[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1894-1895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-469]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[CC Docket No. 98-67 and CG Docket No. 03-123; DA 04-3921]


Comments Requested on Petition for Declaratory Ruling and Request 
for Clarification Filed Concerning Two-Line Captioned Telephone Voice 
Carry Over Service, a Form of Telecommunications Relay Service

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This document seeks public comment on Ultratec, Inc., Sprint 
Corporation, and Hamilton Relay, Inc., Request for Clarification and 
the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc., Petition for 
Declaratory Ruling concerning two-line captioned telephone voice carry 
over (VCO) service, a form of telecommunications relay service (TRS).

DATES: Interested parties may file comments in this proceeding on or 
before January 7, 2005. Reply comments may be filed on or before 
January 19, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dana Jackson, Consumer & Governmental 
Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office at (202) 418-2247 (voice), 
(202) 418-7898 (TTY), or e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Public 
Notice DA 04-3921, released December 16, 2004. On August 1, 2003, the 
Commission released a Declaratory Ruling, published at 68 FR 55898, 
September 29, 2003, in CC Docket No. 98-67; FCC 03-190. In the 
Declaratory Ruling, the Commission clarified that certain TRS mandatory 
minimum standards do not apply to captioned telephone VCO service. When 
filing comments, please reference CC Docket No. 98-67 and CG Docket No. 
03-123. Comments may be filed using the Commission's Electronic Comment 
Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies. See Electronic Filing 
of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121, May 1, 1998. 
Comments filed through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file via 
the Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html. Generally, only 
one copy of an electronic submission must be filed. If multiple docket 
or rulemaking numbers appear in the caption of this proceeding, 
however, commenters must transmit one electronic copy of the comment to 
each docket or rulemaking number referenced in the caption. In 
completing the transmittal screen, commenters should include their full 
name, Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket or 
rulemaking number. Parties may also submit electronic comments by 
Internet e-mail. To get filing instructions, commenters should send an 
e-mail to [email protected], and should include the following words in the 
body of the message, ``get form .'' A sample form 
and directions will be sent in reply. Parties who choose to file by 
paper must file an original and four copies of each filing. If more 
than one docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this 
proceeding, commenters must submit two additional copies for each 
additional docket or rulemaking number. Filings can be sent by hand or 
messenger delivery, by electronic media, by commercial overnight 
courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Services mail 
(although we continue to experience delays in receiving U.S. Postal 
Service mail). The Commission's contractor, Natek, Inc., will receive 
hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings or electronic media 
for the Commission's Secretary at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 
110, Washington, DC 20002. The filing hours at this location are 8 a.m. 
to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together

[[Page 1895]]

with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of 
before entering the building. Commercial and electronic media sent by 
overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and 
Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol 
Heights, MD 20743. U.S. Postal Service first-class mail, Express Mail, 
and Priority Mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20554. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's 
Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Office of the Secretary, Federal 
Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., Room TW-B204 
Washington, DC 20554. Parties who choose to file by paper should also 
submit their comments on diskette. These diskettes should be submitted, 
along with three paper copies, to: Dana Jackson, Consumer & 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office, 445 12th Street, 
SW., Room CY-A626, Washington, DC 20554. Such a submission should be on 
a 3.5 inch diskette formatted in an IBM compatible format using Word 97 
or compatible software. The diskette should be accompanied by a cover 
letter and should be submitted in ``read only'' mode. The diskette 
should be clearly labeled with the commenter's name, proceeding 
(including the lead docket number in this case, CC Docket No. 98-67 and 
CG Docket No. 03-123, type of pleading (comment or reply comment), date 
of submission, and the name of the electronic file on the diskette. The 
label should also include the following phrase ``Disk Copy--Not an 
Original.'' Each diskette should contain only one party's pleadings, 
preferably in a single electronic file. In addition, commenters must 
send diskette copies to the Commission's copy contractor, Best Copy and 
Printing (BCPI), Inc., Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, 
Washington, DC 20554. Pursuant to Sec.  1.1206 of the Commission's 
rules, 47 CFR 1.1206, this proceeding will be conducted as a permit-
but-disclose proceeding in which ex parte communications are subject to 
disclosure. The full text of this document and copies of any 
subsequently filed documents in this matter will be available for 
public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC 
Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room 
CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. This document and copies of subsequently 
filed documents in this matters may also be purchased from the 
Commission's duplicating contract, BCPI, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th 
Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact 
BCPI, Inc. at their Web site http://www.bcpiweb.com or call 1-800-378-
3160. To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an e-mail to [email protected] or call the Consumer & Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). The 
Public Notice can also be downloaded in Word or Portable Document 
Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro.

Synopsis

    On December 7, 2004, Ultratec, Inc., Sprint Corporation, and 
Hamilton Relay, Inc., (``the Petitioners'') filed a Request for 
Clarification, (see Ultratec, Inc., Sprint Corporation, and Hamilton 
Relay, Inc., Request for Clarification, CC Docket No. 98-67 and CG 
Docket No. 03-123, filed December 7, 2004), seeking clarification that 
a two-line voice carryover (VCO) service called two-line captioned 
telephone VCO service is a form of telecommunications relay service 
(TRS) eligible for reimbursement from the Interstate TRS Fund. On 
December 10, 2004, the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc. 
(``NECA''), (see National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc., Petition 
for Declaratory Ruling, CC Docket No. 98-67 and CG Docket No. 03-123, 
filed December 10, 2004), on behalf of the Interstate 
Telecommunications Relay Service Advisory Council (``the Council''), 
filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling requesting that the Commission 
approve its proposed methodology for the jurisdictional allocation of 
costs for the provision of inbound two-line captioned telephone VCO 
service. NECA proposes that ten percent of the inbound two-line 
captioned telephone VCO service minutes would be allocated for payment 
from the Interstate TRS Fund. Captioned telephone service is an 
enhanced VCO service. See generally Telecommunications Relay Services, 
and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech 
Disabilities, Declaratory Ruling, CC Docket No. 98-67, FCC 03-190, 68 
FR 55898, September 29, 2003, finding that captioned telephone VCO 
service is a form of TRS eligible for compensation from the Interstate 
TRS Fund. VCO service is a type of TRS used by persons who have a 
hearing disability but are able to speak directly to the other end 
user. The communications assistant types the response back to the 
person with the hearing disability, but does not voice the 
conversation.
    See 47 CFR 64.601(18). Captioned telephone VCO service permits the 
user to both listen to what is said over the telephone and 
simultaneously read captions of what the other person is saying.

Federal Communications Commission.
Jay Keithley,
Deputy Bureau Chief, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. 05-469 Filed 1-10-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P