VRS and IP CTS-Commencement of Service Pending User Registration, 57645-57648 [2022-20106]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 182 / Wednesday, September 21, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
communications equipment and
services from their networks, and
subsequently certify prior to receiving a
funding commitment or support that it
does not use covered communications
equipment or services. The Commission
also adopted procedures, consistent
with the Secure and Trusted
Communications Networks Act of 2019
(Pub. L. 116–124), to identify such
covered equipment and services and
publish a Covered List. That list was
published March 12, 2021 and will be
updated as needed.
In the Rate Floor Repeal Order, the
Commission decided to ‘‘eliminate the
rate floor and, following a one-year
period of monitoring residential retail
rates, eliminate the accompanying
reporting obligations after July 1, 2020.’’
Connect America Fund, WC Docket No.
10–90, Order (84 FR 19874 (May 7,
2019)), 34 FCC Rcd 2621, 2621 para. 2
(2019) (Rate Floor Repeal Order); see
also 47 CFR 54.313(h). As explained in
the Order, the rate floor was ‘‘[i]ntended
to guard against artificial subsidization
of rural end user rates significantly
below the national urban average’’ but,
practically speaking, ‘‘increase[d] the
telephone rates of rural subscribers . . .
and individuals living on Tribal lands.’’
Rate Floor Repeal Order, 34 FCC Rcd at
2621 para. 1.
The Commission therefore revises this
information collection, as well as the
Form 481 and its accompanying
instructions, to reflect these modified
and eliminated requirements. Finally,
the Commission increases the
respondents associated with existing
reporting requirements to account for
additional carriers that will be subject to
those requirements.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022–20069 Filed 9–20–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[CG Docket Nos. 03–123, 10–51, 13–24; FCC
22–51; FR ID 104192]
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VRS and IP CTS—Commencement of
Service Pending User Registration
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
In this document, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC or
Commission) adopts a two-week ‘‘grace
period’’ to allow Video Relay Service
SUMMARY:
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(VRS) and Internet Protocol Captioned
Telephone Service (IP CTS) providers to
commence service to new or porting-in
users while the user’s identity is
verified by the Telecommunications
Relay Services (TRS) User Registration
Database. These actions will increase
the efficiency of the registration process,
avoid unnecessary service delays, and
ensure that TRS users’ experience in
ordering new service or porting service
to a new TRS provider is comparable to
that of voice telephone service users.
The rules are effective October
21, 2022, except for the amendments to
§§ 64.611 (amendatory instruction 3)
and 64.615 (amendatory instruction 4),
which are delayed. The Commission
will publish a document in the Federal
Register announcing the effective dates.
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William Wallace, Disability Rights
Office, Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau, at 202–418–2716, or
William.Wallace@fcc.gov.
This is a
summary of the Commission’s Report
and Order, document FCC 22–51,
adopted June 28, 2022, released June 30,
2022, in CG Docket Nos. 03–123, 10–51,
and 13–24. The Commission sought
comment on the two-week grace period
issue in Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP)
Captioned Telephone Service;
Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, CG Docket Nos. 13–24 and
03–123, published at 84 FR 9276, March
14, 2019 (2019 IP CTS Further Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM)) and in
Structure and Practices of the Video
Relay Service Program;
Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, CG Docket Nos. 10–51 and
03–123, published at 84 FR 26379, June
6, 2019 (2019 VRS FNPRM).
The full text of document FCC 22–51
can be accessed electronically via the
FCC’s Electronic Document
Management System (EDOCS) website
at www.fcc.gov/edocs or via the FCC’s
Electronic Comment Filing System
(ECFS) website at www.fcc.gov/ecfs. 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) or (202) 418–0432
(TTY).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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57645
Synopsis
1. User Registration and Verification.
TRS are telephone transmission services
that enable people with speech or
hearing disabilities to communicate by
wire or radio in a manner that is
functionally equivalent to
communication using voice services.
Under section 225 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as
amended (the Act), 47 U.S.C. 225, the
Commission must ensure that TRS are
available ‘‘to the extent possible and in
the most efficient manner’’ to persons
‘‘in the United States’’ who are deaf,
hard of hearing, or deafblind or who
have speech disabilities, so that they
can communicate by telephone in a
manner that is functionally equivalent
to voice communication service. VRS, a
form of TRS, enables people with
hearing or speech disabilities who use
sign language to make telephone calls
over a broadband connection using a
video communication device. The video
link allows a communications assistant
(CA) to view and interpret the party’s
signed conversation and relay the
conversation back and forth with a voice
caller. IP CTS, another form of TRS,
permits a person with hearing loss to
have a telephone conversation while
reading captions of what the other party
is saying on an internet-connected
device.
2. Before commencing service to a
subscriber, a VRS or IP CTS provider
must register the user by collecting
certain identifying information, as well
as a signed self-certification of eligibility
for TRS. In addition, registration data
for VRS users must be submitted to the
Commission’s centralized TRS User
Registration Database (User Database or
Database). IP CTS user registration data
also will be submitted and maintained
in the Database once it is activated for
that purpose. Upon receiving the
registration data for a newly registered
TRS user, the Database administrator
verifies the user’s identity. Providers are
prohibited from seeking compensation
for service to users who do not pass this
identity verification check.
3. Although User Database registration
is usually completed within hours of
data submission, it may take longer if
the administrator’s initial attempt to
verify a registrant’s identity is
unsuccessful, requiring the provider to
obtain corrected information or
additional documentation from the
registrant. The two-week ‘‘grace period’’
will allow VRS and IP CTS providers to
immediately begin serving new or
porting-in users without waiting for the
verification process to complete, thereby
promoting the availability and
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 182 / Wednesday, September 21, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
efficiency of TRS. Moreover, by
allowing customers to make and receive
TRS calls during the grace period, those
users are better able to obtain the
documentation and information needed
to verify their identities. Because
providers will not be compensated for
calls made during the two-week grace
period unless and until the customer is
successfully entered into the Database,
this rule change will not increase any
risk of TRS Fund payment for ineligible
calls or otherwise contribute to waste,
fraud, or abuse of TRS Fund resources.
4. Alternative Proposals. The
Commission rejects proposals to extend
the grace period beyond two weeks as
unnecessary. Moreover, extending the
grace period for individuals who are
deafblind or who are deaf with
additional disabilities would increase
the complexity of administering the
registration process as a whole and is
unwarranted in the absence of actual
evidence of a need for additional time.
5. Limitations on Number
Reassignments. In the case of VRS, and
in the event verification of registration
data for a newly assigned TRS telephone
number is not completed within two
weeks, the telephone number should
not be immediately reassigned. Under
the current as well as the newly adopted
rules, a new number is not entered in
the Database until such time as the
user’s identity is verified. Therefore, if
registration data for a new telephone
number is submitted to the Database,
and the user’s identity has not been
verified within the two-week grace
period, then the number shall not be
entered in the Database, and no provider
may request compensation for
compensable calls from that number
after expiration of the two-week period.
Similarly, the new telephone number
and associated routing information,
which were entered in the Telephone
Numbering Directory to allow calls to be
made to and from the new number on
a provisional basis, shall be removed
from the Directory. As a result, upon
expiration of the two-week period, the
number will not be usable until such
time as the user’s identity is verified or
the number is reassigned to a different
customer. Because the consumer has
already begun using the submitted
number, he or she should not be
automatically deprived of the
opportunity to recommence service with
the same number, if verification is
successfully completed within a
reasonable period after the two weeks
expires. Therefore, even if verification
cannot be completed within the twoweek grace period, the submitting
provider shall retain that number in
inactive status, for an additional period
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of 30 days or the pendency of any
appeal, whichever is later, before
reassigning it to a new user or otherwise
making it available for re-use. If the
user’s identity is later verified, the
telephone number may be entered in the
Database at that time and calls made to
or from the number from that time
forward may be submitted for
compensation.
6. When an existing TRS telephone
number has been ported, a failure to
verify the number within the two-week
grace period will have somewhat
different consequences. Under the
current rules, when a number is being
ported, the Database registration of that
number is not changed to designate the
porting-in VRS provider until the
registration data collected by the
porting-in provider has been verified.
By adopting the grace period, the
Commission permits a port to be
completed on a provisional basis,
pending verification of the registration
data submitted by the porting-in
provider. Therefore, the porting-in
provider’s routing information shall be
entered in the TRS Numbering
Directory, so that during the two-week
grace period, calls to and from the
ported number are handled by the
porting-in VRS provider. However, the
number will continue to be registered in
the User Database under the name of the
porting-out VRS provider until the
registration data submitted by the
porting-in provider has been verified. If
such verification is not completed
within the two-week grace period, then
the port will be reversed, and the
porting-out provider’s routing
information will be re-entered in the
TRS Numbering Directory. In the event
that verification of a ported number is
not completed within the grace period,
neither the porting-out nor porting-in
provider may seek compensation for
calls placed to or from the ported
number during those two weeks.
7. Technical Corrections to TRS
Rules. This document amends
§ 64.604(d) of the Commission’s rules to
delete an obsolete cross-reference.
Section 64.604(d) of the Commission’s
rules provides that the applicable
requirements of certain provisions of the
Commission’s rules are to be considered
mandatory minimum standards for TRS.
Among the listed provisions is § 64.617
of the Commission’s rules, which was
repealed in 2017. The cross-reference to
that provision in § 64.604(d) of the
Commission’s rules was not deleted.
8. Good cause exists to make this
correction without prior notice and
comment. The cross-reference is clearly
incorrect and without any substantive
effect, now that § 64.617 of the
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Commission’s rules has been deleted.
The correction is therefore simply a
conforming change to the Commission’s
rules.
9. The Commission also makes a
technical correction to
§ 64.604(c)(5)(iii)(D)(1) of its rules,
which addresses data reporting
requirements. The four bold, italicized
words below were inadvertently deleted
from the following excerpt from the
previous version of that provision: ‘‘TRS
providers shall provide the
administrator with the following: total
TRS minutes of use, total interstate TRS
minutes of use, total operating expenses
and total TRS investment in general in
accordance with part 32 of this chapter
. . .’’ The correction restores the
inadvertently deleted text.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
10. As required by the Regulatory
Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended
(RFA), the Commission incorporated an
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(IRFA) into both the 2019 VRS FNPRM
and the 2019 IP CTS FNPRM. The
Commission sought written public
comment on the proposals in both
FNPRMs, including comment on the
IRFAs. No comments were received in
response to the IRFAs.
11. Need for, and Objectives of, the
Rules. This document addresses the
procedures for registering users of
certain forms of TRS and verifying their
identities in the User Database. The
purpose of these rules is to ensure that
only persons with hearing and speech
disabilities who are eligible to use TRS
can make calls that are compensated
from the Interstate TRS Fund. Providers
of VRS and IP CTS cannot receive
compensation from the Fund unless the
caller is registered in, and has had his
or her identity verified, in the User
Database.
12. The Commission adopts a twoweek grace period during which VRS
and IP CTS providers can handle calls
for new and porting-in customers after
submitting the user’s registration
information while identity verification
is pending and receive compensation for
the calls as long as the user’s identity is
ultimately verified in the User Database
as eligible for TRS within the same twoweek period from the initial submission
of the user’s registration information.
The Commission concludes that the
grace period will improve functional
equivalency for individuals with
hearing and speech disabilities because
it will allow them to start making calls
immediately with their TRS provider,
just as most voice customers of landline
and mobile services can start using the
service when they sign up for service.
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13. The Commission finds that the
two-week grace period will not
contribute to waste, fraud, and abuse of
the TRS Fund. If the user is verified,
then his or her calls during the twoweek period are eligible for
compensation. If the user is not verified,
then the VRS or IP CTS provider will
not be compensated for the calls.
Accordingly, the TRS Fund will not be
paying for ineligible calls.
14. Summary of Significant Issues
Raised by Public Comments in Response
to the IRFA. No comments were filed in
response to either IRFA.
15. Response to Comments by the
Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration. The Chief
Counsel did not file any comments in
response to the proposed rules in this
proceeding.
16. Description and Estimate of the
Number of Small Entities to which the
Rules will Apply. The amendments to
rules adopted in this document will
affect the obligations of VRS and IP CTS
providers. These services can be
included within the broad economic
category of All Other
Telecommunications.
17. Description of Projected
Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other
Compliance Requirements. In allowing
VRS and IP CTS providers to receive
compensation for up to two weeks while
the identity verification is pending for
new users and users changing providers
for calls by or to such users, the
Commission retains the reporting,
recordkeeping, and other compliance
requirements currently applicable to
VRS and IP CTS providers and adopts
minor modified reporting requirements
related to the timing for requesting
compensation for calls by and to such
users.
18. For new users and users changing
providers, VRS and IP CTS providers
must track what calls are made by and
to such users while their identity
verification remains pending and only
seek compensation from the Interstate
TRS Fund for those call minutes within
the two-week grace period if the user’s
identity is verified by the User Database
administrator before the end of that
period. For users whose identify cannot
be verified within the two-week period,
VRS and IP CTS providers can only seek
compensation for calls by and to the
user if and when the user’s identity has
been verified.
19. These modified requirements are
no more burdensome than those
currently applicable to VRS and IP CTS
providers and are needed to ensure
compliance with the Commission’s
rules and protect against waste, fraud,
and abuse of the TRS program.
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20. Steps Taken to Minimize
Significant Impact on Small Entities,
and Significant Alternatives Considered.
The new rule does not impose any
modified requirements that would
increase regulatory burdens beyond
those that are already required. The
modified requirements apply equally to
all VRS and IP CTS providers and are
necessary to prevent waste, fraud, and
abuse of the TRS Fund by ensuring that
providers are not compensated for
service provided to users who do not
satisfy the verification requirements.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
Ordering Clauses
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154, 201,
202, 217, 218, 220, 222, 225, 226, 227, 227b,
228, 251(a), 251(e), 254(k), 255, 262, 276,
403(b)(2)(B), (c), 616, 620, 716, 1401–1473,
unless otherwise noted; Pub. L. 115–141, Div.
P, sec. 503, 132 Stat. 348, 1091.
21. Pursuant to sections 1, 2, and 225
of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, and 225,
document FCC 22–51 is adopted, and
the Commission’s rules are hereby
amended.
22. The Commission’s Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference
Information Center, shall send a copy of
document FCC 22–51, including the
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis,
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration.
Congressional Review Act
The Commission sent a copy of
document FCC 22–51 to Congress and
the Government Accountability Office
pursuant to the Congressional Review
Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).
Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
Analysis
This document contains modified
information collection requirements,
which are not effective until approval is
obtained from the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB). As part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
burdens, the Commission will invite the
general public to comment on the
information collection requirements as
required by the PRA of 1995, Public
Law 104–13. The Commission will
publish a separate document in the
Federal Register announcing approval
of the information collection
requirements. Pursuant to the Small
Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002,
Public Law 107–198, 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(4), the Commission previously
sought comment on how the
Commission might ‘‘further reduce the
information burden for small business
concerns with fewer than 25
employees.’’ 84 FR 9276, March 14,
2019; 84 FR 26379, June 6, 2019.
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64
Individuals with disabilities,
Telecommunications, Telephone.
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Final Regulations
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:
■
2. Amend § 64.604 by revising
paragraphs (c)(5)(iii)(D)(1) and (d) to
read as follows:
■
§ 64.604
Mandatory minimum standards.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(5) * * *
(iii) * * *
(D) * * *
(1) Cost and demand data. TRS
providers seeking compensation from
the TRS Fund shall provide the
administrator with true and adequate
data, and other historical, projected and
state rate related information reasonably
requested to determine the TRS Fund
revenue requirements and payments.
TRS providers shall provide the
administrator with the following: total
TRS minutes of use, total interstate TRS
minutes of use, total operating expenses
and total TRS investment in general in
accordance with part 32 of this chapter,
and other historical or projected
information reasonably requested by the
administrator for purposes of computing
payments and revenue requirements. In
annual cost data filings and
supplementary information provided to
the administrator regarding such cost
data, IP CTS providers that contract for
the supply of services used in the
provision of TRS shall include
information about payments under such
contracts, classified according to the
substantive cost categories specified by
the administrator. To the extent that a
third party’s provision of services covers
more than one cost category, the
resubmitted cost reports must provide
an explanation of how the provider
determined or calculated the portion of
contractual payments attributable to
each cost category. To the extent that
the administrator reasonably deems
necessary, providers shall submit
additional detail on such contractor
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expenses, including but not limited to
complete copies of such contracts and
related correspondence or other records
and information relevant to determining
the nature of the services provided and
the allocation of the costs of such
services to cost categories.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) Other standards. The applicable
requirements of § 9.14 of this chapter
and §§ 64.611, 64.615, 64.621, 64.631,
64.632, 64.5105, 64.5107, 64.5108,
64.5109, and 64.5110 are to be
considered mandatory minimum
standards.
■ 3. Delayed indefinitely, amend
§ 64.611 by:
■ a. Revising paragraph (a)(4)(iii);
■ b. Adding paragraph (a)(4)(iv);
■ c. Redesignating paragraph (j)(2)(v) as
paragraph (j)(2)(vi); and
■ d. Adding a new paragraph (j)(2)(v).
The revision and additions read as
follows:
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§ 64.611
Internet-based TRS registration.
(a) * * *
(4) * * *
(iii) VRS providers must submit the
information in the introductory text of
paragraph (a)(4) of this section upon
initiation of service for users registered
after 60 days of notice from the
Commission that the TRS User
Registration Database is ready to accept
such information. VRS providers may
provide service to such users for up to
two weeks after the user’s registration
information has been submitted to the
TRS User Registration Database pending
verification of the user’s identity. After
the user’s identity is verified by the
Database administrator, VRS providers
may seek TRS Fund compensation for
calls handled during such preverification period of up to two weeks.
(iv) If a VRS user’s registration data
submitted pursuant to paragraph
(a)(4)(iii) of this section is not verified
by the TRS User Registration Database
administrator within two weeks after
submission, the VRS provider shall hold
the assigned number for up to 30 days
or the pendency of an appeal,
whichever is later, pending the outcome
of any further efforts to complete
verification, before returning the
number to inactive status or assigning it
to another user. If a VRS user’s identity
is verified within such 30-day period, or
during the pendency of an appeal,
whichever is later, the administrator
may enter the number into the Database
(and the TRS Numbering Directory) as
assigned to that user.
*
*
*
*
*
(j) * * *
(2) * * *
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(v) IP CTS providers may provide
service to new users for up to two weeks
after the user’s registration information
has been submitted to the TRS User
Registration Database pending
verification of the user’s identity. After
a user’s identity is verified by the
Database administrator, IP CTS
providers may seek TRS Fund
compensation for calls handled during
such pre-verification period.
*
*
*
*
*
4. Delayed indefinitely, amend
§ 64.615 by adding paragraphs (a)(6)(v)
and (vi) to read as follows:
■
§ 64.615 TRS User Registration Database
and administrator.
(a) * * *
(6) * * *
(v) Notwithstanding paragraphs
(a)(6)(ii) through (iv) of this section,
VRS and IP CTS providers may provide
service to a new or porting user for up
to two weeks after the user’s registration
information has been submitted to the
TRS User Registration Database,
pending verification of the user’s
identity. After such user’s identity is
verified by the Database administrator, a
TRS provider may seek TRS Fund
compensation for calls handled during
such pre-verification period.
(vi) If a VRS provider submits
registration information for a TRS
telephone number that is being ported
from another VRS provider, and user’s
identity cannot be immediately verified,
then the porting-in provider’s routing
information for that telephone number
shall be provisionally entered in the
TRS Numbering Directory for up to two
weeks to allow the routing of calls to the
porting-in VRS provider pursuant to
paragraph (a)(6)(v) of this section. If the
user’s identity is not verified by the TRS
User Registration Database
administrator within the allowed twoweek period, the porting-out provider’s
routing information shall be re-entered
in the TRS Number Directory.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2022–20106 Filed 9–20–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 220523–0119; RTID 0648–
XC331]
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries;
Closure of the General Category
September Fishery for 2022
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
AGENCY:
NMFS closes the General
category fishery for large medium and
giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm)
curved fork length or greater) Atlantic
bluefin tuna (BFT) for the September
subquota time period. This action
applies to Atlantic Tunas General
category (commercial) permitted vessels
and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted
vessels with a commercial sale
endorsement when fishing
commercially for BFT. This action also
waives the previously-scheduled
restricted fishing days (RFDs) for the
remainder of the September subquota
time period. With the RFDs waived
during the closure, fishermen aboard
General category permitted vessels and
HMS Charter/Headboat permitted
vessels may tag and release BFT of all
sizes, subject to the requirements of the
catch-and-release and tag-and-release
programs. On October 1, 2022, the
fishery will reopen automatically and
previously scheduled RFDs for the
October through November subquota
time period will resume.
DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time,
September 19, 2022, through September
30, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Erianna Hammond, erianna.hammond@
noaa.gov, 301–427–8503, Larry Redd,
Jr., larry.redd@noaa.gov, 301–427–8503,
or Nicholas Velseboer,
nicholas.velseboer@noaa.gov, 978–281–
9260.
SUMMARY:
Atlantic
HMS fisheries, including BFT fisheries,
are managed under the authority of the
Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA;
16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) and the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq.). The 2006 Consolidated Atlantic
HMS Fishery Management Plan (FMP)
and its amendments are implemented
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57645-57648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20106]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[CG Docket Nos. 03-123, 10-51, 13-24; FCC 22-51; FR ID 104192]
VRS and IP CTS--Commencement of Service Pending User Registration
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC
or Commission) adopts a two-week ``grace period'' to allow Video Relay
Service (VRS) and Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP
CTS) providers to commence service to new or porting-in users while the
user's identity is verified by the Telecommunications Relay Services
(TRS) User Registration Database. These actions will increase the
efficiency of the registration process, avoid unnecessary service
delays, and ensure that TRS users' experience in ordering new service
or porting service to a new TRS provider is comparable to that of voice
telephone service users.
DATES: The rules are effective October 21, 2022, except for the
amendments to Sec. Sec. 64.611 (amendatory instruction 3) and 64.615
(amendatory instruction 4), which are delayed. The Commission will
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective
dates.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Wallace, Disability Rights
Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at 202-418-2716, or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Report
and Order, document FCC 22-51, adopted June 28, 2022, released June 30,
2022, in CG Docket Nos. 03-123, 10-51, and 13-24. The Commission sought
comment on the two-week grace period issue in Misuse of Internet
Protocol (IP) Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and
Speech Disabilities, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CG Docket
Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, published at 84 FR 9276, March 14, 2019 (2019 IP
CTS Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM)) and in Structure and
Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and
Speech Disabilities, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CG Docket
Nos. 10-51 and 03-123, published at 84 FR 26379, June 6, 2019 (2019 VRS
FNPRM).
The full text of document FCC 22-51 can be accessed electronically
via the FCC's Electronic Document Management System (EDOCS) website at
www.fcc.gov/edocs or via the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System
(ECFS) website at www.fcc.gov/ecfs. To request materials in accessible
formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic
files, audio format), send an email to [email protected], or call the
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice) or
(202) 418-0432 (TTY).
Synopsis
1. User Registration and Verification. TRS are telephone
transmission services that enable people with speech or hearing
disabilities to communicate by wire or radio in a manner that is
functionally equivalent to communication using voice services. Under
section 225 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), 47
U.S.C. 225, the Commission must ensure that TRS are available ``to the
extent possible and in the most efficient manner'' to persons ``in the
United States'' who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind or who have
speech disabilities, so that they can communicate by telephone in a
manner that is functionally equivalent to voice communication service.
VRS, a form of TRS, enables people with hearing or speech disabilities
who use sign language to make telephone calls over a broadband
connection using a video communication device. The video link allows a
communications assistant (CA) to view and interpret the party's signed
conversation and relay the conversation back and forth with a voice
caller. IP CTS, another form of TRS, permits a person with hearing loss
to have a telephone conversation while reading captions of what the
other party is saying on an internet-connected device.
2. Before commencing service to a subscriber, a VRS or IP CTS
provider must register the user by collecting certain identifying
information, as well as a signed self-certification of eligibility for
TRS. In addition, registration data for VRS users must be submitted to
the Commission's centralized TRS User Registration Database (User
Database or Database). IP CTS user registration data also will be
submitted and maintained in the Database once it is activated for that
purpose. Upon receiving the registration data for a newly registered
TRS user, the Database administrator verifies the user's identity.
Providers are prohibited from seeking compensation for service to users
who do not pass this identity verification check.
3. Although User Database registration is usually completed within
hours of data submission, it may take longer if the administrator's
initial attempt to verify a registrant's identity is unsuccessful,
requiring the provider to obtain corrected information or additional
documentation from the registrant. The two-week ``grace period'' will
allow VRS and IP CTS providers to immediately begin serving new or
porting-in users without waiting for the verification process to
complete, thereby promoting the availability and
[[Page 57646]]
efficiency of TRS. Moreover, by allowing customers to make and receive
TRS calls during the grace period, those users are better able to
obtain the documentation and information needed to verify their
identities. Because providers will not be compensated for calls made
during the two-week grace period unless and until the customer is
successfully entered into the Database, this rule change will not
increase any risk of TRS Fund payment for ineligible calls or otherwise
contribute to waste, fraud, or abuse of TRS Fund resources.
4. Alternative Proposals. The Commission rejects proposals to
extend the grace period beyond two weeks as unnecessary. Moreover,
extending the grace period for individuals who are deafblind or who are
deaf with additional disabilities would increase the complexity of
administering the registration process as a whole and is unwarranted in
the absence of actual evidence of a need for additional time.
5. Limitations on Number Reassignments. In the case of VRS, and in
the event verification of registration data for a newly assigned TRS
telephone number is not completed within two weeks, the telephone
number should not be immediately reassigned. Under the current as well
as the newly adopted rules, a new number is not entered in the Database
until such time as the user's identity is verified. Therefore, if
registration data for a new telephone number is submitted to the
Database, and the user's identity has not been verified within the two-
week grace period, then the number shall not be entered in the
Database, and no provider may request compensation for compensable
calls from that number after expiration of the two-week period.
Similarly, the new telephone number and associated routing information,
which were entered in the Telephone Numbering Directory to allow calls
to be made to and from the new number on a provisional basis, shall be
removed from the Directory. As a result, upon expiration of the two-
week period, the number will not be usable until such time as the
user's identity is verified or the number is reassigned to a different
customer. Because the consumer has already begun using the submitted
number, he or she should not be automatically deprived of the
opportunity to recommence service with the same number, if verification
is successfully completed within a reasonable period after the two
weeks expires. Therefore, even if verification cannot be completed
within the two-week grace period, the submitting provider shall retain
that number in inactive status, for an additional period of 30 days or
the pendency of any appeal, whichever is later, before reassigning it
to a new user or otherwise making it available for re-use. If the
user's identity is later verified, the telephone number may be entered
in the Database at that time and calls made to or from the number from
that time forward may be submitted for compensation.
6. When an existing TRS telephone number has been ported, a failure
to verify the number within the two-week grace period will have
somewhat different consequences. Under the current rules, when a number
is being ported, the Database registration of that number is not
changed to designate the porting-in VRS provider until the registration
data collected by the porting-in provider has been verified. By
adopting the grace period, the Commission permits a port to be
completed on a provisional basis, pending verification of the
registration data submitted by the porting-in provider. Therefore, the
porting-in provider's routing information shall be entered in the TRS
Numbering Directory, so that during the two-week grace period, calls to
and from the ported number are handled by the porting-in VRS provider.
However, the number will continue to be registered in the User Database
under the name of the porting-out VRS provider until the registration
data submitted by the porting-in provider has been verified. If such
verification is not completed within the two-week grace period, then
the port will be reversed, and the porting-out provider's routing
information will be re-entered in the TRS Numbering Directory. In the
event that verification of a ported number is not completed within the
grace period, neither the porting-out nor porting-in provider may seek
compensation for calls placed to or from the ported number during those
two weeks.
7. Technical Corrections to TRS Rules. This document amends Sec.
64.604(d) of the Commission's rules to delete an obsolete cross-
reference. Section 64.604(d) of the Commission's rules provides that
the applicable requirements of certain provisions of the Commission's
rules are to be considered mandatory minimum standards for TRS. Among
the listed provisions is Sec. 64.617 of the Commission's rules, which
was repealed in 2017. The cross-reference to that provision in Sec.
64.604(d) of the Commission's rules was not deleted.
8. Good cause exists to make this correction without prior notice
and comment. The cross-reference is clearly incorrect and without any
substantive effect, now that Sec. 64.617 of the Commission's rules has
been deleted. The correction is therefore simply a conforming change to
the Commission's rules.
9. The Commission also makes a technical correction to Sec.
64.604(c)(5)(iii)(D)(1) of its rules, which addresses data reporting
requirements. The four bold, italicized words below were inadvertently
deleted from the following excerpt from the previous version of that
provision: ``TRS providers shall provide the administrator with the
following: total TRS minutes of use, total interstate TRS minutes of
use, total operating expenses and total TRS investment in general in
accordance with part 32 of this chapter . . .'' The correction restores
the inadvertently deleted text.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
10. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as
amended (RFA), the Commission incorporated an Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) into both the 2019 VRS FNPRM and the 2019
IP CTS FNPRM. The Commission sought written public comment on the
proposals in both FNPRMs, including comment on the IRFAs. No comments
were received in response to the IRFAs.
11. Need for, and Objectives of, the Rules. This document addresses
the procedures for registering users of certain forms of TRS and
verifying their identities in the User Database. The purpose of these
rules is to ensure that only persons with hearing and speech
disabilities who are eligible to use TRS can make calls that are
compensated from the Interstate TRS Fund. Providers of VRS and IP CTS
cannot receive compensation from the Fund unless the caller is
registered in, and has had his or her identity verified, in the User
Database.
12. The Commission adopts a two-week grace period during which VRS
and IP CTS providers can handle calls for new and porting-in customers
after submitting the user's registration information while identity
verification is pending and receive compensation for the calls as long
as the user's identity is ultimately verified in the User Database as
eligible for TRS within the same two-week period from the initial
submission of the user's registration information. The Commission
concludes that the grace period will improve functional equivalency for
individuals with hearing and speech disabilities because it will allow
them to start making calls immediately with their TRS provider, just as
most voice customers of landline and mobile services can start using
the service when they sign up for service.
[[Page 57647]]
13. The Commission finds that the two-week grace period will not
contribute to waste, fraud, and abuse of the TRS Fund. If the user is
verified, then his or her calls during the two-week period are eligible
for compensation. If the user is not verified, then the VRS or IP CTS
provider will not be compensated for the calls. Accordingly, the TRS
Fund will not be paying for ineligible calls.
14. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments in
Response to the IRFA. No comments were filed in response to either
IRFA.
15. Response to Comments by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration. The Chief Counsel did not file any
comments in response to the proposed rules in this proceeding.
16. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to
which the Rules will Apply. The amendments to rules adopted in this
document will affect the obligations of VRS and IP CTS providers. These
services can be included within the broad economic category of All
Other Telecommunications.
17. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other
Compliance Requirements. In allowing VRS and IP CTS providers to
receive compensation for up to two weeks while the identity
verification is pending for new users and users changing providers for
calls by or to such users, the Commission retains the reporting,
recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements currently applicable
to VRS and IP CTS providers and adopts minor modified reporting
requirements related to the timing for requesting compensation for
calls by and to such users.
18. For new users and users changing providers, VRS and IP CTS
providers must track what calls are made by and to such users while
their identity verification remains pending and only seek compensation
from the Interstate TRS Fund for those call minutes within the two-week
grace period if the user's identity is verified by the User Database
administrator before the end of that period. For users whose identify
cannot be verified within the two-week period, VRS and IP CTS providers
can only seek compensation for calls by and to the user if and when the
user's identity has been verified.
19. These modified requirements are no more burdensome than those
currently applicable to VRS and IP CTS providers and are needed to
ensure compliance with the Commission's rules and protect against
waste, fraud, and abuse of the TRS program.
20. Steps Taken to Minimize Significant Impact on Small Entities,
and Significant Alternatives Considered. The new rule does not impose
any modified requirements that would increase regulatory burdens beyond
those that are already required. The modified requirements apply
equally to all VRS and IP CTS providers and are necessary to prevent
waste, fraud, and abuse of the TRS Fund by ensuring that providers are
not compensated for service provided to users who do not satisfy the
verification requirements.
Ordering Clauses
21. Pursuant to sections 1, 2, and 225 of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, and 225, document FCC 22-51 is
adopted, and the Commission's rules are hereby amended.
22. The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau,
Reference Information Center, shall send a copy of document FCC 22-51,
including the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.
Congressional Review Act
The Commission sent a copy of document FCC 22-51 to Congress and
the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional
Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).
Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis
This document contains modified information collection
requirements, which are not effective until approval is obtained from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork burdens, the Commission will invite the
general public to comment on the information collection requirements as
required by the PRA of 1995, Public Law 104-13. The Commission will
publish a separate document in the Federal Register announcing approval
of the information collection requirements. Pursuant to the Small
Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(4), the Commission previously sought comment on how the
Commission might ``further reduce the information burden for small
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.'' 84 FR 9276, March 14,
2019; 84 FR 26379, June 6, 2019.
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64
Individuals with disabilities, Telecommunications, Telephone.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
Final Regulations
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. 151, 152, 154, 201, 202, 217, 218, 220,
222, 225, 226, 227, 227b, 228, 251(a), 251(e), 254(k), 255, 262,
276, 403(b)(2)(B), (c), 616, 620, 716, 1401-1473, unless otherwise
noted; Pub. L. 115-141, Div. P, sec. 503, 132 Stat. 348, 1091.
0
2. Amend Sec. 64.604 by revising paragraphs (c)(5)(iii)(D)(1) and (d)
to read as follows:
Sec. 64.604 Mandatory minimum standards.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(5) * * *
(iii) * * *
(D) * * *
(1) Cost and demand data. TRS providers seeking compensation from
the TRS Fund shall provide the administrator with true and adequate
data, and other historical, projected and state rate related
information reasonably requested to determine the TRS Fund revenue
requirements and payments. TRS providers shall provide the
administrator with the following: total TRS minutes of use, total
interstate TRS minutes of use, total operating expenses and total TRS
investment in general in accordance with part 32 of this chapter, and
other historical or projected information reasonably requested by the
administrator for purposes of computing payments and revenue
requirements. In annual cost data filings and supplementary information
provided to the administrator regarding such cost data, IP CTS
providers that contract for the supply of services used in the
provision of TRS shall include information about payments under such
contracts, classified according to the substantive cost categories
specified by the administrator. To the extent that a third party's
provision of services covers more than one cost category, the
resubmitted cost reports must provide an explanation of how the
provider determined or calculated the portion of contractual payments
attributable to each cost category. To the extent that the
administrator reasonably deems necessary, providers shall submit
additional detail on such contractor
[[Page 57648]]
expenses, including but not limited to complete copies of such
contracts and related correspondence or other records and information
relevant to determining the nature of the services provided and the
allocation of the costs of such services to cost categories.
* * * * *
(d) Other standards. The applicable requirements of Sec. 9.14 of
this chapter and Sec. Sec. 64.611, 64.615, 64.621, 64.631, 64.632,
64.5105, 64.5107, 64.5108, 64.5109, and 64.5110 are to be considered
mandatory minimum standards.
0
3. Delayed indefinitely, amend Sec. 64.611 by:
0
a. Revising paragraph (a)(4)(iii);
0
b. Adding paragraph (a)(4)(iv);
0
c. Redesignating paragraph (j)(2)(v) as paragraph (j)(2)(vi); and
0
d. Adding a new paragraph (j)(2)(v).
The revision and additions read as follows:
Sec. 64.611 Internet-based TRS registration.
(a) * * *
(4) * * *
(iii) VRS providers must submit the information in the introductory
text of paragraph (a)(4) of this section upon initiation of service for
users registered after 60 days of notice from the Commission that the
TRS User Registration Database is ready to accept such information. VRS
providers may provide service to such users for up to two weeks after
the user's registration information has been submitted to the TRS User
Registration Database pending verification of the user's identity.
After the user's identity is verified by the Database administrator,
VRS providers may seek TRS Fund compensation for calls handled during
such pre-verification period of up to two weeks.
(iv) If a VRS user's registration data submitted pursuant to
paragraph (a)(4)(iii) of this section is not verified by the TRS User
Registration Database administrator within two weeks after submission,
the VRS provider shall hold the assigned number for up to 30 days or
the pendency of an appeal, whichever is later, pending the outcome of
any further efforts to complete verification, before returning the
number to inactive status or assigning it to another user. If a VRS
user's identity is verified within such 30-day period, or during the
pendency of an appeal, whichever is later, the administrator may enter
the number into the Database (and the TRS Numbering Directory) as
assigned to that user.
* * * * *
(j) * * *
(2) * * *
(v) IP CTS providers may provide service to new users for up to two
weeks after the user's registration information has been submitted to
the TRS User Registration Database pending verification of the user's
identity. After a user's identity is verified by the Database
administrator, IP CTS providers may seek TRS Fund compensation for
calls handled during such pre-verification period.
* * * * *
0
4. Delayed indefinitely, amend Sec. 64.615 by adding paragraphs
(a)(6)(v) and (vi) to read as follows:
Sec. 64.615 TRS User Registration Database and administrator.
(a) * * *
(6) * * *
(v) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a)(6)(ii) through (iv) of this
section, VRS and IP CTS providers may provide service to a new or
porting user for up to two weeks after the user's registration
information has been submitted to the TRS User Registration Database,
pending verification of the user's identity. After such user's identity
is verified by the Database administrator, a TRS provider may seek TRS
Fund compensation for calls handled during such pre-verification
period.
(vi) If a VRS provider submits registration information for a TRS
telephone number that is being ported from another VRS provider, and
user's identity cannot be immediately verified, then the porting-in
provider's routing information for that telephone number shall be
provisionally entered in the TRS Numbering Directory for up to two
weeks to allow the routing of calls to the porting-in VRS provider
pursuant to paragraph (a)(6)(v) of this section. If the user's identity
is not verified by the TRS User Registration Database administrator
within the allowed two-week period, the porting-out provider's routing
information shall be re-entered in the TRS Number Directory.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-20106 Filed 9-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
