[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 66 (Thursday, April 5, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18059-18061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-8392]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Chapter I

[CC Docket No. 90-571; FCC 01-89]


Telecommunications Relay Services and the American With 
Disabilities Act of 1990

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks 
comment on whether to modify the Federal Communication Commission's 
(FCC) rules to permit telecommunications relay service (TRS) providers 
to treat coin sent-paid TRS calls in a manner different from all other 
calls, or to suspend permanently the enforcement of the requirement 
that TRS be capable of handling any type of call with respect to coin 
sent-paid calls. Additionally, the FCC seeks input on its proposed 
rules to provide functionally equivalent payphone service to TRS users 
in order to develop a sound policy on the obligations of TRS providers 
with respect to coin sent-paid calls.

DATES: Comments due May 7, 2001. Reply comments due May 21, 2001. 
Written comments by the public on the proposed information collections 
are due May 7, 2001. Written comments must be submitted by the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) on the proposed information 
collection(s) on or before June 4, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pam Slipakoff, 202/418-7705, Fax 202/
418-2345, TTY 202/418-0484, [email protected], Network Services 
Division, Common Carrier Bureau.
    In addition to filing comments with the Secretary, a copy of any 
comments on the information collections contained herein should be 
submitted to Judy Boley, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-
C804, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554, or via the Internet to 
[email protected], and to Edward C. Springer, OMB Desk Officer, 10236 
NEOB, 725--17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503 or via the Internet 
to [email protected].
    For additional information concerning the information collection(s) 
contained in this document, contact Judy Boley at 202-418-0214, or via 
the Internet at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Second Further 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CC Docket No. 90-571, FCC 01-89 (Second 
Further NRPM), adopted March 13, 2001 and released March 16, 2001. The 
full text of the Second Further NRPM is available for inspection and 
copying during the weekday hours of 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the FCC 
Reference Center, Room CY-A257, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20554, or copies may be purchased from the Commission's copy 
contractor, International Transcription Services, Inc., 445 12th 
Street, SW, Suite CY-B400, Washington, DC 20554, phone (202) 857-3800.
    This NPRM contains proposed information collection(s) subject to 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). It has been submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under the PRA. OMB, 
the general public, and other Federal agencies are invited to comment 
on the proposed information collections contained in this proceeding.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    1. This NPRM contains a proposed information collection. The 
Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
burdens, invites the general public and the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) to comment on the information collection(s) contained in 
this NPRM, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public 
Law 104-13. Public and agency comments are due at the same time as 
other comments on this NPRM; OMB notification of action is due 60 days 
from date of publication of this NPRM in the Federal Register. Comments 
should address: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and (d) 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.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0789.
    Title: Modified Alternative Plan, CC Docket No, 90-571.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Proposed Revision of Existing Collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit institutions.

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                                                                     Number of       Hours per     Total annual
                              Title                                 respondents      response     burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a. Letter to CAN Members........................................              30               4             120
b. Create & Distribute Laminated Cards..........................              30              15             450
c. Display Instructions.........................................              30              15             450
d. Display on Internet..........................................              30               4             120
e. Publication in Directory.....................................              30               4             120
f. Status Reports...............................................              30               4             120
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    Total Annual Burden: 1380 hours.
    Cost to Respondents: $0.
    Needs and Uses: The information obtained from this collection will 
be used to provide TRS users with information regarding their ability 
to make relay calls from payphones during the suspension of the rules.

Synopsis of the Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking CC 
Docket No. 90-571

    2. Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is 
codified at section 225 of the

[[Page 18060]]

Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), mandates that the 
Commission ensure that interstate and intrastate telecommunications 
relay services (TRS) are available, to the extent possible and in the 
most efficient manner, to individuals in the United States with hearing 
and speech disabilities. Title IV aims to further the Act's goal of 
universal service by providing to individuals with hearing or speech 
disabilities, telephone services that are functionally equivalent to 
those available to individuals without such disabilities. The 
Commission is fully committed to furthering these goals in the manner 
directed by Congress.
    3. The ADA requires the Commission to establish functional 
requirements, guidelines, and operational procedures for TRS, and to 
establish minimum standards for carriers' provisioning of TRS. To 
establish a TRS that provides services which are functionally 
equivalent to telephone services available to voice users, Congress 
directed, among other things, that the Commission prohibit TRS 
providers from ``failing to fulfill the obligations of common carriers 
by refusing calls.'' In its First Report and Order, 56 FR 36729 (Aug. 
1, 1991), on TRS, the Commission interpreted this ADA mandate to 
require TRS providers to handle ``any type of call normally provided by 
common carriers,'' and placed the burden of proving the infeasibility 
of handling a particular type of call on the carriers. The Commission 
interpreted ``any type of call'' to include coin sent-paid calls, which 
are calls made by depositing coins in a standard coin-operated public 
payphone. Subsequent concerns about the technical difficulties 
associated with handling coin sent-paid calls through TRS centers, 
however, resulted in multiple suspensions of the mandate for TRS 
providers to handle these types calls. The Commission issued the first 
of these suspensions in 1993; the most recent of these suspensions 
remains in effect through May 26, 2001.
    4. Because no technological solution to the coin sent-paid issue 
appears imminent, the FCC issues this Second Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (Second Further NRPM) to determine the best plan to make the 
full range of payphone services available to TRS users. Section 225 of 
the Act requires the Commission to ensure that interstate and 
intrastate relay services are available throughout the country and to 
promulgate regulations prohibiting relay operators from failing to 
fulfill the obligations of common carriers by refusing calls. Thus, the 
Commission has a responsibility to seek further information on the coin 
sent-paid issue in order to provide persons with hearing and speech 
disabilities with the most efficient manner of utilizing TRS from 
payphones. Furthermore, the Commission has a responsibility under 
section 225(d)(1)(D) of the Act to ensure that ``users of 
telecommunications relay services pay rates no greater than the rates 
paid for functionally equivalent voice communications services * * * 
.'' As a result of this obligation, the Commission must determine if 
the coin sent-paid rules are efficient and cost-effective for TRS 
users. In this Second Further NRPM, the FCC seeks comment on various 
proposals to provide functionally equivalent service to TRS users. The 
FCC specifically proposes that telephone carriers: (1) Not charge TRS 
users for making relay calls that would otherwise be local from 
payphones; (2) enable TRS users to use calling cards, collect or third 
party billing for toll calls from payphones and not charge more than 
the lower of the coin sent-paid rate or the rate for the calling card, 
collect or third-party billing; and, (3) conduct extensive consumer 
education programs to educate TRS users about their payphone calling 
options.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    5. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the 
Commission has prepared this present Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (IRFA) of the possible significant economic impact on small 
entities by the policies and rules in this Second Further Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (Further Notice). Written public comments are 
requested on this IRFA. Comments must be identified as responses to the 
IRFA and must be filed by the deadlines for comments on the Second 
Further NRPM. The Commission will send a copy of the Second Further 
NRPM including this IRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration. See 5 U.S.C. 603(a). In addition, the 
Second Further NRPM and IRFA (or summaries thereof) will be published 
in the Federal Register.
    6. The Commission is issuing this Second Further NRPM to seek 
comment on whether to modify the Commission's rules to permit 
telecommunications relay service (TRS) providers to treat coin sent-
paid TRS calls in a manner different from all other calls, or to 
suspend permanently the enforcement of the requirement that TRS be 
capable of handling any type of call with respect to coin sent-paid 
calls. Additionally, the Commission seeks input on its proposed rules 
to provide functionally equivalent payphone service to TRS users in 
order to develop a sound policy on the obligations of TRS providers 
with respect to coin sent-paid calls.
    7. The authority for actions proposed in this Second Further NRPM 
may be found in sections 1, 2, 4, 225, 303(r) of the Communications Act 
of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 1, 2, 4, 225, 303(r).
    8. The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of, and, where 
feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that may be 
affected by the proposed rules, if adopted. The RFA defines the term 
``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms ``small 
business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small business concern'' 
under section 3 of the Small Business Act. A small business concern is 
one that: (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). The rules the 
FCC is considering in this proceeding, will affect TRS providers, pay 
telephone operators and wireline carriers and service providers.
    9. The most reliable source of information regarding the total 
numbers of certain common carrier and related providers nationwide, as 
well as the numbers of commercial wireless entities, appears to be data 
the Commission publishes annually in its Telecommunications Industry 
Revenue report, regarding TRS.
    10. TRS Providers. Neither the Commission nor the SBA has developed 
a definition of small entity specifically applicable to providers of 
telecommunications relay services (TRS). The closest applicable 
definition under the SBA rules is for telephone communications 
companies other than radiotelephone (wireless) companies. The SBA 
defines such establishments to be small businesses when they have no 
more than 1,500 employees. According to the FCC's most recent data, 
there are 11 interstate TRS providers, which consist of interexchange 
carriers, local exchange carriers, state-managed entities, and non-
profit organizations. The FCC does not have data specifying the number 
of these providers that are either dominant in their field of 
operations, are not independently owned and operated, or have more than 
1,500 employees, and the FCC is thus unable at this time to estimate 
with greater precision the number of TRS providers that would qualify 
as small business concerns under the SBA's definition. The FCC notes, 
however, that these providers include large interexchange carriers and 
incumbent local exchange carriers. Consequently, the FCC estimates that 
there are fewer

[[Page 18061]]

than 11 small TRS providers that may be affected by the proposed rules, 
if adopted. The FCC seeks comment generally on its analysis identifying 
TRS providers, and specifically on whether the FCC should conclude, for 
Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes, that any TRS providers are small 
entities.
    11. Pay Telephone Operators. Neither the Commission nor the SBA has 
developed a definition of small entities specifically applicable to pay 
telephone operators. The closest applicable definition under SBA rules 
is for telephone communications companies other than radiotelephone 
(wireless) companies. According to the most recent Trends in Telephone 
Service data, 615 carriers reported that they were engaged in the 
provision of pay telephone services. The FCC does not have data 
specifying the number of these carriers that are not independently 
owned and operated or have more than 1,500 employees, and thus are 
unable at this time to estimate with greater precision the number of 
pay telephone operators that would qualify as small business concerns 
under the SBA's definition. Consequently, the FCC estimates that there 
are less than 615 small entity pay telephone operators.
    12. Wireline Carriers and Service Providers. The SBA has developed 
a definition of small entities for telephone communications companies 
except radiotelephone (wireless) companies. The Census Bureau reports 
that there were 2,321 such telephone companies in operation for at 
least one year at the end of 1992. According to the SBA's definition, a 
small business telephone company other than a radiotelephone company is 
one employing no more than 1,500 persons. All but 26 of the 2,321 non-
radiotelephone companies listed by the Census Bureau were reported to 
have fewer than 1,000 employees. Thus, even if all 26 of those 
companies had more than 1,500 employees, there would still be 2,295 
non-radiotelephone companies that might qualify as small entities or 
small incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs). The FCC does not have 
data specifying the number of these carriers that are not independently 
owned and operated, and thus are unable at this time to estimate with 
greater precision the number of wireline carriers and service providers 
that would qualify as small business concerns under the SBA's 
definition. Consequently, the FCC estimates that fewer than 2,295 small 
telephone communications companies other than radiotelephone companies 
are small entities or small incumbent LECs.
    13. The FCC has included small incumbent LECs in this present RFA 
analysis. As noted above, a ``small business'' under the RFA is one 
that, inter alia, meets the pertinent small business size standard 
(e.g., a telephone communications business having 1,500 or fewer 
employees), and is not dominant in its field of operation. The SBA's 
Office of Advocacy contends that for RFA purposes, small incumbent LECs 
are not dominant in their field of operation because any such dominance 
is not ``national'' in scope. The FCC has therefore included small 
incumbent LECs in this RFA analyses, although the FCC emphasizes that 
this RFA action has no effect on FCC analyses and determination in 
other, non-RFA contexts.
    14. The proposed rules may require carriers to submit status 
reports on any new technologies that can provide coin sent-paid calls 
through the TRS centers. Any additional costs incurred as a result of 
this proceeding should be nominal because the entities affected, 
including any small businesses, have been in compliance with the 
Interim Plan Order. Thus, the Commission expects that the proposals 
will have minimal impact on small entities. The FCC tentatively 
concludes that the proposals in the Second Further NRPM would impose 
minimum burdens on small entities. The FCC seeks comment on the 
tentative conclusion.
    15. The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant 
alternatives that it has considered in reaching its proposed approach, 
which may include the following four alternatives (among others): (1) 
The establishment of differing compliance or reporting requirements or 
timetables that take into account the resources available to small 
entities; (2) the clarification, consolidation, or simplification of 
compliance or reporting requirements under the rule for small entities; 
(3) the use of performance, rather than design, standards; and (4) an 
exemption from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for small 
entities. 5 U.S.C. 603(c). The Commission has tentatively concluded 
that the proposed rules will have minimal impact on small entities.

Report to Congress

    16. The Commission will send a copy of this Second Further Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking, including a copy of this IRFA, in a report to 
Congress pursuant to the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996. In addition, the Second Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking and this IRFA will be sent to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy 
of the Small Business Administration, and will be published in the 
Federal Register.

Ordering Clauses

    17. Pursuant to the authority contained in 47 CFR 0.91(a), 0.204, 
0.291 and 1.3, enforcement of the requirement that Telecommunications 
Relay Services must be capable of handling coin sent-paid calls, as 
required by 47 CFR 64.604(a)(3), IS SUSPENDED pending the publication 
in the Federal Register of final rules adopted in this proceeding.
    18. Common carriers providing telephone voice transmission 
services, and TRS providers, shall continue to make payphones 
accessible to TRS users pursuant to the terms of the Alternative Plan 
set forth in the 1997 Suspension Order.
    19. Pursuant to sections 1, 2, 4, 225, and 303(r) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154, 
303(r), the Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is hereby 
Adopted.
    20. The Commission's Consumer Information Bureau, Reference 
Information Center, Shall Send a copy of this Second Further Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking, including the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of Small Business 
Administration.
    21. The Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for this Second 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, pursuant to the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 604, is contained herein.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-8392 Filed 4-4-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-U