[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 211 (Thursday, November 1, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61813-61815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21525]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC 
Docket No. 92-105; DA 07-4178]


IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2) 
of The Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by The Telecommunications 
Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications 
Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons With Disabilities; 
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities; The Use of N11 Codes 
and Other Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; petition for waiver.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission grants in part and denies in 
part petitions filed by the Voice on the Net (VON) Coalition, United 
States Telecom Association (USTelecom) and Hamilton Telephone Company 
(Hamilton) seeking a stay or waiver of certain aspects of the 
Commission's Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Telecommunications 
Relay Services (TRS) Order (VoIP TRS Order). The Commission recognizes 
that, in certain circumstances, there are technical challenges to the 
ability of interconnected VoIP providers to route 711 abbreviated TRS 
dialing access calls to an ``appropriate relay center,'' as that term 
is clarified herein. Similarly, the Commission recognizes that, in 
certain circumstances, TRS providers receiving 711 emergency calls via 
an interconnected VoIP service may not be able to determine an 
appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP) to call in compliance 
with the TRS emergency call handling requirements. As a result, the 
Commission finds good cause to grant to interconnected VoIP providers a 
limited, six month waiver of the requirement that they route 711 calls 
to an appropriate relay center. The Commission also finds good cause to 
grant for a period of six months a limited waiver of the TRS emergency 
call handling requirements, as applied to interconnected VoIP 
customers, so that TRS providers can implement a means of directing the 
outbound leg of a 711 call received via an interconnected VoIP service 
to an appropriate PSAP.

DATES: Effective October 9, 2007.

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

[[Page 61814]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Boehley, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-7395 (voice), or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document does not contain new or 
modified information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, 
it does not contain any new or modified ``information collection burden 
for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees,'' pursuant to 
the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, 
see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). On June 15, 2007, the Commission released the 
VoIP TRS Order, published at 72 FR 43546, August 6, 2007, WC Docket No. 
04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-
105, FCC 07-110.
    This is a summary of the Commission's order in document DA 07-4178, 
IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2) of 
The Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by The Telecommunications 
Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications 
Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons with Disabilities; 
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; The Use of N11 Codes 
and other Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements, WC Docket No. 04-36, CG 
Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105, 
adopted October 9, 2007, released October 9, 2007. Document DA 07-4178 
also contains a separate public notice seeking comment on the petitions 
for stay or waiver filed by the VON Coalition, USTelecom, and Hamilton. 
The full text of document DA 07-4178 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. Document DA 07-4178 and copies of subsequently 
filed documents in this matter may also be purchased from the 
Commission's duplicating contractor at Portals II, 445 12th Street, 
SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact the 
Commission's duplicating contractor at its 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 and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 
(voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). Document DA 07-4178 can also be 
downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/headlines.html.

Synopsis

    In the VoIP TRS Order, the Commission required interconnected VoIP 
providers to offer 711 abbreviated dialing access to TRS ``to ensure 
that TRS calls can be made from any telephone, anywhere in the United 
States, and that such calls will be properly routed to the appropriate 
relay center.'' In document DA 07-4178, the Commission clarifies that, 
in requiring an interconnected VoIP provider to route 711 calls to the 
``appropriate relay center,'' the Commission intended to signify the 
relay center(s) serving the state in which the caller is geographically 
located, or the relay center(s) corresponding to the caller's last 
registered address. The Commission concludes that this is the most 
natural interpretation of the term ``appropriate relay center'' in the 
context where a 711 call is being transmitted via an interconnected 
VoIP service as a substitute for the public switched telephone network 
(PSTN). Clarifying ``appropriate relay center'' in this manner is also 
essential to ensuring that TRS providers can make the outbound leg of 
the TRS call to an ``appropriate PSAP.''
    Nevertheless, the Commission recognizes that, in certain 
circumstances, the telephone number associated with a VoIP call will 
not correspond to the geographic location of the caller. In light of 
these technical challenges to the ability of interconnected VoIP 
providers to route 711 calls to an appropriate relay center, the 
Commission finds good cause to grant a limited waiver of the 711 call 
handling requirement for interconnected VoIP providers. Although 
interconnected VoIP providers are required to transmit 711 calls to a 
relay center, the Commission waives the requirement for a period of six 
months insofar as it requires them to transmit the 711 call to an 
appropriate relay center, as clarified above. In doing so, the 
Commission denies the VON Coalition and USTelecom requests to the 
extent they seek such relief for a longer period of time. The 
Commission agrees with the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible 
Technology (COAT) that ``a brief extension of time for each of these 
requests may be merited,'' but that ``a two year extension of the FCC's 
deadline on this matter, one which can affect the life, safety and 
health of people who rely on TRS for emergency access * * * is not in 
the public interest.'' The Commission thus grants a limited waiver so 
that interconnected VoIP providers can implement a means of routing 711 
calls, in all cases, to an appropriate relay center.
    Similarly, the Commission recognizes that, in certain 
circumstances, TRS providers receiving 711 emergency calls via an 
interconnected VoIP service may not be able to determine an appropriate 
PSAP to call in compliance with the TRS emergency call handling 
requirements of Sec.  64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules. Section 
64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules requires TRS providers to use a 
system for incoming emergency calls that ``automatically and 
immediately'' routes the outbound leg of a TRS call to an appropriate 
PSAP. Based on the record before the Commission, however, it appears 
that, under certain circumstances, TRS providers receiving a call via 
an interconnected VoIP service may be unable to call an appropriate 
PSAP to respond to an emergency call. Moreover, it appears that certain 
TRS providers may be unable to access and/or connect to a national 
database of PSAPs in the event that a TRS provider receives an 
emergency 711 call from an out-of-state caller, making impossible the 
automatic routing of such a call to an appropriate PSAP. For these 
reasons, the Commission grants TRS providers in this situation a 
limited, six month waiver of the emergency call handling requirements 
of Sec.  64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules insofar as, despite 
their best efforts, they may not be able to make the outbound call to 
an appropriate PSAP that corresponds to the caller's actual location.
    During the pendency of this waiver, the Commission requires a TRS 
provider that cannot automatically and immediately route to an 
appropriate PSAP the outbound leg of an emergency 711 call placed via 
TTY by an interconnected VoIP user, as required by Sec.  64.604(a)(4) 
of the Commission's rules, to implement a manual system for doing so, 
to the extent feasible, that accomplishes the proper routing of 
emergency 711 calls as efficiently as possible. Further, during this 
waiver period, the Commission requires interconnected VoIP providers 
and traditional TRS providers to take steps to remind individuals with 
hearing or speech disabilities to dial 911 directly (as a text-to-text, 
TTY-to-TTY call) in an emergency, whether using a PSTN-

[[Page 61815]]

based service or interconnected VoIP service, rather than making a TRS 
call via 711 in an emergency. Finally, for the reasons discussed above 
in limiting the duration of the waiver of the Commission's 711 call 
handling requirements for interconnected VoIP providers, the Commission 
believes that the public interest dictates that it limits this waiver 
relief for TRS providers to a period of six months.

Congressional Review Act

    The Commission will not send a copy of document DA 07-4178 in a 
report to be sent to Congress and the Government Accountability Office 
pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A), 
because the document is not amending or revising the Commission's 
existing rules.

Ordering Clauses

    Pursuant to Sections 1, 2, and 225 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, and 225, and Sections 0.141, 
0.361, and 1.3 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.141, 0.316 and 1.3, 
document DA 07-4178 is adopted.
    The VON Coalition Petition, USTelecom Petition, and Hamilton 
Petition are granted in part, and denied in part, as set forth herein.

Federal Communications Commission.
Catherine W. Seidel,
Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
 [FR Doc. E7-21525 Filed 10-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P