Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, 26976-26978 [2020-09621]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26976-26978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09621]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1089; FRS 16715]


Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collections. Comments are requested 
concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; the 
accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject 
to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before July 6, 2020. 
If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it 
difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control No.: 3060-1089.
    Title: 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.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Individuals or 
households; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 202,021 respondents; 1,846,406 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .05 hours (3 minutes) to 300 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual, monthly, on occasion, on-going, one-
time, and quarterly reporting requirements; Recordkeeping requirement; 
and Third-Party Disclosure requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for the collection is contained in section 225 of 
the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 225. The law was enacted on July 26, 
1990, as Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 
Public Law 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, 366-69, and amended by the Twenty-
First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, 
Public Law 111-260, 103(a), 124 Stat. 2751, 2755 (2010) (CVAA); Public 
Law 111-265 (technical amendments to CVAA).
    Total Annual Burden: 329,582 hours.
    Annual Cost Burden: $261,000.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Confidentiality is an issue 
to the extent that individuals and households provide personally 
identifiable information, which is covered under the FCC's updated 
system of records notice (SORN), FCC/CGB-4, ``Internet-based 
Telecommunications Relay Service-User Registration Database (ITRS-
URD).'' As required by the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Commission 
also published a SORN, FCC/CGB-4 ``Internet-based Telecommunications 
Relay Service-User Registration Database (ITRS-URD),'' in the Federal 
Register on February 9, 2015 (80 FR 6963) which became effective on 
March 23, 2015.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: This information collection affects 
individuals or households. As required by the Office of Management and 
Budget Memorandum M-03-22 (September 26, 2003), the FCC is in the 
process of completing the Privacy Impact Assessment.
    Needs and Uses: The telecommunications relay service (TRS) program 
enables access to the nation's telephone network by persons with 
hearing and speech disabilities. In 1991, as required by the Americans 
with Disabilities Act and codified at 47 U.S.C. 225, the Commission 
adopted rules governing the telecommunications relay services (TRS) 
program and procedures for each state TRS program to apply for initial 
Commission certification and renewal of Commission certification of 
each state program. Telecommunications Services for Individuals with 
Hearing and Speech Disabilities, and the Americans with Disabilities 
Act of 1990, Report and Order and Request for Comments,

[[Page 26977]]

document FCC 91-213, published at 56 FR 36729, August 1, 1991 (1991 TRS 
Implementation Order).
    Between 2008 and 2011, to integrate internet-based TRS into the 
North American Numbering plan and facilitate interoperability, 
universal calling, and 911 emergency services, the Commission adopted 
rules in three separate orders related to the telephone numbering 
system and enhanced 911 (E911) services for users of two forms of 
internet-based TRS: Video Relay Service (VRS) and internet Protocol 
Relay service (IP Relay). See document FCC 08-151, Report and Order and 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published at 73 FR 41286, July 
18, 2008 (First Numbering Order); document FCC 08-275, Second Report 
and Order and Order on Reconsideration, published at 73 FR 79683, 
December 30, 2008 (Second Numbering Order); and document FCC 11-123, 
Report and Order, published at 76 FR 59551, September 27, 2011 (iTRS 
Toll Free Order).
    The rules adopted in these three orders have information collection 
requirements that include requiring VRS and IP Relay providers to: 
Register each user who selects the provider as his or her default 
provider, including obtaining a self-certification from each user; 
verify the accuracy of each user's; provision and maintain their 
registered users' routing information to the TRS Numbering Directory; 
place their users' Registered Location and certain callback information 
in Automatic Location Information (ALI) databases across the country 
and provide a means for their users to update their Registered 
Locations; include advisories on their websites and in any promotional 
materials addressing numbering and E911 services for VRS or IP Relay; 
verify in the TRS Numbering Directory whether each dial-around user is 
registered with another provider; and if they provide equipment to a 
consumer, make available to other VRS providers enough information 
about that equipment to enable another VRS provider selected as the 
consumer's default provider to perform all of the functions of a 
default provider.
    On July 28, 2011, the Commission released Structure and Practices 
of the Video Relay Service Program, document FCC 11-118, published at 
76 FR 47469, August 5, 2011, and at 76 FR 47476, August 5, 2011 (VRS 
Certification Order), adopting final and interim rules--designed to 
help prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensure quality service, in 
the provision of internet-based forms of Telecommunications Relay 
Services (iTRS). On October 17, 2011, the Commission released Structure 
and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program, Memorandum Opinion 
and Order, Order, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, document 
FCC 11-155, published at 76 FR 67070, October 31, 2011 (VRS 
Certification Reconsideration Order), modifying two aspects of 
information collection requirements contained in the VRS Certification 
Order. On June 10, 2013, the Commission made permanent the interim rule 
adopted in the VRS Certification Order. Structure and Practices of the 
Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and 
Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech 
Disabilities, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, document FCC 13-82, published at 78 FR 40582, July 5, 2013 
(2013 VRS Reform Order).
    The VRS Certification Order as modified by the VRS Certification 
Reconsideration and, as applicable, made permanent by the (2013 VRS 
Reform Order), amended the Commission's process for certifying 
internet-based TRS (iTRS) providers as eligible for payment from the 
Interstate TRS Fund (Fund) for their provision of iTRS to ensure that 
iTRS providers receiving certification are qualified to provide iTRS in 
compliance with the Commission's rules and to eliminate waste, fraud 
and abuse through improved oversight of such providers. They contain 
information collection requirements including: Submission of detailed 
information in an application for certification that shows the 
applicant's ability to comply with the Commission's rules; submission 
of annual reports that include updates to the provider's information on 
file with the Commission or a certification that there are no changes 
to the information; requirements for a senior executive of an applicant 
for iTRS certification or an iTRS provider, when submitting an annual 
compliance report, to certify under penalty of perjury that all 
information required under the Commission's rules and orders has been 
provided and all statements of fact, as well as all documentation 
contained in the submission, are true, accurate, and complete; 
requirements for VRS providers to obtain prior authorization from the 
Commission for planned interruptions of service, to report to the 
Commission unforeseen interruptions of service, and to provide 
notification of temporary service outages, including updates, to 
consumers on their websites; and requirements for iTRS providers that 
will no longer be providing service to give their customers at least 
30-days notice.
    In the 2013 VRS Reform Order, the Commission also adopted further 
measures to improve the structure, efficiency, and quality of the video 
relay service (VRS) program, reducing the noted inefficiencies in the 
program, as well as reducing the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse, and 
ensuring that the program makes full use of advances in commercially-
available technology. The Commission required reporting of unauthorized 
and unnecessary us of VRS; established a central telecommunications 
relay services (TRS) user registration database (TRS-URD) for VRS, 
which incorporates a centralized eligibility verification requirement 
to ensure accurate registration and verification of users, as well as 
per-call validation, to achieve more effective prevention of waste, 
fraud, and abuse; established procedures to prevent unauthorized 
changes of a user's default TRS provider; and established procedures to 
protect TRS users' customer proprietary network information (CPNI) from 
disclosure.
    On March 23, 2017, the Commission released Structure and Practices 
of the Video Relay Services Program et al., FCC 17-26, published at 82 
FR 17754, April 13, 2017 (2017 VRS Improvements Order), which among 
other things, allows VRS providers to assign TRS Numbering Directory 
10-digit telephone numbers to hearing individuals for the limited 
purpose of making point-to-pint video calls, and gives VRS providers 
the option to participate in an at-home call handling pilot program, 
subject to certain limitations, as well as recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements.
    On May 15, 2019, the Commission released Structure and Practices of 
the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and 
Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech 
Disabilities, FCC 19-39, published at 84 FR 26364, June 6, 2019 (2019 
VRS Program Management Order). The Commission further improved the 
structure, efficiency, and quality of the VRS program, reduced the risk 
of waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensured that the program makes full use 
of advances in commercially-available technology. These improvements 
include information collection requirements, including: The 
establishment of procedures to register enterprise and public 
videophones to the TRS-URD; and permitting Qualified Direct Video 
Calling (DVC) Entities to access the TRS Numbering Directory and 
establishing

[[Page 26978]]

an application procedure to authorize such access, including rules 
governing DVC entities and entry of information in the TRS Numbering 
Directory and the TRS-URD.
    On August 2, 2019, the Commission released Implementing Kari's Law 
and Section 506 of RAY BAUM's Act; Inquiry Concerning 911 Access, 
Routing, and Location in Enterprise Communications Systems; Amending 
the Definition of Interconnected VoIP Service in Section 9.3 of the 
Commission's Rules, FCC 19-76, published at 84 FR 66716, December 5, 
2019 (MLTS 911 and Dispatchable Location Order). The Commission amended 
its rules to ensure that the dispatchable location is conveyed to a 
Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) with a 911 call, regardless of the 
technological platform used. Based on the directive in section 506 of 
RAY BAUM'S Act, the Commission adopted dispatchable location 
requirements that in effect modified the existing information 
collection requirements applicable to VRS, IP Relay and covered IP CTS 
by improving the options for providing accurate location information to 
PSAPs as part of 911 calls.
    Fixed internet-based TRS devices must provide automated 
dispatchable location. For non-fixed devices, when dispatchable 
location is not technically feasible, internet-based TRS providers may 
fall back to Registered Location or provide alternative location 
information. As a last resort, internet-based providers may route calls 
to Emergency Relay Calling Centers. after making a good faith effort to 
obtain location data from all available alternative location sources. 
Dispatchable location means a location delivered to the PSAP with a 911 
call that consists of the validated street address of the calling 
party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment or similar 
information necessary to adequately identify the location of the 
calling party. Automated dispatchable location means automatic 
generation of dispatchable location. Alternative location information 
is location information (which may be coordinate-based) sufficient to 
identify the caller's civic address and approximate in-building 
location, including floor level, in large buildings.
    On January 31, 2020, the Commission released Structure and 
Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay 
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and 
Speech Disabilities, FCC 20-7 (VRS At-Home Call Handling Order). The 
Commission amended its rules to convert the VRS at-home call handling 
pilot program into a permanent one, thereby allowing CAs to work from 
home. To ensure user privacy and call confidentiality and to help 
prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, the modified information collections 
include requirements for VRS providers to apply for certification to 
allow their communications assistants to handle calls while working at 
home; monitoring and oversight requirements; and reporting 
requirements.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-09621 Filed 5-5-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P