability to establish a
billing relationship with iTRS users that
providers presently do not have. The
Commission is persuaded that requiring
providers to establish such a billing
relationship in order to provide pay-percall calls would not be efficient given its
high price tag and the very small
demand for pay-per-call calls over TRS.
12. Three-Way Calling. The
Commission terminates the indefinite
waiver for IP CTS providers of the
Commission’s three-way calling
E:\FR\FM\21OCR1.SGM
21OCR1
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
62878
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Rules and Regulations
requirement. The Commission’s rules
require TRS providers to provide threeway calling functionality, 47 CFR
64.604(a)(3)(vi)(3), which allows more
than two parties to be on the telephone
line at the same time with the CA. 47
CFR 64.601(a)(34). The Commission
granted IP CTS providers an indefinite
waiver of the three-way calling
requirement when it approved IP CTS as
a form of reimbursable TRS. Because the
record demonstrates that IP CTS
providers are capable of offering threeway calling functionality, the
Commission hereby terminates the
indefinite waiver of the Commission’s
three-way calling requirement
previously granted to IP CTS providers.
13. Speed Dialing. The Commission
terminates the indefinite waiver for IP
CTS providers of the Commission’s
speed dialing requirement. The
Commission’s rules require TRS
providers to provide speed dialing
functionality, which allows a TRS user
to use a ‘‘short-hand’’ name or number
for the user’s most frequently called
telephone numbers. 47 CFR
64.604(a)(3)(vi)(2). This permits users to
place calls without having to remember
or locate the number they want to call.
In the IP CTS Declaratory Ruling, the
Commission granted IP CTS providers
an indefinite waiver of the speed dialing
requirement, contingent on the
providers filing annual reports
addressing the waiver.
14. The Commission now terminates
the indefinite waiver for IP CTS
providers of the Commission’s speed
dialing requirement. The Commission
recognizes that IP CTS users may dial
calls before being connected to a CA.
Accordingly, IP CTS providers will be
permitted to fulfill the speed dialing
requirement contained in the
Commission’s rules by offering speed
dialing capability through users’ iTRS
access technology, such as through onetouch dialing. As a result, IP CTS
providers need not offer a feature that
allows a TRS user to communicate the
speed dial ‘‘short hand’’ name or
number directly to the CA in the context
of an IP CTS call to comply with this
requirement.
15. Mandatory Minimum Standards to
Provide Specific TRS Features. The
second group of waivers relates to
standards mandating the provision of
specific communication services needed
by people with disabilities, including
voice carryover (VCO), hearing
carryover (HCO), text to voice and voice
to text, speech-to-speech (STS), ASCII/
Baudot, and call release. Each of these
are addressed in turn.
16. VCO and HCO. The Commission
concludes that certain iTRS providers
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:03 Oct 20, 2014
Jkt 235001
must provide some, but not all, forms of
VCO and HCO. With VCO, a deaf or
hard of hearing person who is able to
speak communicates by voice directly to
the other party to the call without
intervention by the CA, and the CA
relays the other party’s voice response
as text or in sign language. 47 CFR
64.601(a)(42) (defining VCO in the
context of TTY-based relay service).
With HCO, a person who has a speech
disability, but who is able to hear,
listens directly to the other party’s voice
without intervention by the CA, and in
reply has the CA convert his or her
typed or signed responses into voice. 47
CFR 64.601(a)(13) (defining HCO in the
context of TTY-based relay service).
There are multiple forms of both VCO
and HCO. The Commission has granted
fixed-duration waivers for VRS and IP
Relay of all of the VCO and HCO
mandatory minimum standards except
two-line VCO and two-line HCO, based
on providers’ representations that
Internet connections are unable to
deliver voice and data over a single line
with the necessary quality. See
Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, CC Docket Nos. 90–571, 98–
67, CG Docket No. 03–123, Report and
Order, Order on Reconsideration (2004
TRS Report and Order); published at 69
FR 53346, September 1, 2004 (extending
the one-line VCO and HCO waivers to
VRS); see also IP Relay Declaratory
Ruling (initially waiving the one-line
VCO requirement for IP Relay for a
period of one year); IP Relay Order on
Reconsideration, (extending the one-line
VCO waiver for five years and
approving a waiver for one-line HCO for
the same period, based on provider
representations that the same
technological obstacles exist for HCO as
for VCO); Telecommunications Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services
for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities; Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990, CC Docket No. 98–67, CG
Docket No. 03–123, Second Report and
Order, Order on Reconsideration, (2003
TRS Report and Order), published at 68
FR 50973, August 25, 2003 (extending
the waiver for IP Relay and VRS
providers to VCO-to-TTY, HCO-to-TTY,
VCO-to-VCO, and HCO-to-HCO types of
TRS calls). The Commission also
previously granted indefinite waivers of
all of the VCO and HCO mandatory
minimum standards for IP CTS. See IP
CTS Declaratory Ruling. Finally, the
Commission previously granted an
indefinite waiver of its mandatory
minimum standards addressing HCO for
CTS. See Telecommunications Relay
PO 00000
Frm 00082
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
Services, and Speech-to-Speech Services
for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98–67,
Declaratory Ruling (CTS Declaratory
Ruling); published at 68 FR 55898,
September 29, 2003.
17. One-line VCO and one-line HCO
for VRS Providers. The Commission
generally will allow the existing waivers
for one-line VCO and one-line HCO for
VRS providers to expire, although the
Commission extends for one year a
waiver of the requirement to offer oneline VCO and one-line HCO for VRS
providers ASL Services Holdings, LLC
(ASL Services) and Hancock, Jahn, Lee
and Puckett, LLC d/b/a
Communications Axess Ability Group
(CAAG), as discussed below.
18. Because commenters confirm that
it is now technologically feasible for
VRS providers to offer their users oneline VCO and one-line HCO capabilities,
the Commission declines Petitioners’
original request to exempt all VRS
providers from these mandatory
minimum standards, and terminates the
current waiver for these required
features December 22, 2014. VRS
providers may meet this obligation so
long as they provide, upon a consumer’s
request for an equipment upgrade, at
least one form of iTRS access
technology that supports one-line VCO
and one-line HCO. In other words, VRS
providers need not support one-line
VCO and one-line HCO in every version
of the iTRS access technology that they
distribute. Rather, VRS providers that
provide at least one form of iTRS access
technology that supports one-line VCO
and one-line HCO will be in compliance
with the mandatory minimum standard
for one-line VCO and one-line HCO.
This will allow the continued use of
legacy VRS hardware for consumers
who wish to keep their devices and who
do not wish to use one-line versions of
VCO or HCO.
19. In addition, the Commission
waives the requirement for VRS
providers to support one-line VCO and
one-line HCO on VRS access technology
distributed by another provider until the
release of a Public Notice by the
Commission indicating that the SIP
standards-development process for VRS
has progressed to the point where
support for one-line VCO and one-line
HCO on VRS access technology
distributed by another provider is
possible or the VRS access technology
reference platform is implemented,
whichever comes first.
20. VRS providers’ limited ability to
provide one-line VCO and one-line HCO
using other providers’ iTRS access
technology due to the lack of standards
for signaling the user’s one-line VCO or
E:\FR\FM\21OCR1.SGM
21OCR1
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Rules and Regulations
HCO preferences will be resolved once
the SIP standards-development process
for VRS has progressed to the point
where support for one-line VCO and
one-line HCO on VRS access technology
distributed by another provider is
possible or the VRS access technology
reference platform is implemented. The
Commission has ordered the
development of a VRS access
technology reference platform to ‘‘allow
providers to ensure that any VRS access
technology they develop or deploy is
fully compliant with [the Commission’s]
interoperability and portability
requirements.’’ Structure and Practices
of the Video Relay Service Program;
Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 10–51, 03–
123, Report and Order and Further
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, (VRS
Reform Order), published at 78 FR
40582, July 5, 2013, and at 78 FR 40407,
July 5, 2013. Once the VRS access
technology reference platform is tested
and available for use, the Commission
has explained that no VRS provider
shall be compensated for minutes of use
generated by the provider’s VRS access
technologies that are found to be noninteroperable with the reference
platform. The Commission will release
a Public Notice announcing the
completion of the VRS access
technology reference platform or the
progression of the SIP standards
development process to the point where
support for one-line VCO and one-line
HCO on VRS access technology
distributed by another provider is
possible, and the resulting termination
of this waiver.
21. Although the Commission
terminates the current, broadlyapplicable waivers for one-line VCO and
one-line HCO for VRS providers
generally, the Commission extends for
one year the waiver of these
requirements for two VRS providers,
ASL Services and CAAG. The
Commission finds that neither ASL
Services nor CAAG distribute hardware
VRS access technology, that the current
version of the software that ASL
Services and CAAG distribute does not
support one-line HCO or one-line VCO,
and that the next version of their
respective software is expected to have
this capability. While covered by the
prior waivers, ASL Services and CAAG
nonetheless have engaged in efforts to
develop solutions to provide these TRS
features, as evidenced by their
commitment to meet these mandatory
minimum standards within one year.
Based on the Joint Providers’ statement
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:03 Oct 20, 2014
Jkt 235001
that ASL Services and CAAG will be
technically capable of offering their
users these capabilities within one year,
the Commission concludes that a waiver
of this limited duration is appropriate.
22. Two VRS providers, Sorenson and
Purple ask that the Commission confirm
that their specific implementation of
one-line VCO and one-line HCO meets
the mandatory minimum standards for
one-line VCO and one-line HCO.
Sorenson explains that because not all
interpreter stations are capable of
supporting one-line VCO and HCO,
deaf-to-hearing single-line VCO and
HCO calls are routed to interpreting
stations capable of handling those calls.
The Commission confirms that this
method of handling one-line VCO and
one-line HCO calls satisfies the
mandatory minimum standards for oneline VCO and one-line HCO. The oneline VCO and one-line HCO routing
process described by Sorenson routes
the call based on technical capability to
handle the call, not the skill of the CA.
Accordingly, the Commission concludes
that Sorenson’s method of
implementing one-line VCO and oneline HCO does not use skill-based
routing and meets the mandatory
minimum standards for the provision of
one-line VCO and one-line HCO.
23. One-line VCO and one-line HCO
for IP Relay Providers. The Commission
exempts IP Relay providers from the
requirement to offer one-line VCO and
one-line HCO. The Commission is
persuaded that the significant
engineering changes necessary to
support one-line HCO and one-line VCO
would not be practical given the current
level of demand for one-line VCO or
HCO. The Commission also agrees that
because alternatives, such as IP CTS, are
available to take the place of one-line
VCO and HCO used in conjunction with
IP Relay, the significant time and
resources that would be associated with
creating these features over IP Relay is
not justified. As a result, the
Commission amends its rules to exempt
IP Relay providers from the requirement
to offer one-line VCO and one-line HCO.
24. VCO-to-TTY and HCO-to-TTY for
VRS and IP Relay Providers. The
Commission exempts VRS and IP Relay
providers from the requirement to offer
VCO-to-TTY and HCO-to-TTY. The
Commission concludes that the
provision of these features is not
necessary to achieve functionally
equivalent telephone service in the most
efficient manner. This conclusion is
reinforced by the low to non-existent
demand for VCO-to-TTY and HCO-toTTY using VRS and IP Relay reported
by providers and the lack of consumer
comment in support of applying these
PO 00000
Frm 00083
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
62879
TRS features. Moreover, with so little
interest by the user community in
accessing these services and the
impracticality of providing such calls,
the Commission concludes that it would
not be an efficient use of TRS resources
to require VRS and IP Relay providers
to develop a solution to enable them.
Accordingly, the Commission amends
its rules to exempt VRS and IP Relay
providers from the requirement to offer
VCO-to-TTY and HCO-to-TTY.
25. VCO-to-VCO and HCO-to-HCO for
VRS and IP Relay Providers. In 2003,
the Commission adopted, with little
discussion, minimum standards
mandating the provision of HCO-toHCO and VCO-to-VCO calls by TRS
providers. 2003 TRS Report and Order.
Upon further analysis, the Commission
eliminates the VCO-to-VCO and HCOto-HCO requirements with respect to
VRS and IP Relay providers. The
Commission’s rules define VCO as a
form of TRS where the person with the
hearing disability is able to speak
directly to the other end user. The CA
types the response back to the person
with the hearing disability. 47 CFR
64.601(a)(42) (emphasis added).
Similarly, the Commission’s rules
define HCO as a form of TRS where the
person with the speech disability is able
to listen to the other end user and, in
reply, the CA speaks the text as typed
by the person with the speech disability.
47 CFR 64.601(a)(13) (emphasis added).
Under these definitions, if two
individuals were to use VCO or two
individuals were to use HCO in the
context of VRS or IP Relay services, then
both would have to be able to speak as
well as hear what the other party is
saying, and a CA would not be
necessary to provide functionally
equivalent communication. For
example, if individuals were to make a
VCO-to-VCO call, they would be
speaking directly to each other, and
thus, the call would not require a CA.
The same would hold true in an HCOto-HCO call, in which both parties
would be able to hear each other.
Because HCO-to-HCO calls and VCO-toVCO calls make use of CAs, but with the
exception of CTS and IP CTS, do not
require CAs for functionally equivalent
communication, the Commission finds
they should not be compensable relay
calls. Therefore, the Commission
concludes that the handling of HCO-toHCO and VCO-to-VCO calls by VRS and
IP Relay providers, to the extent that
such calls would result in point-to-point
calls for which a CA is involved even
though not needed, is not required and
thus not compensable from the TRS
Fund.
E:\FR\FM\21OCR1.SGM
21OCR1
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
62880
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Rules and Regulations
26. HCO for CTS and IP CTS
Providers. As noted above, IP CTS
providers already have an indefinite
waiver of all of the HCO mandatory
minimum standards. In addition, an
indefinite waiver of the Commission’s
mandatory minimum standards
addressing HCO already is in place for
CTS providers. The Commission now
exempts IP CTS and CTS providers from
all of the HCO mandatory minimum
standards, because it concludes that
these TRS features are not applicable to
captioned telephone-based relay
services. CTS and IP CTS are a form of
VCO in that they enable a person with
hearing loss to speak directly to the
other party to the call and to receive the
text of the other party’s response. HCO
involves particular functionalities that
do not apply to captioned telephone
calls because HCO users rely on the CA
to speak the text as typed, but do not
rely on printed text as the HCO user can
hear the called party’s response. In
contrast, when using CTS, a person with
some residual hearing can speak to the
other party and in return both listen to
what the other party is saying and read
text of what that party is saying.
Accordingly, CTS is simply not able to
handle HCO relay calls. For similar
reasons, the Commission has also
exempted providers that offer the
Internet-based form of CTS from the
requirement to provide HCO services.
Because the defining characteristics of
CTS and IP CTS make requirements for
HCO, two-line HCO, HCO-to-TTY, and
HCO-to-HCO inapplicable to CTS and IP
CTS, the Commission exempts IP CTS
and CTS providers from these
mandatory minimum standards.
27. VCO for CTS and IP CTS
Providers. The Commission has
previously granted IP CTS providers
indefinite waivers for all of the VCO
mandatory minimum standards. The
Commission has not previously waived
any of the mandatory minimum
standards relating to VCO for CTS
providers. The Commission now
concludes that waivers for the
requirements to provide two-line VCO
and VCO-to-TTY for IP CTS providers
are unnecessary because IP CTS already
is a form of VCO. However, because IP
CTS typically involves two lines, i.e., a
telephone line and an IP line, the
Commission does not find it efficient to
require IP CTS providers to provide oneline VCO, and amends its rules to
exempt them from that requirement. For
the same reason that waivers of the VCO
requirements are unnecessary for IP CTS
providers—i.e., because CTS is a form of
VCO—the Commission concludes that
waivers for the provision of one-line
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:03 Oct 20, 2014
Jkt 235001
VCO, two-line VCO, and VCO-to-TTY
are unnecessary for CTS providers.
28. With respect to VCO-to-VCO, the
Commission concludes that calls
between two captioned telephone relay
users are essentially a form of VCO-toVCO and, accordingly, that a waiver of
the VCO-to-VCO requirement is
unnecessary for IP CTS and CTS
providers. The Commission agrees that
the use of multiple CAs currently is
necessary to complete calls between two
captioned telephone relay users.
Specifically, each captioned telephone
user must communicate through an
individual CA, who re-voices what the
other party says to that user. Similarly,
the use of multiple CAs currently is
necessary for captioned telephone-toTTY calls and captioned telephone-toVRS calls. Captioned telephone-to-TTY
calls and captioned telephone-to-VRS
calls require one CA to voice what the
TTY or VRS user says to the captioned
telephone user (which the captioned
telephone user hears using residual
hearing) and to type or sign what the
captioned telephone relay user says to
the TTY or VRS user, as well as another
CA to re-voice what the TTY or VRS
user says, through the TTY or VRS CA,
to the captioned telephone user (which
the captioned telephone user reads on
his or her device). Because these calls
currently cannot be completed without
the use of multiple CAs, the
Commission now amends its rules to
make clear that compensation from the
TRS Fund is allowed for such calls.
29. Text-to-Voice and Voice-to-Text.
The Commission amends 47 CFR
64.604(a)(3)(v) to exempt VRS providers
from providing text-to-voice and voiceto-text functionality and to exempt CTS
and IP CTS providers from providing
text-to-voice. VRS allows people with
hearing or speech disabilities who use
sign language to communicate with
voice telephone users through video
equipment. A VRS user, through a CA,
speaks to the called party using sign
language and receives the called party’s
response in sign language. Accordingly,
text-to-voice, in which the user types
his or her message and has it read aloud
by the CA, and voice-to-text, in which
the user receives the called party’s
message as text, is not compatible with
VRS, a service based on sign language.
As a result, the Commission exempts
VRS providers from the requirement to
provide text-to-voice and voice-to-text.
In addition, for the reasons discussed
above—i.e., that CTS and IP CTS are
forms of VCO—the Commission finds
that text-to-voice is inapplicable to CTS
and IP CTS. By their nature, CTS and IP
CTS allow the user to speak directly to
the called party. Throughout a CTS and
PO 00000
Frm 00084
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
IP CTS call, the CA is completely
transparent and does not participate in
the call by voicing any part of the
conversation. As a result, text-to-voice,
which requires the CA to re-voice text
typed by the TRS user, is incompatible
with CTS and IP CTS. The Commission
therefore exempts CTS and IP CTS
providers from this standard.
30. STS. The Commission exempts
VRS, IP Relay, IP CTS, and CTS
providers from the STS requirement.
The Commission’s rules mandate the
provision of STS by common carriers
providing telephone voice transmission
services. 47 CFR 64.603. The
Commission has waived this
requirement on a limited-duration basis
for IP Relay providers and indefinitely
for CTS, IP CTS, and VRS providers. IP
Relay Declaratory Ruling; CTS
Declaratory Ruling; IP CTS Declaratory
Ruling; Telecommunications Services
for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities; Recommended TRS Cost
Recovery Guidelines; Request by
Hamilton Telephone Company for
Clarification and Temporary Waivers,
CC Docket No. 98–67, Memorandum
Opinion and Order (2001 TRS Order);
published at 67 FR 4203, January 29,
2002.
31. STS is inapplicable to VRS, IP
Relay, IP CTS, and CTS. Specifically,
STS is purely speech-based, while IP
Relay, CTS and IP CTS require the CA
to provide communication in text, and,
under the Commission’s current rules,
VRS requires the CA to provide
communication in sign language. 47
CFR 64.601(a)(40). Because there are no
speech capabilities in the relay leg of
these text and video based forms of TRS,
the Commission concludes that IP
Relay, VRS, IP CTS, and CTS providers
should be exempt from the requirement
to offer STS, and amends its rules
accordingly.
32. ASCII/Baudot. The Commission
exempts iTRS, CTS and STS providers
from the ASCII/Baudot requirement.
The Commission’s rules require TRS
providers to support communications
using the American Standard Code for
Information Interexchange (ASCII) and
Baudot formats, at any speed generally
in use. 47 CFR 64.601(a)(5) and (7). The
Commission finds that the ASCII/
Baudot requirement is not applicable in
the context of iTRS, CTS and STS
because iTRS, CTS and STS do not use
ASCII or Baudot protocol for their relay
transmissions. Thus, the Commission
exempts iTRS, CTS and STS providers
from the requirement to handle ASCII or
Baudot protocol in relay calls and
amends its rules accordingly.
33. Call Release. The Commission
exempts iTRS and CTS providers from
E:\FR\FM\21OCR1.SGM
21OCR1
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Rules and Regulations
the call release functionality
requirement. The Commission’s rules
require TRS providers to offer ‘‘call
release,’’ a feature that allows the CA to
drop out—or be ‘‘released’’—from the
relay call after setting up a direct TTYto-TTY connection between the caller
and the called party. 47 CFR
64.601(a)(8), 47 CFR 64.604(a)(3)(vi).
The Commission has waived this
requirement indefinitely for CTS and IP
CTS providers and on a limitedduration basis for VRS and IP Relay
providers. See CTS Declaratory Ruling;
IP CTS Declaratory Ruling; 2003 TRS
Report and Order; 2012 TRS Waiver
Order.
34. Call release is inapplicable to VRS
and IP Relay because users of these
services can already communicate
directly via the Internet with other
video and text users. In addition, the
call release feature is not technically
feasible or would raise numerous
technological challenges for these
services. Finally, call release is
inapplicable to CTS and IP CTS because
captioned telephone service, by its
nature, requires the CA to remain on the
line for the duration of the call, as the
CA provides captioning of the called
party’s end of the conservation to ensure
that the captioned telephone user does
not miss any part of the called party’s
conversation. As a result, the CA would
never be ‘‘released’’ from this type of
call. Accordingly, the Commission
amends the rules to exempt iTRS and
CTS providers from the call release
functionality requirement.
35. Annual Reports. Because the
permanent exemptions granted herein
are for standards that are either
inapplicable in the context of iTRS or
CTS or technologically infeasible for
reasons that are unlikely to change any
time in the near future, requiring
providers to file annual reports for such
exemptions would be a waste of
resources. Therefore, the Commission
will no longer require providers to file
annual reports for those mandatory
minimum standards for which the
Commission by this Order has adopted
permanent exemptions. In addition,
because the Commission expects the
temporary waiver extensions granted
herein to be of a limited duration, at this
time, the Commission does not require
the submission of annual reports to
justify their continuance.
Final Regulatory Flexibility
Certification
36. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of
1980, as amended (‘‘RFA’’), requires that
a regulatory flexibility analysis be
prepared for rulemaking proceedings,
unless the agency certifies that the rule
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:03 Oct 20, 2014
Jkt 235001
will not have ‘‘a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities.’’ The RFA generally defines
‘‘small entity’’ as having the same
meaning as the terms ‘‘small business,’’
‘‘small organization,’’ and ‘‘small
governmental jurisdiction.’’ In addition,
the term ‘‘small business’’ has the same
meaning as the term ‘‘small business
concern’’ under the Small Business Act.
A ‘‘small business concern’’ is one
which: (1) Is independently owned and
operated; (2) is not dominant in its field
of operation; and (3) satisfies any
additional criteria established by the
Small Business Administration (SBA).
37. After consideration of the
comments received in response to the
TRS Waiver NPRM, document FCC 14–
125 amends the Commission’s rules to
exempt TRS providers using the Internet
to provide services such as VRS, IP
Relay, and IP CTS as well as providers
offering traditional CTS from certain
operational, technical, and functional
mandatory minimum standards
applicable to the provision of TRS.
Document FCC 14–125 adopts
exemptions to these mandatory
minimum standards for VRS, IP Relay,
IP CTS, and CTS, either because it is not
technologically feasible for providers to
meet the requirement or the mandatory
minimum standards are inapplicable to
a particular form of TRS. Document FCC
14–125 incorporates these exemptions
into the Commission’s rules (1) to
obviate the need for annual waivers to
be applied for and granted; and (2) to
harmonize the treatment of all TRS
providers to which these mandatory
minimum standards do not apply, given
the technology through which the
service is provided. Specifically,
document FCC 14–125:
• Exempts iTRS providers from
mandatory minimum standards for
certain ‘‘types-of-calls,’’ equal-access to
interexchange carriers, pay-per-call,
STS, ASCII/Baudot-compatible services,
and call-release;
• Exempts CTS providers from
mandatory minimum standards for STS,
ASCII/Baudot-compatible services, and
call-release;
• Exempts VRS providers from
mandatory minimum standards
requiring text-to-voice and voice-to-text
features and exempts CTS and IP CTS
providers from mandatory minimum
standards requiring text-to-voice
features;
• Exempts IP Relay providers from
mandatory minimum standards
requiring one-line VCO, VCO-to-text
telephone (TTY), one-line HCO, and
HCO-to-TTY;
PO 00000
Frm 00085
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
62881
• Exempts VRS providers from
mandatory minimum standards
requiring VCO-to-TTY and HCO-to-TTY.
• Concludes that VRS and IP Relay
providers are not required to provide
HCO-to-HCO and VCO-to-VCO services
because HCO-to-HCO and VCO-to-VCO,
with one exception for IP CTS and CTS,
are not compensable relay calls;
• Exempts IP CTS and CTS providers
from mandatory minimum standards
requiring one-line HCO, two-line HCO,
HCO-to-TTY, and HCO-to-HCO;
• Exempts IP CTS providers from
mandatory minimum standards
requiring one-line VCO; and
• Eliminates the requirement for iTRS
and CTS providers to file annual reports
for those mandatory minimum
standards for which the Commission by
this Order has adopted exemptions and
for waivers adopted in this Order.
38. Document FCC 14–125 terminates
or declines to extend some existing
waivers for mandatory minimum
standards. Specifically, document FCC
14–125:
• Terminates the existing waiver for
IP CTS providers for the mandatory
minimum standards requiring three-way
calling and speed dialing
functionalities;
• Terminates the existing waivers for
VRS providers for mandatory minimum
standards requiring one-line VCO and
one-line HCO, but extends for one year
the waiver for VRS providers ASL
Services and CAAG and extends the
waiver for providers’ support of one-line
VCO and one-line HCO on VRS access
technology distributed by another
provider;
• Determines that a waiver for CTS
providers for the mandatory minimum
standard requiring one-line VCO is
unnecessary; and
• Determines that waivers for IP CTS
and CTS providers for mandatory
minimum standards requiring two-line
VCO, VCO-to-TTY, and VCO-to-VCO are
unnecessary.
39. In document FCC 14–125, the
Commission adopts its proposal to
codify exemptions to certain mandatory
minimum standards and determines, as
it concluded in the Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Certification, that this
codification will not place any financial
burden on iTRS or CTS providers,
including small businesses, because
these entities will be relieved from the
necessity to periodically file for new
waivers of the TRS mandatory
minimum standards and from incurring
unnecessary expenses in research and
development of features or services that
are inapplicable to certain types of TRS
services. Therefore, those rules as
amended in document FCC 14–125 that
E:\FR\FM\21OCR1.SGM
21OCR1
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
62882
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Rules and Regulations
exempt certain TRS mandatory
minimum standards will not have a
significant economic impact on any
entities, including small businesses.
40. In addition, with respect to those
waivers that are terminated or that are
not extended, in the Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Certification, the
Commission concluded that the
proposed rules would not impose a
financial burden on entities, including
small businesses, because the record
showed that, as a result of technological
advances, providers were generally
providing the features that had been
waived. No commenters opposed this
proposal or the associated Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Certification.
41. In document FCC 14–125, the
Commission terminates or declines to
extend waivers of certain mandatory
minimum standards and determines
that this action will not place any
financial burden on iTRS or CTS
providers, including small businesses,
because the record shows that the
providers are generally providing the
features that had been waived. For
example, the record shows that IP CTS
providers are now able to offer threeway calling and speed dialing.
Additionally, the record shows that all
but two VRS providers are now able to
offer one-line VCO and one-line HCO.
Moreover, the record shows that the two
VRS providers that are not currently
capable of offering one-line VCO and
one-line HCO plan to be able to do so
when they each release the next version
of their software. The Commission has
extended for one year the waiver of this
mandatory minimum standard to afford
those two VRS providers sufficient time
to implement their planned software
release. Document FCC 14–125 also
determines that waivers for mandatory
minimum standards for VCO for CTS
and IP CTS are unnecessary. However,
because document FCC 14–125
concludes that CTS and IP CTS are a
form of VCO, and, as a result, the
mandatory minimum standards for the
provision of various forms of VCO are
subsumed in the provision of CTS and
IP CTS, this action will not place any
financial burden on IP CTS or CTS
providers.
42. Finally, document FCC 14–125
eliminates the requirement that
providers file annual reports for those
mandatory minimum standards for
which the Commission adopts
exemptions or the waivers adopted in
this Order and determines that this
action will not place any financial
burden on iTRS or CTS providers
because providers benefit by being
relieved from the necessity to file
annual reports regarding their ability to
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:03 Oct 20, 2014
Jkt 235001
provide services that are either
inapplicable to their services or
technologically infeasible.
43. Therefore, the Commission
certifies that the requirements in
document FCC 14–125 will not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
44. The Commission will send a copy
of document FCC 14–125, including a
copy of the Final Regulatory Flexibility
Certification, in a report to Congress
pursuant to the Congressional Review
Act. In addition, Document FCC 14–125
and the Final Regulatory Flexibility
Certification will be sent to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA.
Ordering Clauses
Pursuant to sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), and
225 of the Communications Act of 1934,
as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i),
154(j), and 225, document FCC 14–125
IS adopted.
The Commission’s Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference
Information Center, shall Send a copy of
document FCC 14–125, including the
Final Regulatory Flexibility
Certification, to the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration.
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64
Individuals with disabilities,
Telecommunications.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Federal Communications
Commission amends 47 CFR part 64 as
follows:
PART 64—MISCELLANEOUS RULES
RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS
1. The authority citation for part 64
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 254(k);
403(b)(2)(B), (c), Pub. L. 104–104, 110 Stat.
56. Interpret or apply 47 U.S.C. 201, 218, 222,
225, 226, 227, 228, 254(k), 616, 620, and the
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act
of 2012, Pub. L. 112–96, unless otherwise
noted.
2. Amend § 64.603 by revising the
introductory text to read as follows:
■
§ 64.603
Provision of services.
Each common carrier providing
telephone voice transmission services
shall provide, in compliance with the
regulations prescribed herein,
throughout the area in which it offers
services, telecommunications relay
services, individually, through
designees, through a competitively
PO 00000
Frm 00086
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
selected vendor, or in concert with other
carriers. Interstate Spanish language
relay service shall be provided. Speechto-speech relay service also shall be
provided, except that speech-to-speech
relay service need not be provided by IP
Relay providers, VRS providers,
captioned telephone relay service
providers, and IP CTS providers. In
addition, each common carrier
providing telephone voice transmission
services shall provide access via the 711
dialing code to all relay services as a toll
free call. A common carrier shall be
considered to be in compliance with
these regulations:
*
*
*
*
*
■ 3. Amend § 64.604 by revising
paragraphs (a)(3)(ii), (a)(3)(iv), (a)(3)(v),
(a)(3)(vi), (b)(1), and (b)(3) and adding
paragraph (c)(14) to read as follows:
§ 64.604
Mandatory minimum standards.
*
*
*
*
*
(a) * * *
(3) * * *
(ii) Relay services shall be capable of
handling any type of call normally
provided by telecommunications
carriers unless the Commission
determines that it is not technologically
feasible to do so. Relay service providers
have the burden of proving the
infeasibility of handling any type of call.
Providers of Internet-based TRS need
not provide the same billing options
(e.g., sent-paid long distance, operatorassisted, collect, and third party billing)
traditionally offered for wireline voice
services if they allow for long distance
calls to be placed using calling cards or
credit cards or do not assess charges for
long distance calling. Providers of
Internet-based TRS need not allow for
long distance calls to be placed using
calling cards or credit cards if they do
not assess charges for long distance
calling.
*
*
*
*
*
(iv) Relay services other than Internetbased TRS shall be capable of handling
pay-per-call calls.
(v) TRS providers are required to
provide the following types of TRS
calls:
(A) Text-to-voice and voice-to-text;
(B) One-line VCO, two-line VCO,
VCO-to-TTY, and VCO-to-VCO; and
(C) One-line HCO, two-line HCO,
HCO-to-TTY, HCO-to-HCO. VRS
providers are not required to provide
text-to-voice and voice-to-text
functionality. IP Relay providers are not
required to provide one-line VCO and
one-line HCO. IP Relay providers and
VRS providers are not required to
provide:
(1) VCO-to-TTY and VCO-to-VCO;
and
E:\FR\FM\21OCR1.SGM
21OCR1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 2014 / Rules and Regulations
(2) HCO-to-TTY and HCO-to-HCO.
Captioned telephone service providers
and IP CTS providers are not required
to provide:
(i) Text-to-voice functionality; and
(ii) One-line HCO, two-line HCO,
HCO-to-TTY, and HCO-to-HCO. IP CTS
providers are not required to provide
one-line VCO.
(vi) TRS providers are required to
provide the following features:
(A) Call release functionality (only
with respect to the provision of TTYbased relay service);
(B) Speed dialing functionality; and
(C) Three-way calling functionality.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) Technical standards—(1) ASCII
and Baudot. TTY-based relay service
shall be capable of communicating with
ASCII and Baudot format, at any speed
generally in use. Other forms of TRS are
not subject to this requirement.
*
*
*
*
*
(3) Equal access to interexchange
carriers. TRS users shall have access to
their chosen interexchange carrier
through the TRS, and to all other
operator services to the same extent that
such access is provided to voice users.
This requirement is inapplicable to
providers of Internet-based TRS if they
do not assess specific charges for long
distance calling.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(14) TRS calls requiring the use of
multiple CAs. The following types of
calls that require multiple CAs for their
handling are compensable from the TRS
Fund:
(i) VCO-to-VCO calls between
multiple captioned telephone relay
service users, multiple IP CTS users, or
captioned telephone relay service users
and IP CTS users;
(ii) Calls between captioned telephone
relay service or IP CTS users and TTY
service users; and
(iii) Calls between captioned
telephone relay service or IP CTS users
and VRS users.
[FR Doc. 2014–24532 Filed 10–20–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
Final rule.
The Audio Division, at the
request of Bryan Broadcasting License
Corporation, substitutes Channel 274A
for vacant Channel 267A at Centerville,
Texas, and grant the Application for
Station KKEE, Centerville, Texas, File
No. BMPH–20140324ADD. A staff
engineering analysis indicates that
Channel 274A can be allotted to
Centerville, Texas consistent with the
minimum distance separation
requirements of the Commission’s Rules
with a site restriction located 4.3
kilometers (2.7 miles) east of
Centerville. The reference coordinates
are 31–15–00 NL and 95–56–00 WL.
DATES: Effective November 3, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Secretary, Federal
Communications Commission, 445 12th
Street SW., Washington, DC 20554.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rolanda F. Smith, Media Bureau, (202)
418–2700.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a
synopsis of the Report and Order, DA
14–1360, adopted September 18, 2014,
and released September 19, 2014. The
full text of this document is available for
inspection and copying during normal
business hours in the FCC’s Reference
Information Center at Portals II, CY–
A257, 445 Twelfth Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20554. This document
may also be purchased from the
Commission’s duplicating contractors,
Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th
Street SW., Room CY–B402,
Washington, DC 20554, telephone 1–
800–378–3160 or via Web site at
www.BCPIWEB.com. This document
does not contain information collection
requirements subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–
13. The Commission will send a copy of
the Report and Order in a report to be
sent to Congress and the Government
Accountability Office pursuant to the
Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C.
801(a)(1)(A).
SUMMARY:
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73
Radio, Radio broadcasting.
Federal Communications Commission.
Nazifa Sawez,
Assistant Chief, Audio Division, Media
Bureau.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
ACTION:
[MB Docket No. 14–56, RM–11718; DA 14–
1360]
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Federal Communications
Commission amends 47 CFR part 73 as
follows:
Radio Broadcasting Services;
Centerville, Texas
PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST
SERVICES
Federal Communications
Commission.
■
47 CFR Part 73
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:03 Oct 20, 2014
Jkt 235001
1. The authority citation for part 73
continues to read as follows:
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
62883
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334, 336 and
339.
§ 73.202
[Amended]
2. Section 73.202(b), the Table of FM
Allotments under Texas, is amended by
removing Channel 267A at Centerville.
■
[FR Doc. 2014–23656 Filed 10–20–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
GENERAL SERVICES
ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Parts 501, 537, and 552
[(Change 59); GSAR Case 2013–G501;
Docket No. 2014–0010; Sequence No. 1]
RIN 3090–AJ46
General Services Administration
Acquisition Regulation; (GSAR);
Qualifications of Offerors
Office of Acquisition Policy,
General Services Administration (GSA).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The General Services
Administration (GSA) is amending the
General Services Administration
Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to
remove the GSAR provision
Qualifications of Offerors.
DATES: Effective: October 21, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Christina Mullins, Procurement Analyst,
by phone at 202–969–4066, or by email
at christina.mullins@gsa.gov, for
clarification of content. For information
pertaining to status or publication
schedules, contact the Regulatory
Secretariat at 202–501–4755. Please cite
GSAR Case 2013–G501.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. Background
GSA published a proposed rule in the
Federal Register at 79 FR 24361 on
April 30, 2014, amending the General
Services Administration Acquisition
Regulation (GSAR), to remove GSAR
provision 552.237–70, Qualifications of
Offerors, and provide other conforming
changes. No comments were received on
the proposed rule by the June 30, 2014
closing date.
This rule is a result of the
Retrospective Analysis conducted under
Executive Order 13563. Executive Order
13563 required agencies to review
existing regulations and identify rules
that are obsolete, unnecessary,
unjustified, excessively burdensome or
counterproductive and identify those
rules that warrant repeal, amendment,
or revision. The General Services
Administration (GSA) identified GSAR
provision 552.237–70 in GSA’s Final
E:\FR\FM\21OCR1.SGM
21OCR1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 203 (Tuesday, October 21, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62875-62883]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24532]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[CG Docket No. 03-123; FCC 14-125]
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services
for Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Waiver of iTRS
Mandatory Minimum Standards
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission eliminates certain waivers of
the telecommunications relay service (TRS) requirements that are no
longer necessary, given advances in communications technology. At the
same time, it extends certain existing waivers of mandatory minimum
standards for specific providers for which the provision of certain TRS
features is technologically infeasible at this time. The Commission
also eliminates certain TRS requirements that are either not applicable
or technically not feasible, while ensuring that TRS consumers continue
to have access to communications services that are functionally
equivalent to voice telephone services. Lastly, the Commission
eliminates an annual reporting requirement for TRS providers. These
actions provide regulatory clarity and reduce administrative burdens on
both TRS providers and the Commission and ensure that the TRS mandatory
minimum standards are applicable and technologically appropriate for
each type of TRS.
DATES: Effective December 22, 2014, except for terminations of waivers
of Sec. Sec. 64.604(a)(3)(vi)(B) and (C) of the Commission's rules,
which shall become effective on October 21, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eliot Greenwald, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office, at (202) 418-
2235 or email Eliot.Greenwald@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Waiver of iTRS
Mandatory Minimum Standards Report and Order and Order, (Order),
document FCC 14-125, adopted on August 20, 2014, and released on August
22, 2014, in CG Docket No. 03-123. In document FCC 14-125, the
Commission also seeks comment in an accompanying Further Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), which is summarized in a
[[Page 62876]]
separate Federal Register publication. The full text of document FCC
14-125 will be available for public inspection and copying via ECFS,
and during regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information
Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC
20554. It also may be purchased from the Commission's duplicating
contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th Street
SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, telephone: (800) 378-3160,
fax: (202) 488-5563, or Internet: www.bcpiweb.com. Document FCC 14-125
can also be downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at:
https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/disability-rights-office-headlines. To
request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities
(Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email
to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).
Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis
Document FCC 14-125 does not contain new or modified information
collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain
any new or modified information collection burden for small business
concerns with fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to the Small Business
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(4).
Congressional Review Act
The Commission will send a copy of document FCC 14-125 in a report
to be sent to Congress and the Governmental Accountability Office
pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).
Synopsis
1. Telecommunications Relay Services. Title IV of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requires the Commission to ensure
that TRS is available to enable a person with a hearing or speech
disability to communicate with other telephone users in a manner that
is functionally equivalent to voice communications service to the
extent possible and in the most efficient manner. In accordance with
this directive, the Commission's rules contain functional requirements,
operations procedures and mandatory minimum standards to ensure the
provision of functionally equivalent relay service. See 47 CFR 64.604.
Many of these standards were adopted in the 1990s, at a time when there
was only one form of TRS transmitted over the public switched telephone
network (PSTN)--TTY-to-voice relay service. A text telephone, or TTY,
is a text device that employs graphic communication in the transmission
of coded signals through a wire or radio communication system. In a
TTY-to-voice relay call, a communications assistant (CA) relays the
call between parties by converting everything that the text caller with
a hearing or speech disability types into voice for the hearing party
and typing everything that the voice user responds back to the person
with a disability. From 2000 to 2007, in light of advancing
communication technologies and Internet-based innovations, the
Commission recognized other forms of TRS as eligible for compensation
from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund (TRS Fund of
Fund), including Captioned Telephone Service (CTS) and three forms of
Internet-based TRS (iTRS): Video Relay Service (VRS), Internet Protocol
Relay Service (IP Relay), and Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone
Service (IP CTS). CTS permits people who can speak, but who have
difficulty hearing over the telephone to simultaneously listen to the
other party and read captions of what that party is saying. VRS allows
people with hearing or speech disabilities who use sign language to
communicate with voice telephone users over a broadband Internet
connection using video equipment and a CA who relays the conversation
back and forth by signing what the voice telephone user says to the
deaf or hard of hearing user and responding in voice to the voice
telephone user. IP Relay permits people with hearing or speech
disabilities to communicate in text using an Internet Protocol-enabled
device via the Internet. With IP CTS, the connection carrying the
captions between the relay service provider and the relay service user
is via the Internet, rather than through the PSTN. Today iTRS account
for more than 90% of the total relay service minutes reimbursed from
the Fund.
2. Waivers Granted for iTRS and CTS. The Commission's mandatory
minimum standards are intended to ensure that the user experience when
making TRS calls is comparable to a voice user's experience when making
conventional telephone calls. Over the years, however, the Commission
has granted TRS providers waivers of certain TRS mandatory minimum
standards that were deemed either technologically infeasible for or
inapplicable to a particular form of TRS. The waivers granted for IP
CTS and Captioned Telephone Service (CTS) have been issued for
indefinite periods, while most waivers granted for VRS and IP Relay
have been limited in duration. See Telecommunications Relay Services
and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, CG Docket No. 03-123, Declaratory Ruling (IP CTS
Declaratory Ruling); published at 72 FR 6960, February 14, 2007;
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98-67,
Waiver Order (2001 VRS Waiver Order); Provision of Improved
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Petition for
Clarification of WorldCom, Inc., CC Docket No. 98-67, Declaratory
Ruling (IP Relay Declaratory Ruling); published at 67 FR 39863, June
11, 2002. Generally, the limited-duration waivers have been renewed
periodically--in recent years on an annual basis. The Commission has
conditioned many of the waivers on the filing of annual waiver reports
in which providers are expected to detail their progress in achieving
compliance with the underlying mandatory minimum standards.
3. TRS Waiver NPRM. On November 19, 2009, Hamilton Relay, Inc.,
AT&T, Inc., CSDVRS, LLC, Sorenson Communications, Inc., Sprint Nextel
Corporation, and Purple Communications, Inc. (Petitioners) filed a
``Request for Extension and Clarification of Various iTRS Waivers''
(Hamilton Joint Request), requesting that the Commission extend
indefinitely all iTRS waivers of limited duration and provide
clarification on what Petitioners claim are discrepancies in some of
the waivers. In September 2013, the Commission released a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking to take an in-depth look at the merits of making
permanent or eliminating the waivers addressed in the Hamilton Joint
Request, as well as waivers granted for CTS. Telecommunications Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and
Speech Disabilities; Waivers of iTRS Mandatory Minimum Standards, CG
Docket No. 03-123, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (TRS Waiver NPRM);
published at 78 FR 63152, October 23, 2103. Specifically, the
Commission sought public comment on the continuing need for, and
technical feasibility and applicability of, the rules underlying each
of these waivers as these rules apply to certain types of TRS.
[[Page 62877]]
4. Generally, the Commission sought input on the technological
feasibility of compliance with, as well as the consumer need for, its
waived mandatory minimum standards. The Commission divided the waivers
addressed in its TRS Waiver NPRM into two categories, with the first
group consisting of waivers for standards mandating the inclusion of
features and functions available with voice telephone service in TRS,
and the second group consisting of waivers for standards mandating the
provision of specific communication services needed by people with
speech or hearing disabilities. With respect to waivers that were
limited in duration, the Commission sought comment on whether to exempt
specified iTRS providers from the underlying waived mandatory minimum
standards on a permanent basis, if they were determined to be
inapplicable to the specified iTRS providers. Similarly, for waivers
that were already of unlimited duration, the Commission sought comment
on whether it should amend its rules to codify these as exemptions.
5. Mandatory Minimum Standards for Features and Functions of Voice
Telephone Service. The first group of waived mandatory minimum
standards relates to features and functions that are available with
voice telephone service, including the types-of-calls requirement,
equal access to interexchange carriers, pay-per-call (900) calls,
three-way calling, and speed dialing. Each of these issues are
addressed in turn.
6. Types-of-Calls Requirement. The Commission exempts iTRS
providers from the types-of-calls requirement--to the extent that this
standard requires providers to offer specific billing options
traditionally offered for wireline voice services--so long as iTRS
providers allow for long distance calls to be placed using calling
cards or credit cards or do not charge for long distance service.
Commission rules require TRS providers to be capable of handling any
type of call normally provided by telecommunications carriers unless
the Commission determines that it is not technologically feasible to do
so. 47 CFR 64.604(a)(3)(ii). This requirement has been waived on a
limited-duration basis for IP Relay and VRS providers (but not for IP
CTS providers) to the extent that it requires providers to offer
specific billing options, including ``operator-assisted'' billing, such
as collect, calling card, and third party billing, as well as sent-paid
billing for long distance calls. As a condition of this waiver, the
Commission, and subsequently the Consumer and Governmental Affairs
Bureau, required that VRS and IP Relay providers allow users to place
long distance calls using calling cards or without charging users for
such calls.
7. The Commission concludes that compliance with this mandatory
minimum standard is not necessary to provide functionally equivalent
telephone services for iTRS users and would not be cost effective or
efficient, because it would be more costly to providers to establish a
billing mechanism in order to bill for these calls than to handle them
without billing consumers, as is providers' current practice. The
types-of-calls requirement, adopted more than 20 years ago, was
intended to ensure that certain billing options, including operator-
assisted billing, that were available to voice telephone users in a
PSTN-based environment would be similarly available to users of TTY-to-
voice relay services. However, given the technological changes that
have taken place over the past two decades, including the development
of Internet-based forms of TRS, iTRS consumers do not need the same
billing options that users who access relay services via the PSTN
require. Accordingly, so long as iTRS providers allow consumers to use
calling cards or credit cards or do not charge for long distance
service, the Commission exempts all forms of iTRS from the types-of-
calls requirement to the extent that the standard requires providers to
offer the billing options traditionally offered for wireline voice
services, and amends its rules accordingly.
8. Equal Access to Interexchange Carriers. The Commission exempts
iTRS providers from the equal access to interexchange carriers
requirement so long as they do not charge for long distance service.
The Commission's rules require TRS providers to offer consumers access
to their interexchange carrier of choice to the same extent that such
access is provided to voice users. 47 CFR 64.604(b)(3). The Commission
waived this requirement indefinitely for IP Relay and IP CTS, IP Relay
Declaratory Ruling, IP CTS Declaratory Ruling, and on a limited-
duration basis for VRS providers, Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities; E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service Providers, CG
Docket No. 03-123, WC Docket No. 05-196, Waiver Order, (2012 TRS Waiver
Order), contingent on iTRS providers offering long distance service
without charge.
9. The Commission exempts iTRS providers from the equal access to
interexchange carriers requirement so long as iTRS providers do not
charge for long distance service. First, the equal access to
interexchange carriers requirement is not necessary to provide
functionally equivalent telephone services for iTRS users so long as
iTRS providers do not charge for long distance service. Consumers
derive no value from equal access to long distance carriers where they
do not pay long-distance charges for iTRS calls and, consequently, have
no interest in price shopping for a long-distance provider. Finally, it
is not feasible for iTRS providers to implement networking and routing
solutions to allow iTRS users to choose their carriers. For these
reasons, the Commission concludes that the equal access to
interexchange carriers requirement is not necessary for iTRS providers
and therefore exempt iTRS providers that do not charge for long
distance service from this requirement.
10. Pay-Per-Call (900) calls. The Commission exempts iTRS providers
from the requirement for TRS providers to be capable of handling pay-
per-call (i.e., 900-number) calls. Although the Commission's rules
generally require TRS providers to be capable of handling pay-per-call
calls, 47 CFR 64.604(a)(3)(iv), \,\the Commission has previously waived
this requirement indefinitely for IP CTS providers in the IP CTS
Declaratory Ruling, and on a limited-duration basis for IP Relay and
VRS providers because no billing mechanism has been available to handle
the charges associated with pay-per-call calls. See Provision of
Improved Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech
Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC
Docket No. 98-67, Order on Reconsideration, (IP Relay Order on
Reconsideration); published at 68 FR 50973, August 25, 20013; 2012 TRS
Waiver Order.
11. The Commission exempts iTRS providers from handling pay-per-
call calls. The Commission bases its decision on the fact that, as
holds true for the types-of-calls and equal interexchange access
requirements discussed above, the pay-per-call requirement presupposes
a billing relationship, or the ability to establish a billing
relationship with iTRS users that providers presently do not have. The
Commission is persuaded that requiring providers to establish such a
billing relationship in order to provide pay-per-call calls would not
be efficient given its high price tag and the very small demand for
pay-per-call calls over TRS.
12. Three-Way Calling. The Commission terminates the indefinite
waiver for IP CTS providers of the Commission's three-way calling
[[Page 62878]]
requirement. The Commission's rules require TRS providers to provide
three-way calling functionality, 47 CFR 64.604(a)(3)(vi)(3), which
allows more than two parties to be on the telephone line at the same
time with the CA. 47 CFR 64.601(a)(34). The Commission granted IP CTS
providers an indefinite waiver of the three-way calling requirement
when it approved IP CTS as a form of reimbursable TRS. Because the
record demonstrates that IP CTS providers are capable of offering
three-way calling functionality, the Commission hereby terminates the
indefinite waiver of the Commission's three-way calling requirement
previously granted to IP CTS providers.
13. Speed Dialing. The Commission terminates the indefinite waiver
for IP CTS providers of the Commission's speed dialing requirement. The
Commission's rules require TRS providers to provide speed dialing
functionality, which allows a TRS user to use a ``short-hand'' name or
number for the user's most frequently called telephone numbers. 47 CFR
64.604(a)(3)(vi)(2). This permits users to place calls without having
to remember or locate the number they want to call. In the IP CTS
Declaratory Ruling, the Commission granted IP CTS providers an
indefinite waiver of the speed dialing requirement, contingent on the
providers filing annual reports addressing the waiver.
14. The Commission now terminates the indefinite waiver for IP CTS
providers of the Commission's speed dialing requirement. The Commission
recognizes that IP CTS users may dial calls before being connected to a
CA. Accordingly, IP CTS providers will be permitted to fulfill the
speed dialing requirement contained in the Commission's rules by
offering speed dialing capability through users' iTRS access
technology, such as through one-touch dialing. As a result, IP CTS
providers need not offer a feature that allows a TRS user to
communicate the speed dial ``short hand'' name or number directly to
the CA in the context of an IP CTS call to comply with this
requirement.
15. Mandatory Minimum Standards to Provide Specific TRS Features.
The second group of waivers relates to standards mandating the
provision of specific communication services needed by people with
disabilities, including voice carryover (VCO), hearing carryover (HCO),
text to voice and voice to text, speech-to-speech (STS), ASCII/Baudot,
and call release. Each of these are addressed in turn.
16. VCO and HCO. The Commission concludes that certain iTRS
providers must provide some, but not all, forms of VCO and HCO. With
VCO, a deaf or hard of hearing person who is able to speak communicates
by voice directly to the other party to the call without intervention
by the CA, and the CA relays the other party's voice response as text
or in sign language. 47 CFR 64.601(a)(42) (defining VCO in the context
of TTY-based relay service). With HCO, a person who has a speech
disability, but who is able to hear, listens directly to the other
party's voice without intervention by the CA, and in reply has the CA
convert his or her typed or signed responses into voice. 47 CFR
64.601(a)(13) (defining HCO in the context of TTY-based relay service).
There are multiple forms of both VCO and HCO. The Commission has
granted fixed-duration waivers for VRS and IP Relay of all of the VCO
and HCO mandatory minimum standards except two-line VCO and two-line
HCO, based on providers' representations that Internet connections are
unable to deliver voice and data over a single line with the necessary
quality. See Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech
Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC
Docket Nos. 90-571, 98-67, CG Docket No. 03-123, Report and Order,
Order on Reconsideration (2004 TRS Report and Order); published at 69
FR 53346, September 1, 2004 (extending the one-line VCO and HCO waivers
to VRS); see also IP Relay Declaratory Ruling (initially waiving the
one-line VCO requirement for IP Relay for a period of one year); IP
Relay Order on Reconsideration, (extending the one-line VCO waiver for
five years and approving a waiver for one-line HCO for the same period,
based on provider representations that the same technological obstacles
exist for HCO as for VCO); Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities; Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, CC Docket No.
98-67, CG Docket No. 03-123, Second Report and Order, Order on
Reconsideration, (2003 TRS Report and Order), published at 68 FR 50973,
August 25, 2003 (extending the waiver for IP Relay and VRS providers to
VCO-to-TTY, HCO-to-TTY, VCO-to-VCO, and HCO-to-HCO types of TRS calls).
The Commission also previously granted indefinite waivers of all of the
VCO and HCO mandatory minimum standards for IP CTS. See IP CTS
Declaratory Ruling. Finally, the Commission previously granted an
indefinite waiver of its mandatory minimum standards addressing HCO for
CTS. See Telecommunications Relay Services, and Speech-to-Speech
Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC
Docket No. 98-67, Declaratory Ruling (CTS Declaratory Ruling);
published at 68 FR 55898, September 29, 2003.
17. One-line VCO and one-line HCO for VRS Providers. The Commission
generally will allow the existing waivers for one-line VCO and one-line
HCO for VRS providers to expire, although the Commission extends for
one year a waiver of the requirement to offer one-line VCO and one-line
HCO for VRS providers ASL Services Holdings, LLC (ASL Services) and
Hancock, Jahn, Lee and Puckett, LLC d/b/a Communications Axess Ability
Group (CAAG), as discussed below.
18. Because commenters confirm that it is now technologically
feasible for VRS providers to offer their users one-line VCO and one-
line HCO capabilities, the Commission declines Petitioners' original
request to exempt all VRS providers from these mandatory minimum
standards, and terminates the current waiver for these required
features December 22, 2014. VRS providers may meet this obligation so
long as they provide, upon a consumer's request for an equipment
upgrade, at least one form of iTRS access technology that supports one-
line VCO and one-line HCO. In other words, VRS providers need not
support one-line VCO and one-line HCO in every version of the iTRS
access technology that they distribute. Rather, VRS providers that
provide at least one form of iTRS access technology that supports one-
line VCO and one-line HCO will be in compliance with the mandatory
minimum standard for one-line VCO and one-line HCO. This will allow the
continued use of legacy VRS hardware for consumers who wish to keep
their devices and who do not wish to use one-line versions of VCO or
HCO.
19. In addition, the Commission waives the requirement for VRS
providers to support one-line VCO and one-line HCO on VRS access
technology distributed by another provider until the release of a
Public Notice by the Commission indicating that the SIP standards-
development process for VRS has progressed to the point where support
for one-line VCO and one-line HCO on VRS access technology distributed
by another provider is possible or the VRS access technology reference
platform is implemented, whichever comes first.
20. VRS providers' limited ability to provide one-line VCO and one-
line HCO using other providers' iTRS access technology due to the lack
of standards for signaling the user's one-line VCO or
[[Page 62879]]
HCO preferences will be resolved once the SIP standards-development
process for VRS has progressed to the point where support for one-line
VCO and one-line HCO on VRS access technology distributed by another
provider is possible or the VRS access technology reference platform is
implemented. The Commission has ordered the development of a VRS access
technology reference platform to ``allow providers to ensure that any
VRS access technology they develop or deploy is fully compliant with
[the Commission's] interoperability and portability requirements.''
Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program;
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 10-51,
03-123, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,
(VRS Reform Order), published at 78 FR 40582, July 5, 2013, and at 78
FR 40407, July 5, 2013. Once the VRS access technology reference
platform is tested and available for use, the Commission has explained
that no VRS provider shall be compensated for minutes of use generated
by the provider's VRS access technologies that are found to be non-
interoperable with the reference platform. The Commission will release
a Public Notice announcing the completion of the VRS access technology
reference platform or the progression of the SIP standards development
process to the point where support for one-line VCO and one-line HCO on
VRS access technology distributed by another provider is possible, and
the resulting termination of this waiver.
21. Although the Commission terminates the current, broadly-
applicable waivers for one-line VCO and one-line HCO for VRS providers
generally, the Commission extends for one year the waiver of these
requirements for two VRS providers, ASL Services and CAAG. The
Commission finds that neither ASL Services nor CAAG distribute hardware
VRS access technology, that the current version of the software that
ASL Services and CAAG distribute does not support one-line HCO or one-
line VCO, and that the next version of their respective software is
expected to have this capability. While covered by the prior waivers,
ASL Services and CAAG nonetheless have engaged in efforts to develop
solutions to provide these TRS features, as evidenced by their
commitment to meet these mandatory minimum standards within one year.
Based on the Joint Providers' statement that ASL Services and CAAG will
be technically capable of offering their users these capabilities
within one year, the Commission concludes that a waiver of this limited
duration is appropriate.
22. Two VRS providers, Sorenson and Purple ask that the Commission
confirm that their specific implementation of one-line VCO and one-line
HCO meets the mandatory minimum standards for one-line VCO and one-line
HCO. Sorenson explains that because not all interpreter stations are
capable of supporting one-line VCO and HCO, deaf-to-hearing single-line
VCO and HCO calls are routed to interpreting stations capable of
handling those calls. The Commission confirms that this method of
handling one-line VCO and one-line HCO calls satisfies the mandatory
minimum standards for one-line VCO and one-line HCO. The one-line VCO
and one-line HCO routing process described by Sorenson routes the call
based on technical capability to handle the call, not the skill of the
CA. Accordingly, the Commission concludes that Sorenson's method of
implementing one-line VCO and one-line HCO does not use skill-based
routing and meets the mandatory minimum standards for the provision of
one-line VCO and one-line HCO.
23. One-line VCO and one-line HCO for IP Relay Providers. The
Commission exempts IP Relay providers from the requirement to offer
one-line VCO and one-line HCO. The Commission is persuaded that the
significant engineering changes necessary to support one-line HCO and
one-line VCO would not be practical given the current level of demand
for one-line VCO or HCO. The Commission also agrees that because
alternatives, such as IP CTS, are available to take the place of one-
line VCO and HCO used in conjunction with IP Relay, the significant
time and resources that would be associated with creating these
features over IP Relay is not justified. As a result, the Commission
amends its rules to exempt IP Relay providers from the requirement to
offer one-line VCO and one-line HCO.
24. VCO-to-TTY and HCO-to-TTY for VRS and IP Relay Providers. The
Commission exempts VRS and IP Relay providers from the requirement to
offer VCO-to-TTY and HCO-to-TTY. The Commission concludes that the
provision of these features is not necessary to achieve functionally
equivalent telephone service in the most efficient manner. This
conclusion is reinforced by the low to non-existent demand for VCO-to-
TTY and HCO-to-TTY using VRS and IP Relay reported by providers and the
lack of consumer comment in support of applying these TRS features.
Moreover, with so little interest by the user community in accessing
these services and the impracticality of providing such calls, the
Commission concludes that it would not be an efficient use of TRS
resources to require VRS and IP Relay providers to develop a solution
to enable them. Accordingly, the Commission amends its rules to exempt
VRS and IP Relay providers from the requirement to offer VCO-to-TTY and
HCO-to-TTY.
25. VCO-to-VCO and HCO-to-HCO for VRS and IP Relay Providers. In
2003, the Commission adopted, with little discussion, minimum standards
mandating the provision of HCO-to-HCO and VCO-to-VCO calls by TRS
providers. 2003 TRS Report and Order. Upon further analysis, the
Commission eliminates the VCO-to-VCO and HCO-to-HCO requirements with
respect to VRS and IP Relay providers. The Commission's rules define
VCO as a form of TRS where the person with the hearing disability is
able to speak directly to the other end user. The CA types the response
back to the person with the hearing disability. 47 CFR 64.601(a)(42)
(emphasis added). Similarly, the Commission's rules define HCO as a
form of TRS where the person with the speech disability is able to
listen to the other end user and, in reply, the CA speaks the text as
typed by the person with the speech disability. 47 CFR 64.601(a)(13)
(emphasis added). Under these definitions, if two individuals were to
use VCO or two individuals were to use HCO in the context of VRS or IP
Relay services, then both would have to be able to speak as well as
hear what the other party is saying, and a CA would not be necessary to
provide functionally equivalent communication. For example, if
individuals were to make a VCO-to-VCO call, they would be speaking
directly to each other, and thus, the call would not require a CA. The
same would hold true in an HCO-to-HCO call, in which both parties would
be able to hear each other. Because HCO-to-HCO calls and VCO-to-VCO
calls make use of CAs, but with the exception of CTS and IP CTS, do not
require CAs for functionally equivalent communication, the Commission
finds they should not be compensable relay calls. Therefore, the
Commission concludes that the handling of HCO-to-HCO and VCO-to-VCO
calls by VRS and IP Relay providers, to the extent that such calls
would result in point-to-point calls for which a CA is involved even
though not needed, is not required and thus not compensable from the
TRS Fund.
[[Page 62880]]
26. HCO for CTS and IP CTS Providers. As noted above, IP CTS
providers already have an indefinite waiver of all of the HCO mandatory
minimum standards. In addition, an indefinite waiver of the
Commission's mandatory minimum standards addressing HCO already is in
place for CTS providers. The Commission now exempts IP CTS and CTS
providers from all of the HCO mandatory minimum standards, because it
concludes that these TRS features are not applicable to captioned
telephone-based relay services. CTS and IP CTS are a form of VCO in
that they enable a person with hearing loss to speak directly to the
other party to the call and to receive the text of the other party's
response. HCO involves particular functionalities that do not apply to
captioned telephone calls because HCO users rely on the CA to speak the
text as typed, but do not rely on printed text as the HCO user can hear
the called party's response. In contrast, when using CTS, a person with
some residual hearing can speak to the other party and in return both
listen to what the other party is saying and read text of what that
party is saying. Accordingly, CTS is simply not able to handle HCO
relay calls. For similar reasons, the Commission has also exempted
providers that offer the Internet-based form of CTS from the
requirement to provide HCO services. Because the defining
characteristics of CTS and IP CTS make requirements for HCO, two-line
HCO, HCO-to-TTY, and HCO-to-HCO inapplicable to CTS and IP CTS, the
Commission exempts IP CTS and CTS providers from these mandatory
minimum standards.
27. VCO for CTS and IP CTS Providers. The Commission has previously
granted IP CTS providers indefinite waivers for all of the VCO
mandatory minimum standards. The Commission has not previously waived
any of the mandatory minimum standards relating to VCO for CTS
providers. The Commission now concludes that waivers for the
requirements to provide two-line VCO and VCO-to-TTY for IP CTS
providers are unnecessary because IP CTS already is a form of VCO.
However, because IP CTS typically involves two lines, i.e., a telephone
line and an IP line, the Commission does not find it efficient to
require IP CTS providers to provide one-line VCO, and amends its rules
to exempt them from that requirement. For the same reason that waivers
of the VCO requirements are unnecessary for IP CTS providers--i.e.,
because CTS is a form of VCO--the Commission concludes that waivers for
the provision of one-line VCO, two-line VCO, and VCO-to-TTY are
unnecessary for CTS providers.
28. With respect to VCO-to-VCO, the Commission concludes that calls
between two captioned telephone relay users are essentially a form of
VCO-to-VCO and, accordingly, that a waiver of the VCO-to-VCO
requirement is unnecessary for IP CTS and CTS providers. The Commission
agrees that the use of multiple CAs currently is necessary to complete
calls between two captioned telephone relay users. Specifically, each
captioned telephone user must communicate through an individual CA, who
re-voices what the other party says to that user. Similarly, the use of
multiple CAs currently is necessary for captioned telephone-to-TTY
calls and captioned telephone-to-VRS calls. Captioned telephone-to-TTY
calls and captioned telephone-to-VRS calls require one CA to voice what
the TTY or VRS user says to the captioned telephone user (which the
captioned telephone user hears using residual hearing) and to type or
sign what the captioned telephone relay user says to the TTY or VRS
user, as well as another CA to re-voice what the TTY or VRS user says,
through the TTY or VRS CA, to the captioned telephone user (which the
captioned telephone user reads on his or her device). Because these
calls currently cannot be completed without the use of multiple CAs,
the Commission now amends its rules to make clear that compensation
from the TRS Fund is allowed for such calls.
29. Text-to-Voice and Voice-to-Text. The Commission amends 47 CFR
64.604(a)(3)(v) to exempt VRS providers from providing text-to-voice
and voice-to-text functionality and to exempt CTS and IP CTS providers
from providing text-to-voice. VRS allows people with hearing or speech
disabilities who use sign language to communicate with voice telephone
users through video equipment. A VRS user, through a CA, speaks to the
called party using sign language and receives the called party's
response in sign language. Accordingly, text-to-voice, in which the
user types his or her message and has it read aloud by the CA, and
voice-to-text, in which the user receives the called party's message as
text, is not compatible with VRS, a service based on sign language. As
a result, the Commission exempts VRS providers from the requirement to
provide text-to-voice and voice-to-text. In addition, for the reasons
discussed above--i.e., that CTS and IP CTS are forms of VCO--the
Commission finds that text-to-voice is inapplicable to CTS and IP CTS.
By their nature, CTS and IP CTS allow the user to speak directly to the
called party. Throughout a CTS and IP CTS call, the CA is completely
transparent and does not participate in the call by voicing any part of
the conversation. As a result, text-to-voice, which requires the CA to
re-voice text typed by the TRS user, is incompatible with CTS and IP
CTS. The Commission therefore exempts CTS and IP CTS providers from
this standard.
30. STS. The Commission exempts VRS, IP Relay, IP CTS, and CTS
providers from the STS requirement. The Commission's rules mandate the
provision of STS by common carriers providing telephone voice
transmission services. 47 CFR 64.603. The Commission has waived this
requirement on a limited-duration basis for IP Relay providers and
indefinitely for CTS, IP CTS, and VRS providers. IP Relay Declaratory
Ruling; CTS Declaratory Ruling; IP CTS Declaratory Ruling;
Telecommunications Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities; Recommended TRS Cost Recovery Guidelines; Request by
Hamilton Telephone Company for Clarification and Temporary Waivers, CC
Docket No. 98-67, Memorandum Opinion and Order (2001 TRS Order);
published at 67 FR 4203, January 29, 2002.
31. STS is inapplicable to VRS, IP Relay, IP CTS, and CTS.
Specifically, STS is purely speech-based, while IP Relay, CTS and IP
CTS require the CA to provide communication in text, and, under the
Commission's current rules, VRS requires the CA to provide
communication in sign language. 47 CFR 64.601(a)(40). Because there are
no speech capabilities in the relay leg of these text and video based
forms of TRS, the Commission concludes that IP Relay, VRS, IP CTS, and
CTS providers should be exempt from the requirement to offer STS, and
amends its rules accordingly.
32. ASCII/Baudot. The Commission exempts iTRS, CTS and STS
providers from the ASCII/Baudot requirement. The Commission's rules
require TRS providers to support communications using the American
Standard Code for Information Interexchange (ASCII) and Baudot formats,
at any speed generally in use. 47 CFR 64.601(a)(5) and (7). The
Commission finds that the ASCII/Baudot requirement is not applicable in
the context of iTRS, CTS and STS because iTRS, CTS and STS do not use
ASCII or Baudot protocol for their relay transmissions. Thus, the
Commission exempts iTRS, CTS and STS providers from the requirement to
handle ASCII or Baudot protocol in relay calls and amends its rules
accordingly.
33. Call Release. The Commission exempts iTRS and CTS providers
from
[[Page 62881]]
the call release functionality requirement. The Commission's rules
require TRS providers to offer ``call release,'' a feature that allows
the CA to drop out--or be ``released''--from the relay call after
setting up a direct TTY-to-TTY connection between the caller and the
called party. 47 CFR 64.601(a)(8), 47 CFR 64.604(a)(3)(vi). The
Commission has waived this requirement indefinitely for CTS and IP CTS
providers and on a limited-duration basis for VRS and IP Relay
providers. See CTS Declaratory Ruling; IP CTS Declaratory Ruling; 2003
TRS Report and Order; 2012 TRS Waiver Order.
34. Call release is inapplicable to VRS and IP Relay because users
of these services can already communicate directly via the Internet
with other video and text users. In addition, the call release feature
is not technically feasible or would raise numerous technological
challenges for these services. Finally, call release is inapplicable to
CTS and IP CTS because captioned telephone service, by its nature,
requires the CA to remain on the line for the duration of the call, as
the CA provides captioning of the called party's end of the
conservation to ensure that the captioned telephone user does not miss
any part of the called party's conversation. As a result, the CA would
never be ``released'' from this type of call. Accordingly, the
Commission amends the rules to exempt iTRS and CTS providers from the
call release functionality requirement.
35. Annual Reports. Because the permanent exemptions granted herein
are for standards that are either inapplicable in the context of iTRS
or CTS or technologically infeasible for reasons that are unlikely to
change any time in the near future, requiring providers to file annual
reports for such exemptions would be a waste of resources. Therefore,
the Commission will no longer require providers to file annual reports
for those mandatory minimum standards for which the Commission by this
Order has adopted permanent exemptions. In addition, because the
Commission expects the temporary waiver extensions granted herein to be
of a limited duration, at this time, the Commission does not require
the submission of annual reports to justify their continuance.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification
36. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (``RFA''),
requires that a regulatory flexibility analysis be prepared for
rulemaking proceedings, unless the agency certifies that the rule will
not have ``a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities.'' The RFA generally defines ``small entity'' as having
the same meaning as the terms ``small business,'' ``small
organization,'' and ``small governmental jurisdiction.'' In addition,
the term ``small business'' has the same meaning as the term ``small
business concern'' under the Small Business Act. A ``small business
concern'' is one which: (1) Is independently owned and operated; (2) is
not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) satisfies any
additional criteria established by the Small Business Administration
(SBA).
37. After consideration of the comments received in response to the
TRS Waiver NPRM, document FCC 14-125 amends the Commission's rules to
exempt TRS providers using the Internet to provide services such as
VRS, IP Relay, and IP CTS as well as providers offering traditional CTS
from certain operational, technical, and functional mandatory minimum
standards applicable to the provision of TRS. Document FCC 14-125
adopts exemptions to these mandatory minimum standards for VRS, IP
Relay, IP CTS, and CTS, either because it is not technologically
feasible for providers to meet the requirement or the mandatory minimum
standards are inapplicable to a particular form of TRS. Document FCC
14-125 incorporates these exemptions into the Commission's rules (1) to
obviate the need for annual waivers to be applied for and granted; and
(2) to harmonize the treatment of all TRS providers to which these
mandatory minimum standards do not apply, given the technology through
which the service is provided. Specifically, document FCC 14-125:
Exempts iTRS providers from mandatory minimum standards
for certain ``types-of-calls,'' equal-access to interexchange carriers,
pay-per-call, STS, ASCII/Baudot-compatible services, and call-release;
Exempts CTS providers from mandatory minimum standards for
STS, ASCII/Baudot-compatible services, and call-release;
Exempts VRS providers from mandatory minimum standards
requiring text-to-voice and voice-to-text features and exempts CTS and
IP CTS providers from mandatory minimum standards requiring text-to-
voice features;
Exempts IP Relay providers from mandatory minimum
standards requiring one-line VCO, VCO-to-text telephone (TTY), one-line
HCO, and HCO-to-TTY;
Exempts VRS providers from mandatory minimum standards
requiring VCO-to-TTY and HCO-to-TTY.
Concludes that VRS and IP Relay providers are not required
to provide HCO-to-HCO and VCO-to-VCO services because HCO-to-HCO and
VCO-to-VCO, with one exception for IP CTS and CTS, are not compensable
relay calls;
Exempts IP CTS and CTS providers from mandatory minimum
standards requiring one-line HCO, two-line HCO, HCO-to-TTY, and HCO-to-
HCO;
Exempts IP CTS providers from mandatory minimum standards
requiring one-line VCO; and
Eliminates the requirement for iTRS and CTS providers to
file annual reports for those mandatory minimum standards for which the
Commission by this Order has adopted exemptions and for waivers adopted
in this Order.
38. Document FCC 14-125 terminates or declines to extend some
existing waivers for mandatory minimum standards. Specifically,
document FCC 14-125:
Terminates the existing waiver for IP CTS providers for
the mandatory minimum standards requiring three-way calling and speed
dialing functionalities;
Terminates the existing waivers for VRS providers for
mandatory minimum standards requiring one-line VCO and one-line HCO,
but extends for one year the waiver for VRS providers ASL Services and
CAAG and extends the waiver for providers' support of one-line VCO and
one-line HCO on VRS access technology distributed by another provider;
Determines that a waiver for CTS providers for the
mandatory minimum standard requiring one-line VCO is unnecessary; and
Determines that waivers for IP CTS and CTS providers for
mandatory minimum standards requiring two-line VCO, VCO-to-TTY, and
VCO-to-VCO are unnecessary.
39. In document FCC 14-125, the Commission adopts its proposal to
codify exemptions to certain mandatory minimum standards and
determines, as it concluded in the Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Certification, that this codification will not place any financial
burden on iTRS or CTS providers, including small businesses, because
these entities will be relieved from the necessity to periodically file
for new waivers of the TRS mandatory minimum standards and from
incurring unnecessary expenses in research and development of features
or services that are inapplicable to certain types of TRS services.
Therefore, those rules as amended in document FCC 14-125 that
[[Page 62882]]
exempt certain TRS mandatory minimum standards will not have a
significant economic impact on any entities, including small
businesses.
40. In addition, with respect to those waivers that are terminated
or that are not extended, in the Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Certification, the Commission concluded that the proposed rules would
not impose a financial burden on entities, including small businesses,
because the record showed that, as a result of technological advances,
providers were generally providing the features that had been waived.
No commenters opposed this proposal or the associated Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Certification.
41. In document FCC 14-125, the Commission terminates or declines
to extend waivers of certain mandatory minimum standards and determines
that this action will not place any financial burden on iTRS or CTS
providers, including small businesses, because the record shows that
the providers are generally providing the features that had been
waived. For example, the record shows that IP CTS providers are now
able to offer three-way calling and speed dialing. Additionally, the
record shows that all but two VRS providers are now able to offer one-
line VCO and one-line HCO. Moreover, the record shows that the two VRS
providers that are not currently capable of offering one-line VCO and
one-line HCO plan to be able to do so when they each release the next
version of their software. The Commission has extended for one year the
waiver of this mandatory minimum standard to afford those two VRS
providers sufficient time to implement their planned software release.
Document FCC 14-125 also determines that waivers for mandatory minimum
standards for VCO for CTS and IP CTS are unnecessary. However, because
document FCC 14-125 concludes that CTS and IP CTS are a form of VCO,
and, as a result, the mandatory minimum standards for the provision of
various forms of VCO are subsumed in the provision of CTS and IP CTS,
this action will not place any financial burden on IP CTS or CTS
providers.
42. Finally, document FCC 14-125 eliminates the requirement that
providers file annual reports for those mandatory minimum standards for
which the Commission adopts exemptions or the waivers adopted in this
Order and determines that this action will not place any financial
burden on iTRS or CTS providers because providers benefit by being
relieved from the necessity to file annual reports regarding their
ability to provide services that are either inapplicable to their
services or technologically infeasible.
43. Therefore, the Commission certifies that the requirements in
document FCC 14-125 will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
44. The Commission will send a copy of document FCC 14-125,
including a copy of the Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification, in
a report to Congress pursuant to the Congressional Review Act. In
addition, Document FCC 14-125 and the Final Regulatory Flexibility
Certification will be sent to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
SBA.
Ordering Clauses
Pursuant to sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), and 225 of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), and 225,
document FCC 14-125 IS adopted.
The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau,
Reference Information Center, shall Send a copy of document FCC 14-125,
including the Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification, to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64
Individuals with disabilities, Telecommunications.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 64 as follows:
PART 64--MISCELLANEOUS RULES RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS
0
1. The authority citation for part 64 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 254(k); 403(b)(2)(B), (c), Pub. L.
104-104, 110 Stat. 56. Interpret or apply 47 U.S.C. 201, 218, 222,
225, 226, 227, 228, 254(k), 616, 620, and the Middle Class Tax
Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-96, unless
otherwise noted.
0
2. Amend Sec. 64.603 by revising the introductory text to read as
follows:
Sec. 64.603 Provision of services.
Each common carrier providing telephone voice transmission services
shall provide, in compliance with the regulations prescribed herein,
throughout the area in which it offers services, telecommunications
relay services, individually, through designees, through a
competitively selected vendor, or in concert with other carriers.
Interstate Spanish language relay service shall be provided. Speech-to-
speech relay service also shall be provided, except that speech-to-
speech relay service need not be provided by IP Relay providers, VRS
providers, captioned telephone relay service providers, and IP CTS
providers. In addition, each common carrier providing telephone voice
transmission services shall provide access via the 711 dialing code to
all relay services as a toll free call. A common carrier shall be
considered to be in compliance with these regulations:
* * * * *
0
3. Amend Sec. 64.604 by revising paragraphs (a)(3)(ii), (a)(3)(iv),
(a)(3)(v), (a)(3)(vi), (b)(1), and (b)(3) and adding paragraph (c)(14)
to read as follows:
Sec. 64.604 Mandatory minimum standards.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(3) * * *
(ii) Relay services shall be capable of handling any type of call
normally provided by telecommunications carriers unless the Commission
determines that it is not technologically feasible to do so. Relay
service providers have the burden of proving the infeasibility of
handling any type of call. Providers of Internet-based TRS need not
provide the same billing options (e.g., sent-paid long distance,
operator-assisted, collect, and third party billing) traditionally
offered for wireline voice services if they allow for long distance
calls to be placed using calling cards or credit cards or do not assess
charges for long distance calling. Providers of Internet-based TRS need
not allow for long distance calls to be placed using calling cards or
credit cards if they do not assess charges for long distance calling.
* * * * *
(iv) Relay services other than Internet-based TRS shall be capable
of handling pay-per-call calls.
(v) TRS providers are required to provide the following types of
TRS calls:
(A) Text-to-voice and voice-to-text;
(B) One-line VCO, two-line VCO, VCO-to-TTY, and VCO-to-VCO; and
(C) One-line HCO, two-line HCO, HCO-to-TTY, HCO-to-HCO. VRS
providers are not required to provide text-to-voice and voice-to-text
functionality. IP Relay providers are not required to provide one-line
VCO and one-line HCO. IP Relay providers and VRS providers are not
required to provide:
(1) VCO-to-TTY and VCO-to-VCO; and
[[Page 62883]]
(2) HCO-to-TTY and HCO-to-HCO. Captioned telephone service
providers and IP CTS providers are not required to provide:
(i) Text-to-voice functionality; and
(ii) One-line HCO, two-line HCO, HCO-to-TTY, and HCO-to-HCO. IP CTS
providers are not required to provide one-line VCO.
(vi) TRS providers are required to provide the following features:
(A) Call release functionality (only with respect to the provision
of TTY-based relay service);
(B) Speed dialing functionality; and
(C) Three-way calling functionality.
* * * * *
(b) Technical standards--(1) ASCII and Baudot. TTY-based relay
service shall be capable of communicating with ASCII and Baudot format,
at any speed generally in use. Other forms of TRS are not subject to
this requirement.
* * * * *
(3) Equal access to interexchange carriers. TRS users shall have
access to their chosen interexchange carrier through the TRS, and to
all other operator services to the same extent that such access is
provided to voice users. This requirement is inapplicable to providers
of Internet-based TRS if they do not assess specific charges for long
distance calling.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(14) TRS calls requiring the use of multiple CAs. The following
types of calls that require multiple CAs for their handling are
compensable from the TRS Fund:
(i) VCO-to-VCO calls between multiple captioned telephone relay
service users, multiple IP CTS users, or captioned telephone relay
service users and IP CTS users;
(ii) Calls between captioned telephone relay service or IP CTS
users and TTY service users; and
(iii) Calls between captioned telephone relay service or IP CTS
users and VRS users.
[FR Doc. 2014-24532 Filed 10-20-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P